Countries Plan “Fossil Fuel” Phaseout at Colombia Conference

Nearly 60 countries met in Santa Marta, Colombia, on April 24-29 to participate in the first Conference on Transitioning Away from Fossil Fuels, where they agreed to take steps to phase out so-called fossil fuels.

The conference, organized by Colombia and the Netherlands, was intended to facilitate a hastened phaseout of fossil fuels by countries already committed to implementing a radical climate agenda. A second conference is planned for next year in Tuvalu.

The Guardian reports:

Governments have been asked to develop national “roadmaps” setting out how they will end the production and use of fossil fuels, after a landmark climate meeting involving nearly 60 countries.

The voluntary plans will form the bedrock of a new initiative to wean the world off coal, oil and gas, the focus of two days of intensive talks in Colombia this week….

Colombia published a draft roadmap during the conference and set up a scientific panel to advise countries. On Tuesday, France became the first developed country to release a national roadmap to phase out fossil fuels….

While countries already publish climate plans under the Paris agreement, known as nationally determined contributions (NDCs), [Colombian Minister of Environment and Sustainable Development Irene Vélez Torres] said these were not sufficient to serve as roadmaps because they addressed only countries’ domestic greenhouse gas emissions, allowing fossil fuel producers to sidestep the climate impact of their exports.

The Gulf states and countries such as China, Russia, and India did not attend, while the United States was not invited. A list of participating countries, which includes Australia, Brazil, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Mexico, and the United Kingdom, can be found here. The European Union also participated.

Aligned With the United Nations

The conference’s organizers view it as supporting the United Nations, including the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and its Climate Change Conferences (COP). In an interview with Politico as the conference began, Vélez stated that “this process is complementary to the COP…. We think that the U.N. system is necessary. We think that it has to be also transformed.” The conference’s statement detailing its outcome includes several references to cooperating with the UN to implement its draconian objectives.

Some participating countries are also seeking a “Fossil Fuel Treaty” that would mandate the phaseout of so-called fossil fuels, although the conference was not officially intended to negotiate such a treaty.

Although the conference’s impact will be limited without participation by the United States (which has already announced its withdrawal from the UNFCCC) and other major powers, it shows that the Insiders are continuing to push a radical climate agenda in cooperation with the UN — and demonstrates why the United States should get out of the entire UN system and other international organizations for good.

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