Overview
- Ministers and envoys from about 50 countries, which convene Tuesday and Wednesday, are meeting with scientists, businesses and NGOs in Santa Marta, Colombia.
- Hosts plan operational outputs, including the launch of a new expert scientific group on the energy transition and a synthesis report to feed COP30 and COP31.
- No joint declaration or new treaty is expected, with the meeting focused on roadmaps and tools that governments can adopt at home.
- The United States, China, Russia, India and Gulf producers are not attending, and participants say the smaller group helps avoid veto fights that stalled UN talks.
- The agenda includes a 12-step guide that urges halting new oil, gas and coal projects and reforming subsidies, citing research that governments spend five times more on fossil fuels than renewables as energy prices have risen since March.