Santa Marta Conference on Transitioning Away from Fossil Fuels
May 2026
We, parliamentarians engaged in the Parliamentary Chapter of the Santa Marta Conference, welcome the commitment of 57 countries to advance the transition away from fossil fuels. Santa Marta marks a shift from ambition to implementation.
This transition will only succeed if it is anchored in binding legislation, aligned public budgets, effective oversight, and truly represents peoples and their communities. Parliaments are central to this effort. We legislate, approve budgets, and hold governments and democracy accountable. Without this, commitments will not endure.
The Conference confirms that the main barriers are structural. Many countries remain dependent on fossil fuel revenues and constrained by debt and financial systems that reinforce fossil fuel growth. This is not only an energy transition. It is a fundamental social, economic and fiscal transformation.
We welcome the focus on fiscal reform and subsidy reform, particularly to support communities. Financial systems must expand fiscal space, not deepen debt. Public finance must progressively shift away from fossil fuels and toward sustainable systems. The costs of transition must not fall disproportionately on public budgets or on countries facing structural constraints . The private sector must be involved and pay for this transition, especially on territories that suffer the impact of their investments.
We note that the transition must extend across the whole economy, including industry, housing and urban Development, transport, and petrochemicals. Reducing dependence requires action across entire value chains, not only energy systems.
Financial and legal frameworks continue to constrain progress. Financial systems, trade rules, and international agreements and treaties must be aligned with transition goals. National policy space must be protected, and accountability for financial flows must be strengthened .
We emphasize the importance of advancing new international commitments and treaties to complement the Paris Agreement. Collective action must remain aligned with the goal of limiting global temperature rise to 1.5°C.
We recognize that countries face different circumstances. There is no single pathway. The transition must be equitable, inclusive, and supported by accessible and non-debt-inducing finance.
However, progress will not happen on its own. Those with the greatest responsibility and capacity must lead and engage in meaningful economic cooperation to support countries facing structural constraints.
Santa Marta has moved the global conversation forward. The task now is to deliver laws, budgets, and implementation. We commit to advancing legislation, strengthening oversight, and working across borders to accelerate action.
The transition is underway, but it is not yet secured. Its success depends on whether it is implemented, financed fairly, and sustained politically over time.
Parliamentarians stand ready to act.
Signatories for Santa Marta Declaration
- Hon. Rosa Galvez, Senator, Canada
- Hon. Lukas Hammer, Member of Parliament, Austria
- Hon. Juan Carlos Lozada, Member of Parliament, Colombia
- Hon. Laura Ballesteros, Member of Parliament, Mexico
- Hon. Tarcísio Motta, Member of Parliament, Brazil
- Hon. Daniel Senderos Oraá, Member of Parliament, Spain
- Hon. Krista Mikkonen, Member of Parliament, Finland
- Hon. Sophie McNeill, Member of the Western Australian Legislative Council, Australia
- Hon. Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad, Member of Parliament, Malaysia
- Tasmanian Greens Members of Parliament
- Hon. Rosalie Woodruff, Leader of the Tasmanian Greens Party and Member of Parliament
- Hon. Tabatha Badger, Member of Parliament
- Hon. Cassy O’Connor, Member of Parliament
- Hon. Vica Bayley, Member of Parliament
- Hon. Cecily Rosol, Member of Parliament
- Hon. Larissa Waters, Senator for Queensland and Leader of the Australian Greens, Australia
- Hon. Lidia Thorpe, Independent Senator for Victoria, Australia
- Hon. Steph Hodgins-May, Senator for Victoria, Australian Greens, Australia
- Hon. Ruth Luque, Congresswoman, Peru
- Baroness Natalie Bennett, Member of the House of Lords, United Kingdom
- Hon. Marie Toussaint, Member of the European Parliament and Vice-President of the Greens/EFA Group
- Baroness Jenny Jones of Moulsecoomb, Member of the House of Lords, United Kingdom
- Hon. Ralph Regenvanu, Member of Parliament, Vanuatu
- Hon. Sjoukje van Oosterhout, Member of Parliament, Progressive Netherlands (PRO), Netherlands
- Hon. Martin Günther, Member of the European Parliament
- Green Party Members of Parliament, United Kingdom:
- Hon. Ellie Chowns, Member of Parliament
- Hon. Carla Denyer, Member of Parliament
- Hon. Adrian Ramsay, Member of Parliament
- Hon. Siân Berry, Member of Parliament
- Hon. Richard Burgon, Member of Parliament, United Kingdom
- Hon. Dawda Jeng, Member of Parliament, The Gambia
- Hon. Rebecca Yei Kamara, Member of Parliament, Sierra Leone
- Hon. Nafisa Shah, Member of Parliament, Pakistan
- Hon. Anthony Kasandwe, Member of Parliament, Zambia
- Hon. Cecilia Requena, Member of Parliament, Bolivia
- Hon. Mercy Barends, Member of Parliament, Indonesia
- Hon. Esther Matiko, Member of Parliament, Tanzania
- Hon. Renee L. Co, Member of Parliament, Philippines
- Hon. Francisco Guerreiro, Former Member of the European Parliament, Portugal
- Dr. Josep “Pep” Puig i Boix, Former Member of the Parliament of Catalonia, Spain