Revolusolar participates in the 1st International Conference on the Transition Away from Fossil Fuels

Held in Santa Marta, Colombia, from April 24 to 29, the event is one of the first multilateral spaces for coordination after COP30, bringing together governments, scientists, researchers, civil society organizations, and experts to advance the implementation of concrete actions to phase out fossil fuels.

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The hosting of COP30 in November 2025 ended with an outcome that frustrated a significant number of participating countries: the final negotiation text did not establish explicit targets for the complete phase-out of fossil fuels. However, this scenario also created a historic moment: more than 80 countries openly supported the need for a global roadmap for the transition, and COP30 President André Corrêa do Lago announced that the Brazilian presidency would develop, outside the formal negotiation process, a “Roadmap” for the transition away from fossil fuels in Brazil.

Still during COP30, Colombia and the Netherlands announced that they would co-host the 1st International Conference on the Transition Away from Fossil Fuels, as a direct response to the silence of the final COP text. The choice of Santa Marta as the host city is no coincidence: this Colombian port city has historically played a key role in coal exports, embodying the very contradiction the conference seeks to address. In this context, governments, scientists, researchers, civil society organizations, and social movements come together to discuss and develop documents with concrete proposals to advance this global agenda.

As part of its participation, Revolusolar produced three technical documents with formal proposals and recommendations for the international process of building the global transition roadmap.

The first document is Revolusolar’s formal contribution to the Roadmap for the Transition Away from Fossil Fuels, developed through a public consultation process led by the Brazilian COP30 presidency. The document directly addresses the roadmap’s structural questions — barriers to transition, acceleration levers, reference experiences (including Revolusolar’s own, demonstrating that it is possible to combine decarbonization with the inclusion of vulnerable populations), and equity among countries — and argues that the roadmap must recognize community energy as a key instrument for a just and inclusive transition.

The second document compiles proposals for the People’s Summit, the civil society space within the global climate agenda, focusing on ensuring that the voices of communities and directly affected populations are present and represented in global discussions.

The third is an official contribution to a joint consultation and co-creation process with the Colombian government. The document is expected to integrate the positions of participating organizations into a state-level document, an approach that reflects exactly the type of process Revolusolar advocates for: not just consultation, but the shared construction of solutions.

During the conference, Revolusolar is also distributing a strategic one-pager that synthesizes its proposals, translating technical recommendations into clear priorities for international debate.

"The discussion has moved from 'if' to 'how.' And that is exactly where Revolusolar has a lot to contribute, we have a decade of experience demonstrating, in practice, that a just and inclusive energy transition is possible." — Graziella Albuquerque, Director of Institutional and Government Relations at Revolusolar.

The message the organization brings to Santa Marta is grounded in direct experience, built over a decade of work in vulnerable territories in Brazil: it is not possible to advance the energy transition without placing the most affected people and communities at the center. Without this, the transition will continue to reproduce inequalities rather than address the root of the problem. The world is already experiencing the effects of this crisis, and these populations feel them most intensely and immediately. New solutions must be designed WITH and FOR these communities.

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Community Energy as a Tool for a Just Transition

Although renewable energy technologies are expanding rapidly, millions of people still live in energy poverty, whether due to lack of access, poor quality, or because they spend a significant portion of their income on electricity. In Brazil, low-income families spend up to 18% of their monthly income on energy, highlighting that the expansion of renewable sources alone does not guarantee energy justice.

In this context, Revolusolar argues that community energy models, such as solar cooperatives and decentralized generation initiatives in underserved areas, must be recognized as strategic tools to enable a just energy transition.

This means treating access to energy as a right, ensuring community leadership, and guaranteeing that the benefits of the transition are distributed equitably.

The debate emerging after COP30 is no longer about targets, but about choices. And in this scenario, initiatives like Revolusolar point to a possible path: one in which the energy transition not only reduces emissions but also addresses historical inequalities.

To learn more, access our full Roadmap here, or our one-pager here.