Editor’s choice
Editor’s choice
SEI experts will join the First Conference on Transitioning Away from Fossil Fuels, taking place in Santa Marta, Colombia, from 24–29 April – a milestone moment to accelerate equitable evidence-based pathways towards a fossil-free future.
SEI’s engagement will focus on practical approaches to managing fossil fuel transitions in ways that are both effective and inclusive. The delegation will advance research insights on just transitions, economic diversification in fossil-fuel-dependent regions, air quality, health, urban methane mitigation and international cooperation.
“Phasing out fossil fuels isn’t just an environmental imperative; it’s also a buffer against geopolitical shocks,” says Derik Broekhoff, Senior Scientist at SEI’s US Centre. “Every investment in clean energy is an investment in stability, societal resilience and national security. Delaying this investment is a false economy, as fossil fuels face heightened supply risks and clean energy technologies continue to break records for availability and cost effectiveness.”
SEI is an official partner of the academic component of the conference, the Global Science and Policy Conference on Transitioning Away from Fossil Fuels, where SEI experts will contribute to topics including roadmaps for transitioning away from fossil fuels, economic and labor transitions, gender in just transitions and more. SEI experts will also participate in other parallel events on central topics, such as the energy transition’s effects on women, children and Indigenous communities.
“The urgency of energy transition is no longer abstract,” says Elisa Arond, Senior Research Fellow at SEI Latin America in Colombia. “Across the world – and concretely here in Colombia – fossil fuel phase-out is an economic and social transformation already underway, with major consequences and impacts experienced unevenly across different communities. Now is the time to act and plan to ensure the most vulnerable are supported and equipped to take part in these decision-making processes.”
Below is the delegation list, including areas of expertise, languages and dates on-site in Santa Marta. For further guidance, and to reach experts who are not on site, please contact SEI’s media contacts.
Topics: just transitions, gender and just transitions, economic diversification in fossil-fuel-dependent regions, carbon lock-in, critical minerals, Latin America, South-South cooperation
Languages: English, Spanish
Topics: gender-energy nexus, gender in coal mining and its phase-out, gender studies, intersectionality, environmental planning, policymaking
Languages: Spanish, English, Portuguese
Topics: Production Gap Report, just energy transitions, Fossil Fuel Atlas (fossil fuel production data, social and environmental impacts), energy modelling, carbon inequality, alternative futures, equitable climate finance, decarbonization in the US
Languages: English
Topics: gender-energy nexus, mine closure, coal phase-out, equity, just energy transitions, socio-environmental conflicts
Languages: Spanish, English
Topics: Air quality and climate change mitigation, health benefits, energy transitions
Languages: Spanish
Topics: Fossil Fuel Atlas (fossil fuel production data, social and environmental impacts)
Languages: English
Topics: renewable energy, just transitions, economic diversification
Languages: English, Spanish
Topics: just transitions, economic diversification in fossil-fuel-dependent regions, international cooperation
Languages: English
For more on SEI’s recent fossil fuels and just transitions research, visit our conference event page.
Tool / This web-based platform tracks fossil fuel infrastructure development and enables users to evaluate potential threats to ecosystems and communities.
Project / Experts at SEI US and Argentina's National University of Comahue track the environmental threats fracking wells pose in the Vaca Muerta region.
Tool / Anajia Guajira is a mapping and communication platform to foster a just transition to renewable energy in La Guajira, Colombia.
Perspective / Wanaporn Yangyuentham reflects on why "climate weeks" like Yeosu are turning climate pledges into delivery on the ground.
SEI report / Coordinated regional and global responses can ensure that electrification supports a just transition, with regard to e-waste and battery recycling.
Media coverage / SEI’s Maria Nkhonjera noted that reforming international credit ratings could allow energy projects in Africa to reach their potential.
