Imagine a Fossil Fuel Free Future – Join us in Colombia!

What would the world look like if fossil fuels were no longer at the center of our economies? 

Cleaner air, quieter cities, energy systems powered by forces that have existed for billions of years. Homes, no matter how remote, connected to reliable electricity, and public health improving as pollution declines. 

This is not a distant utopia: as former UN Climate Chief Christiana Figueres has argued, this transition is already underway. The question is no longer whether a fossil fuel-free future is possible, but how quickly it can be realized. From 24 to 29 April 2026, the International Conference on the Just Transition Away from Fossil Fuels in Santa Marta, Colombia, is positioned as a stepping stone toward a concrete global roadmap out of fossil fuels, and through the lens of the Rights of Nature (RoN), we explore what a fossil-fuel-free future could look like as a profound transformation in how societies relate to the living Earth.

In the wake of the limited outcomes of COP30 in delivering clear commitments on fossil fuel phase-out, the conference seeks to advance a more concrete and justice-oriented roadmap grounded in law, equity, and the protection of ecosystems.

The real cost of fossil fuels

For more than a century, fossil fuels have powered industrial development and structured the global economy. Burning coal, oil and gas remains the primary driver of climate change,  while associated air pollution contributes to millions of premature deaths annually. Extractive activities, including drilling, mining and pipeline development, degrade ecosystems, contaminate water sources and accelerate biodiversity loss. These impacts are distributed unequally: Indigenous peoples, frontline communities and low-income populations face disproportionate exposure, while economic benefits remain concentrated among a small number of actors. Fossil fuels also contribute to geopolitical instability, petrochemical pollution such as plastics, and increasing pressure on Earth systems approaching critical tipping points. Taken together, these dynamics explain why the fossil fuel economy is increasingly identified as a central driver of the climate, biodiversity, public health and environmental justice crises of our time.

Just one example among an extensive body of evidence:  studies published in Environmental Research¹ estimate that exposure to fossil fuel-related pollution alone is responsible for roughly five million premature deaths annually. In many urban areas, air quality has become one of the most significant public health risks of our time.

From imagination to action: Envisioning a Fossil-Fuel Free Future (4F’s)

Imagine a world where the economic structures that once drove the fossil fuel industry no longer concentrate wealth while leaving communities to bear the costs of pollution, ill health and climate disruption. In such a world, the connection between the Rights of Nature and human rights is fully recognized: protecting the Earth becomes inseparable from protecting human life. The climate crisis is no longer treated as distinct from public health or social justice, but understood as part of the same systemic reality. Governance shifts beyond narrow anthropocentric frameworks toward an ecocentric approach, where ecosystems are recognized as rights-bearing entities. Decision-making prioritizes prevention over remediation, ensuring that ecosystems can thrive in their own right, with human wellbeing emerging as a consequence of that balance.

You might think: too utopian, right? Recent research² demonstrates that imagining positive, fossil-fuel-free futures can significantly increase public support for climate action and opposition to extractive projects. These findings align with a broader body of work in environmental psychology on “constructive hope” and the role of utopian imagination in driving engagement, showing that such approaches can move individuals beyond fatalism and toward active support for viable alternatives to extractivist systems

Leveraging momentum in the fossil fuel phase-out

Despite decades of international climate negotiations, fossil fuel production continues to expand. Governments continue to provide massive support to the sector: according to the International Monetary Fund, global fossil fuel subsidies – including unpriced environmental and health costs-remained at around $7.4 trillion in 2024, with approximately $725 billion in direct fiscal support alone. This sustained level of support continues to reinforce the very system driving the climate crisis, even as the political landscape begins to shift.

Across the Amazon and other frontline regions, Indigenous peoples and local communities have long resisted fossil fuel expansion. These are not recent responses to climate change, but decades-long struggles to defend territories, cultures and ecosystems. During mobilizations linked to global climate processes in Belém, Brazil, tens of thousands of people gathered to demand an end to the fossil fuel era and respect for Indigenous rights. At the same time, riverine and Indigenous leaders travelled along the Tapajós River in a collective mobilization known as the Barqueata, where hundreds of boats united to call for protection of the Amazon and an end to destructive oil and agribusiness expansion.

Adopted in 2023, the Indigenous Peoples’ Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples to Protect the Climate states: “The extraction, transportation, and consumption of fossil fuels has caused serious harm to the land, air, water and all forms of life.”

Ending the fossil fuel era is therefore not only a technical or diplomatic challenge. It raises a deeper question about how societies understand their relationship with the natural world. For centuries, legal systems have treated Nature as property, with forests, rivers and ecosystems regulated as resources to be used or managed. The Rights of Nature framework proposes a fundamentally different approach: recognizing ecosystems as living entities with inherent rights to exist, regenerate and evolve.

