On the Just Transition: A Colombian Perspective
April 29, 2026 12:19 pm
Colombian coffee and Dutch stroopwafels – representing the co-hosts of the Santa Marta conference In mid-April 2026, JPITs denominational leaders signed a letter asking Ed Miliband to attend First Conference on the Transition Away from Fossil Fuels. Held in Santa Marta, Colombia, the conference is a key opportunity for delegates from the Global North and South to gather and begin the technical preparation for a roadmap to promote a Just Transition away from Fossil Fuels that is Fast, Fair and Funded. Colombia, like many nations especially those in the Global South, relies on revenue from its fossil fuel exports for its development. An orderly and just transition is vital to prevent climate catastrophe without plunging millions into poverty. This is a task Colombian civil society, including faith based partners of JPITs denominations, are working hard to achieve. Below, we publish a discussion, between Thomas Niblett, JPIT Intern, and Félix Posada Rojas, co-director of ECLAC, the Popular Ecumenical Centre for Latin American Communication, a global partner of the Methodist Church in Great Britian. ECLAC provides training in communications and use of media to promote human rights for impoverished and excluded populations in Colombian society. Understanding the earth as our common home, with water, forests and soils that require protection from exploitation for minerals and land, is core to ECLAC’s work. See the end of the conversation for more information about Felix and ECLAC. Felix outlines the environmental and economic issues impacting the Colombians they work with, focusing on the resource extraction vital to the economy of Colombia and many countries in the Global South. Coal and emerald mining and charcoal production lead to ill health, dangerous conditions and poor wages. The poverty and inequality that results is exacerbated by the involvement of criminal gangs and paramilitaries, impacting the government’s efforts to diversify the economy away from extractive exports. Felix states that to achieve a true Just Transition for everyday Colombians, especially the most vulnerable, more funding from international sources is needed to enable grassroots organisations such as CEPALC to work effectively. He highlights that many organisations have failed to adequality represent Colombians in local, national and international contexts, and an embrace of grassroots participation work through community education is essential for an inclusive transition away from fossil fuels and the extractive economy they are part of. For Christians in western countries supporting Climate Justice work, we have to come to terms with that fact that diching fossil fuels and embracing renewables is a task requiring more than technical changes to the energy system. Britain has now arguably decoupled carbon emissions from economic growth, and is likely to have a fossil free electricity system in the near future. But for countries in the Global South, the path to future development must include a Fossil Fuel Treaty that covers the technical path to transition, and also affirms the crucial role of civil society, including faith groups, in educating, engaging and leading the transition on the ground. The climate crisis, and our call to social justice work, is global, and we must learn from our Global South partners how to internationalise the transition. Thank you very much to Felix for this vital discussion on what a Just Transition away from fossil fuels requires on the ground. You can read Félix’s reflection on Land Justice and how this impacts rural poverty and environmental injustice. This is a guest blog and does not necessarily reflect the views of JPIT or our partner denominations Félix’s words have been translated from Spanish. Thank you to Sandra Lopez, Partnership Coordinator for the Americas, Methodist Church of Great Britain, for facilitating. To support partners like CEPLAC, You can support the World Mission Fund of the Methodist Church and to the global work of JPITs other denominations, the URC’s Commitment for Life, Baptist World Mission and the Church of Scotland’s Global Partnerships. Thomas: What is the extractive economy like for the people ECLAC work with Félix: For some years now we have been accompanying children’s and youth groups in coal and emerald mining areas in the department of Boyacá in the central-eastern part of the country. Coal mining occurs through two processes: excavation of mines where the mineral is extracted under precarious and highly dangerous conditions , endangering the health and lives of the workers. Families in these areas depend on mining for their livelihood, and from a very young age, forced by economic circumstances, teenagers are compelled to become miners , earning meager wages. Wages that don’t reflect the demands of the job. In fact, it’s rare to find a family that doesn’t have members who have died, been disabled by rockfalls, or suffered serious respiratory problems from the coal dust that gets into the workers’ lungs. There are no job security or social security guarantees in these regions. Accidents in the mines, which are very frequent, are treated by employers and authorities as unforeseen events that do not warrant investigation or compensation. In the grassroots groups we have supported, there has been participation from young people who have worked in the mines and are affected by serious respiratory illnesses. Another method for producing charcoal is burning wood extracted from neighboring forests. These fires last for several days and are generally carried out by young teenagers under the direction of adults. The search for wood has decimated a large portion of the forests and polluted the water and air in these regions. Many children not only suffer from gastrointestinal illnesses due to the poor water quality but are also affected by malnutrition, a consequence of the poverty and misery endured by their families. The emerald mining areas located in western Boyacá department have traditionally been dominated by businessmen who have armed groups at their service and who, in practice, impose law and order in these regions. This law and order have nothing to do with the Constitution of the Republic of Colombia and respect for the rights of groups. Conflicts often arise among the mining companies, leading to murders, […]
