Transition to Transformation: A Faithful Roadmap to Moving Away from Fossil Fuels
The First International Conference for Transitioning Away from Fossil Fuels is taking place in Santa Marta, Colombia, on April 25-29, and it is providing the world an opportunity to determine boldly and in practical terms what needs to be in place to accelerate a just transition.
In what is already a participative and divinely chaotic process, Colombia and the Netherlands invited governments and civil society to gather, and so far, more than 50 governments are confirmed along with thousands of youth, women, Indigenous peoples, afro descendants, farmers, fisherfolk, unions, private companies, scientists, and faith-based organizations, among others.
This is a coalition of the doing. No group denies the need for an accelerated transition away from fossil fuels to avert the worst of the climate crisis; where some groups do diverge is in the how, with whom, and for whom.
Indigenous leaders from the Global South point out that changing one energy source for another without transforming the power structure, consumerist lifestyle and other structural inequalities that exacerbate existing injustices and led us to the climate crisis, masks the collapse of ecosystems, continues to sacrifice territories in the name of progress, and creates new victims.
The extraction of coal, gas, and oil in many regions aggravates conflicts and deepens social inequality, but so now does new demand for mineral extraction, in regions such as South Asia, Africa (DRC), and Latin America (Lithium Triangle).
The roadmap to a just transition demands we unpack our ideas of progress and development. Otherwise, in the name of renewable energy, we may shift from one harmful extractive model based on fossil fuels to another based on rare minerals.
Young people participating, echoing the Earth Charter, propose social protections and mechanisms to guide the transition that prioritize caring for the community of life before profit.
The Manifesto of the Catholic Churches of Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean, note that climate change is also the result of unsustainable patterns of production and consumption. Fossil fuel is a threat, alongside an economic system that exacerbates the damage, and affects vulnerable communities the most.
The Latin American Climate Justice and Faith Network is echoing the words of the Interfaith Liaison Committee:
More than transition, we need transformation. A transformation that is socio-ecological, spiritual, and civilizational. That breaks with the idolatry of capital and with a false multilateralism captured by corporations and geopolitical interests. That defends the rights of peoples and of nature, and that builds democracy and sovereignty from the ground up.
The real urgency, more than the need to shift from one energy source to another, lies in how we transform our human relationships, and our ways with Earth.
This urgency knocks on the doors of communities of faith and impells us to support the work in Santa Marta and beyond. We are called to find each other and together to promote an ethic of relationality and an eco-spirituality that celebrates the sacredness of life on Earth, reconciliation among religions and peoples, and the strengthening of community initiatives and collective rights, to contribute to a holistic, solidarity-based, and people-centered Transition.
To find more information on proposals to create a just transition go to:
Latin American Climate Justice Network Declaration before the Santa Marta Conference: https://otroscruces.org/posicion-de-la-red-de-fe-por-la-justicia-climatica-frente-a-la-conferencia-mas-alla-de-los-combustible-fosiles-en-santa-marta-colombia/
Manifesto of the Churches of the Global South for our common home: https://repositorio.celam.org/files/original/3288/Iglesia_Sur_Global_manifiesto_ENG.pdf
The Fossil Fuel Treaty Initiative: https://www.fossilfueltreaty.org/
Churches and Mining Network:
https://iglesiasymineria.org/campana-desinversion-en-mineria/
https://www.maryknollmagazine.org/2022/05/churches-and-mining-network-calls-for-solidarity/
Rev. Dr. Neddy Astudillo is the Coordinator of the Spanish Climate Justice and Faith Certificate Program at the Pacific Lutheran Theological Seminary. [email protected]
About the Author:
Rev. Dr. Neddy Astudillo, Eco-theologian, Presbyterian pastor, Coordinator of the Climate Justice and Faith Spanish online program at Pacific Lutheran Theological Seminary
Additional Resources:
Watch the 2026 American Climate Leadership Awards
Join the Campaign: One Home One Future
Mental Health and Our Changing Climate: Children and Youth Report 2023