The Global Alliance for the Rights of Nature (GARN) and the International Rights of Nature Tribunal have played a central role in advancing this legal and ethical shift across jurisdictions and international forums. Rather than asking how much extraction ecosystems can tolerate, the Rights of Nature perspective asks whether certain forms of extraction should occur at all.

This perspective is deeply rooted in Indigenous worldviews, particularly in the Amazon, where communities understand humans as part of a broader community of life. Indigenous leaders consistently emphasize that the Earth is not a commodity but a relative, and within this framework, protecting rivers, forests, and biodiversity is inseparable from protecting human life itself.

The Amazon illustrates why this shift is critical. Beneath some of the most biodiverse ecosystems on Earth lie significant oil reserves. Their extraction would introduce roads, pipelines, deforestation and contamination into fragile territories that sustain Indigenous cultures and exist as living systems with the right to remain intact and regenerate.

For many communities, defending the forest therefore requires keeping fossil fuels underground. As Kichwa climate advocate Nina Gualinga warns: “The future of this place is being threatened by oil extraction.”

What a Fossil-Fuel-Free Future (4F’s) looks like through the Rights of Nature lens

Recent developments demonstrate that alternative pathways are possible. In 2023, Ecuadorians approved a historic national referendum halting oil drilling in Yasuní National Park, keeping approximately one billion barrels of oil underground to protect the rainforest and Indigenous peoples living there. The decision reflects a growing recognition that safeguarding ecosystems’ inherent rights is essential for both biodiversity and planetary stability.

A fossil-fuel-free future, viewed through the Rights of Nature lens, would diverge fundamentally from the extractive model of the twentieth century. Ecosystems currently treated as sacrifice zones (rainforests, coastal waters, Arctic regions) would begin to recover. Urban environments would become quieter and healthier as pollution declines, reflecting the recovery of surrounding ecosystems and their restored capacity to function. Energy systems would decentralize, enabling communities to generate power locally from renewable sources rather than relying on distant extraction. Economic systems would shift from depletion toward regeneration, ecological restoration and community wellbeing, operating within the boundaries set by the rights of their ecosystems.

Governance would also evolve. Indigenous peoples and local communities would play a central role as stewards of their territories, drawing on generations of ecological knowledge. Legal systems would increasingly recognize the rights of ecosystems, enabling their protection within institutional frameworks: not primarily through litigation, but through preventive governance.

A concrete example is the Te Awa Tupua (Whanganui River Claims Settlement) Act 2017 in New Zealand, which recognizes the Whanganui River as a legal person. The law establishes guardians (Te Pou Tupua) to represent the river’s interests, embedding its health and integrity into decision-making processes. Governance is shared between Māori leadership and the state, reflecting a relational understanding of the river as a living whole. Rather than relying on litigation after harm has occurred, this framework prioritizes representation, dialogue and co-governance, as reflected in analyses of the Whanganui River settlement (e.g. The Guardian, 2017; Heinrich Böll Foundation). This model demonstrates how environmental governance can move beyond reactive “polluter-pays” approaches toward preventive justice.

These efforts also reshape emotional responses to the climate crisis. While public discourse often centres on fear and eco-anxiety, these emotions can be redirected toward collective action. As cultural theorist Sara Ahmed argues, emotions circulate socially and shape how futures are imagined. When climate fear is transformed into care, solidarity and responsibility, it becomes a force for mobilisation rather than paralysis.

Imagining a fossil-fuel-free future is therefore not only about replacing energy systems. It is about rehearsing new relationships between humans and the Earth. Shifting from isolation toward interdependence, from extraction toward stewardship.

Conclusion 

The transition away from fossil fuels is not merely technological or economic. It is legal, cultural and relational. It involves redefining humanity’s place within the web of life.

The question facing governments is no longer whether the fossil fuel era must end. Scientific evidence, Indigenous leadership, grassroots mobilisation and emerging legal frameworks increasingly point in that direction.

The question is whether societies will move fast enough to build what comes next. 

Join us April 24-29 in Santa Marta, Colombia, towards a fossil fuel-free future grounded in the Rights of Mother Earth. Follow the evolution of this exciting journey on our website and social media.

¹ Vohra, K., Vodonos, A., Schwartz, J., Marais, E. A., Sulprizio, M. P., & Mickley, L. J. (2021). Global mortality from outdoor fine particle pollution generated by fossil fuel combustion: Results from GEOS-Chem. Environmental Research, 195, 110754

² The Conversation (2025), Imagining what the world could look like without fossil fuels spurs people to action, based on research by Michael T. Schmitt and Annika E. Lutz. / Thomas J. Smith, research on “constructive hope” in environmental psychology. / Rebecca Solnit (2016), Hope in the Dark: Untold Histories, Wild Possibilities.