London Climate Action Week kicked off in June with Europe baking under a major heat wave. UN Secretary-General António Guterres, perhaps stating the obvious to anyone sweating through their shirt, pointed out that the planet had just endured the eleven hottest years on record. His message was clear: fossil fuels are driving us straight into a climate and energy crisis, and it's time to make a choice.
That choice just got a little more detailed, thanks to a new report from a conference held back in April in Santa Marta, Colombia. (Co-hosted by Colombia and the Netherlands, because apparently, that's where the real movers and shakers meet these days.)
The Willing Coalition
Fifty-seven countries—let that satisfying number sink in—gathered in Santa Marta. This self-dubbed "Coalition of the Willing" collectively accounts for roughly 30% of global energy demand and 20% of global energy supply. And their commitment? A swift, decisive break-up with fossil fuels.
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Start Your News DetoxThe whole point of this gathering was to give a much-needed kick in the pants to the UN climate negotiation process, which has, shall we say, languished for decades. You can thank the usual suspects for that: major oil-producing nations and the fossil fuel industry's rather persistent lobbying efforts. This new report, released June 23rd, isn't just a summary of polite discussions; it lays out actual strategies for a rapid, global transition away from the stuff that's heating us up. Which, if you think about it, is both impressive and slightly terrifying for anyone still clinging to an oil derrick.
