Scientists take centre stage at ‘alternative’ climate talks to phase out fossil fuels

Colombian President Gustavo Petro spoke on 28 April at a climate summit hosted by his country. Credit: Ivan Valencia/AP Photo/Alamy Climate scientists, who have warned of the dangers of global warming for decades, have found some countries to listen. This week, representatives of more than 50 nations gathered in Santa Marta, Colombia, at what was billed as the first global summit on phasing out fossil fuels. One of the first orders of business was to launch a panel of scientists that will advise those countries on how to shift to clean energy. How to fight climate change without the US: a guide to global action “Here, you have a coalition of governments that decided they actually want to be informed by the science,” says Margaretha Wewerinke-Singh, an international climate-change law specialist at the University of Amsterdam. The landmark meeting, which began on 24 April and concluded yesterday, was proposed during last year’s United Nations COP30 climate summit in Belém, Brazil. Oil-producing nations such as Saudi Arabia reportedly opposed attempts at that gathering to create a road map to cut the use of fossil fuels , which are the main source of global greenhouse-gas emissions and the largest contributor to climate change. Frustrated, the governments of Colombia and the Netherlands announced that they would host the First Conference on Transitioning Away from Fossil Fuels this year, independent of the UN’s COP climate summits. …