27 April 2026

Dear Secretary of State,

We write as organisations across the UK climate justice movement ahead of the First Conference on Transitioning Away from Fossil Fuels in Santa Marta, a critical moment for governments to demonstrate how they will move from rhetoric to real action on a just transition away from a fossil-fuel dependent economy. 

The conference takes place at a time of deep global instability. Climate breakdown, rising inequality and global conflicts are increasingly intertwined, with fossil fuel dependence continuing to drive volatility, insecurity and harm. 

The urgency of the need to transition away from oil, gas and coal is clearer than ever. But without deliberate political choices, that transition risks reinforcing existing inequalities, deepening debt burdens and locking countries into new forms of extractivism.

Against this backdrop, the UK’s participation in Santa Marta is a test of credibility.

The UK has positioned itself as a leader on climate action and the transition to a low-carbon economy. Yet this claim is undermined by continued support for new fossil fuel expansion, including the potential approval of the Rosebank and Cambo oil fields. At a moment when governments are gathering to advance a transition away from fossil fuels, the pursuit of new oil and gas projects at home sends a contradictory and damaging signal.

If the UK is to engage in the Santa Marta process in good faith, it must align its international positioning with its domestic actions and uphold the principles of a genuinely just transition, which must include fair distribution of responsibilities, support for economic transformation and the removal of barriers that prevent countries from acting in the public interest.

We therefore call on the UK Government to:

1. Demonstrate credibility at home by ending new fossil fuel expansion.
This includes rejecting the approval of new oil and gas projects such as Rosebank and Cambo, which are incompatible with climate commitments and undermine any meaningful transition.

2. Support a fair and just global transition.
The UK must commit to providing its fair share of climate finance in the form of predictable, grant-based support, enabling countries most affected by climate change to transition on equitable terms and avoid deepening fiscal dependence and debt. This must also include fully backing the urgent development of an inclusive just transition mechanism (Belem Antalya Mechanism) in line with the COP30 decision and taking action to help remove debt as a barrier to the transition away from fossil fuels for lower-income countries.

3. Champion a credible and enabling international framework for transition.
The UK should use its role at Santa Marta to support a transition grounded in clear timelines, accountability and equity, including addressing international legal and economic barriers such as Investor–State Dispute Settlement mechanisms, which restrict governments’ ability to phase out fossil fuels in the public interest. The UK must also work to ensure any frameworks for transition are not limited only to energy, but the wider economic and societal transitions needed for a fairer future for all. 

Santa Marta must not become another forum where ambition is expressed but not delivered. It is an opportunity to take meaningful steps towards a transition that is not only fossil-fuel free, but also just, equitable and rooted in global solidarity.

The UK has a responsibility to act in the interests of people, both at home and globally – not in the interests of continued fossil fuel expansion. This moment demands political courage and consistency.

We urge you to rise to it.

Signed,