From Sierra Nevada to the Sea.
Santa Marta, Colombia — Today, the salt air of Santa Marta mixed with the rhythmic chants of hundreds as a vibrant “March for a Fossil Free Future” surged through the city’s historic center. Local residents, Afro-descendants, women, youth, international movements and Indigenous Peoples from the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta joined global civil society and climate justice activists in a powerful display of unity, timed to coincide with the arrival of delegates to the First Conference on Transitioning Away from Fossil Fuels.
The mobilization began at the SENA Commercial hub and moved down the Avenida Ferrocarril, transforming one of the city’s main arteries into a sea of banners before reaching its final destination at the iconic Plaza de Bolívar.
The mobilization’s core demands include a total fossil fuel phase-out that dismantles the structures of capitalism and colonialism responsible for the climate crisis, prioritizing the sovereignty of Indigenous and Afrodescendant communities, a rejection of corporate-led false solutions like carbon capture, calling instead for a transition rooted in reparations and care, and an end to the militarism that fuels resource wars.
Organizers emphasized that the journey from the SENA to the Plaza de Bolívar represents a transition out of the legacy of fossil fuel extraction toward a sustainable, fossil-free future that prioritizes both people and the planet.
