A global energy transition is beginning; we must ensure it is just.
- Sriram Madhusoodanan
- Apr 27
- 4 min read
The air was thick and humid on an early February morning when I finally touched down in Colombo, Sri Lanka. As I exited the airport doors, I was hit with a flood of familiar memories that only grew in the coming days. In almost every way – the cool sea breeze, the smell of afternoon rains and food-laced thick with familiar spices and coconut – Sri Lanka brought me back to my early childhood spent in the idyllic, verdant foothills of Kerala on India’s southwest coast.
Yet there was one way in which Sri Lanka stood out for me on this trip. Almost every car I rode in Sri Lanka – and many more I saw on the country’s streets and highways – was a hybrid or electric car. This anecdote underscores a deeper trend: around the world, a global transition off fossil fuels is gaining momentum.
This presents people around the world with both a historical inflection point and a significant challenge: as a transition beyond the era of fossil fuels becomes increasingly inevitable, how do we ensure it is just?
This challenge and the significant barriers that punish and prevent countries from reducing reliance on fossil fuels will be on the minds of representatives from 60 countries who are gathered this week in Santa Marta, Colombia. In this coastal town—one of the oldest cities in South America—the historic International Conference on Transitioning Away from Fossil Fuels will convene governments as well as trade unions, Indigenous Peoples, Afrodescendant communities, academics and social movements from Colombia and around the world to chart a path forward for a transition that is already taking hold.
Despite significant headwinds in the U.S. where the second Trump administration is attacking renewable energy projects and extending aging and costly fossil fuel plants, the global reality is that renewable energy, particularly wind and solar are growing, cost-effective and here to stay. For example in 2025, the growth of wind and solar meant that for the first time in almost a century, the share of global coal power generation was declining. As of February 2026, greenhouse gas emissions from China—the world’s largest emitter (though not the leading historical emitter—that dubious distinction belongs to the United States) were flat or falling for more than 21 months.
Globally, China is playing a huge role in driving this transition. China has positioned itself as a critical player in the renewable energy supply chain—particularly for solar photovoltaics (PVs) and battery storage technologies. It dominates global manufacturing for solar PVs, producing more than 80% of solar panel components. According to the International Energy Agency (IEA), China also accounts for almost 85% of global battery cell production capacity and controls well over half of global processing of lithium and cobalt (two essential metals in creating battery storage units). In just the last few years, Chinese electric car manufacturers like BYD have exploded on the global scene, competing globally with market leaders like Tesla while producing comparable products at a fraction of the cost.
Its impact is being felt far beyond its borders in countries like Sri Lanka where last year EVs accounted for 15% of new vehicle registration. Sri Lanka is not alone in this regard: In January 2026, EVs outsold gasoline vehicles in Europe for the first time in history. More importantly for a globally equitable transition, Ethiopia—the future host of COP32 in 2027—made headlines for widespread electric vehicle adoption in the aftermath of the country’s ban on imports of new fossil fuel cars (a global first!).
These trends underscore what is fast becoming apparent in the aftermath of the global energy crisis created by the consequences of the U.S. and Israel’s illegal war in Iran. Ending the era of fossil fuels is not just good for the environment: it is an economic and energy security imperative for countries around the world.
This global context is exactly why the discussions in Santa Marta taking place are so pivotal. From signs that a super El Niño is brewing in the Pacific Ocean, to a historically low snowpack across the American West, to increasingly worrying signs of slowdown in the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (a critical and potentially irreversible climate tipping point), our planet is increasingly telling us that there is no time to waste.
But just because a transition is happening, does not guarantee it will be just. There are no global protections for workers in fossil fuel industries who have fought time and again for fair union contracts and essential protections from some of the richest corporations on the planet. There is no guarantee that new industries that seek to control the critical minerals that are essential to new technologies will respect the rights of communities whose lands hold these resources, or even abide by the basic principles of Free, Prior and Informed Consent of Indigenous Communities that is enshrined in the legal codes of numerous states and indeed in the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.
Ultimately, we need a transition off fossil fuels that does not simply substitute one source of energy with another. The Santa Marta conference is a critical opportunity for governments to not only chart a path forward to phase out fossil fuels, but to initiate a transition from an economic system that centers greed, violence and destruction to one that centers life through care, repair and regeneration. This is what USCAN, our members and global social movements who gathered for the Peoples Summit for a Fossil Free Future this past week are demanding at Santa Marta and beyond.
To the governments meeting in Santa Marta - and to our elected leaders back home: we demand a Just Transition Now!
Interested to learn more about a Just Transition and the conversations happening on the ground in Santa Marta?
Read the People’s Declaration for a Rapid, Equitable, and Just Transition for a Fossil-Free Future released yesterday at the People’s Summit in Santa Marta
Follow USCAN and CAN-International on instagram
Follow and support the work of our friends at Just Transition Alliance. Their Just Transition principles are a great resource to learn more about what a truly just transition looks like!
Join or organize an actions locally with this toolkit from the People’s Summit for a Fossil-Free Future
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