The First Conference on Transitioning Away from Fossil Fuels will take place in Santa Marta, Colombia, from April 24–29, 2026, co-hosted by the governments of Colombia and the Netherlands. The conference brings together trade unions, governments, subnational authorities, social movements, Indigenous and Afro-descendant communities, and academia in what the Colombian government is calling the coalition of the willing.

The 54 countries that have confirmed participation in Santa Marta represent a fifth of global fossil fuel production and about a third of demand. The conference has three main thematic pillars: overcoming economic dependence on fossil fuels, transforming fossil fuel supply and demand, and advancing international cooperation and climate diplomacy.

Trade unions are participating in Santa Marta in three spaces:
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* Authonomous Trade Unions Space: April 24, 25 and 26 (open to the public)
* Trade Unions - Government Dialogue Space: April 27 (requires government registration)
* Ministerial Meeting: April 28-29 (requires government registration)

The Trade Union Space is being co-hosted by:

- Trade Unions for Energy Democracy (TUED)
- Trade Union Confederation of the Americas (TUCA-CSA)
- Public Services International (PSI)
- International Transport Workers' Federation (ITF)
- Central Unitaria de Trabajadores (CUT Colombia)
- Confederación General del Trabajo (CGT Colombia)
- Confederación de Trabajadores de Colombia (CTC Colombia)
- FESCOL


For TUED and allied unions, the conference is an important worker-led space to advance the Public Pathway approach to a just transition with energy and economic sovereignty, robust industrial policy, and internationalism while building an alternative to the debt, trade, and investment rules that constrain countries in the Global South.

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View the complete agenda of the Trade Union Space (Espacio Sindical) below:

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And the Espacio Sindical Flyer:

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