The nations of Colombia and the Netherlands have collaborated to host the first-ever conference on transitioning away from fossil fuels in Santa Marta (April 24-29). The meeting invited those ready to embrace a just move away from reliance on fossil fuels to meet and discuss proactive solutions.

Anglicans attended to stand in solidarity with other church groups supporting this high-ambition, first-of-its-kind gathering, including Christian Aid, Caritas International, ACT Alliance, Faiths for a Fossil Free Future and Green Faith.

The focus of this meeting was on implementation for nations that wish to move forward in phasing out fossil fuels rather than negotiation with those who do not. The conference also invited nations and organisations to engage with the Fossil Fuel Treaty Initiative. This is shaped around the Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty, which has been signed by various ecumenical organisations, such as the World Council of Churches and the Anglican Consultative Council (ACC-18 in 2023), which also resolved to sign as a ‘practical way to live out the fifth Mark of Mission in response to the climate crisis’.

Representatives from around 60 nations gathered for the meeting in Colombia, including some of the major producers of fossil fuels such as Canada, Australia, Norway and Brazil, as well as civil society groups and private sector organisations.

The event organisers said that ‘In Santa Marta, we are not just transitioning energy systems; we are laying the foundations for a more stable, peaceful, healthy and safe world. This requires ensuring Santa Marta isn’t a one-off meeting, but the start of an ongoing multilateral process uniting the highest ambition coalition of nations ready to address the threat of fossil fuels and closing the governance gaps, including through advancing the negotiation of a Fossil Fuel Treaty.’

Organisers stressed that the Santa Marta conference is not a competition for the UN; instead, the meeting is intended to complement it. Still, the need for the meeting stemmed from the frustration of multiple member countries when COP28 in 2023 agreed on the need to transition away from fossil fuels, yet COP30 failed to agree on an actionable plan for this.

During the conference, diverse religious organisations spanning Catholic and Protestant, Buddhist, Indigenous, Muslim, Jewish, Hindu, Baha’i and other religious organisations and networks called for an immediate end to new fossil fuel development, an equitable phase-out of existing coal, oil and gas production and a fair and inclusive shift to renewable energy, leaving no worker, community or country behind.

Anglican advocacy at the Santa Marta Conference

The Anglican Communion’s representative at the conference was the Revd Luz Maria Lambis Garces, who is the Diocese of Colombia's Women's Ministry Coordinator. She is a priest in Cartagena, and a member of the Anglican Alliance’s regional steering committee for resilience and preparedness.

The Revd Luz Maria shared her firsthand experience of how the environmental crisis is impacting her community. She lives in a region facing rising sea levels, droughts and periods of extreme heat. This is leading to food insecurity and a cost-of-living crisis, which primarily affects the most vulnerable. But the community is responding. As recycling reduces the need for fossil fuels and energy in unnecessary production, the community are actively involved in recycling initiatives. Revd Luz Maria says that 90% of the community now earn their income from recycling initiatives, which benefits the community economically and reduces the environmental burden on the earth.

Sharing her hopes about the conference, Revd Luz Maria said she wants it to spark ‘a genuine shift away from fossil fuels—one that goes beyond mere rhetoric to concrete action’. She affirmed the important role of faith groups in the discussions, saying that the conference was ‘not just another meeting’ because pf the 'strong ethical and spiritual dimension, where religious groups played a very active role, each offering their own perspective on things, since everyone lives in a different context; yet amid those differences, there is something that unites us, and that is safeguarding the earth and all that this entails.’

She urges people of faith to ‘remember that all creation comes solely from God’ affirmed ‘with biblical foundation through Genesis, where we see that God made everything good—the sun, the seas, the animals and human beings—to care for and protect God’s beautiful work, entrusting us with this mission, not to destroy but to care for and safeguard, as faithful stewards and all of this is linked to loving our neighbour, for if we analyse the climate crisis, it affects the poor and defenceless most… Let us remember that defending the earth is also defending the life and dignity of people.’

Martha Jarvis (Special Representative to the United Nations on behalf of the Anglican Communion) shared: ‘Our witness at the Santa Marta Conference is important because it focused on action and justice. We need both if we are to respond well to the damage done to God’s creation and to relationships between nations.’

The Most Revd Jeremy Greaves, KCSJ (Anglican Archbishop of Brisbane and Metropolitan of the Province of Queensland) reflected: ‘The moral test in front of us is whether wealthy, fossil-fuel producing countries will love their neighbours in developing and island nations such as those in the Pacific as well as the islands of the Torres Strait here in Australia and heed their call to start the process of negotiating for a treaty to phase out fossil fuels. Around the world, that is what a great many faith communities of all kinds are united in calling for.’

Global Anglican advocacy for a just transition away from fossil fuels

Prior to this conference in Santa Marta, Anglicans have been active advocates in the movement towards greener energy systems. From the highest levels of diplomatic advocacy at the UN to the planting of trees in local dioceses, Anglicans are united in responding to the environmental breakdown.

Churches across the Pacific have long campaigned for a fossil fuel free Pacific and for fair climate finance to balance the inequality in which nations that emit the least pollution are most often forced to bear the cost of disasters caused by others' excesses. The Diocese of Polynesia has been engaged with a programme of stewardship education and advocated for a fossil fuel free Pacific at the 54th Pacific Islands Forum.

The Church of England Pensions Board and Church Commissioners announced in 2023 a programme of full divestment from fossil fuel companies to step away from finance that could be fuelling damage to the planet. The province has also made a commitment to reach net-zero carbon emissions by 2030, which includes encouraging churches to engage in energy audits and consider renewable systems.

The Anglican Alliance also supports the Communion Forest, a worldwide initiative which empowers and connects churches and communities through caring for forests and planting trees.

The Anglican Communion is also running a Lungs of the Earth campaign, advocating to restore and protect oceans, forests and ice caps – three of the Earth's most vital ecosystems and ‘lungs’ of the Earth.

Learn about the five Anglican marks of mission, including the fifth mark, which instructs ‘to strive to safeguard the integrity of creation, and sustain and renew the life of the Earth.’

Discover more about the Communion’s response to the environmental crisis.