SANTA MARTA - MOMENTUM
CLIMATE ACTION SHOWJUNE 22nd 2026Produced by Vivien Langford S A N T A M A R T A M O M E N T U M & S E T B A C KGuestsProfessor Elisa Morgera U.N. Special Rapporteur on Climate Change and Human rightsShe is Professor of International Law and Sustainability at Durham University (UK) and Professor in International and European Union Environmental Law at the University of Eastern Finland. Her Report to UN 2025https://www.durham.ac.uk/research/institutes-and-centres/csdlp/news-and-events/news/2025/elisa-morgera-report-on-energy-transition-at-the-unga/ Stientje van Veldhoven - Netherlands Climate MinisterDescribing the talks as an "accelerator of work", she stated that Santa Marta provided an essential, informal space to collaborate and solve problems without the "de facto vetoes" that often stall formal U.N. (COP) negotiations. Irene Velez Torres - Colombia Environment MinisterShe criticized governments for listening to "disinformation and lobbying" and argued that the Santa Marta talks were designed to close the growing gap between science and political decision-making. Ana Carolina Gonzalez Espinosa - A prominent Climate Leader in Latin AmericaShe serves as the Senior Program Director at the Natural Resource Governance Institute (NRGI) and is a well-known associate researcher at the Universidad Externado de Colombia. Juan Carlos Monterrey Gomez - Panama As Panama’s first Special Representative for Climate Change, he became the youngest lead negotiator in UN history at age 28. President of Colombia Gustavo Petro - He made decarbonization and anti-extractivism central to his governance, advancing the global phase-out of fossil fuels, campaigning for a Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty, and committing Colombia to a 51% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2030.He committed to stopping new oil, coal, and gas exploration contracts, attempting to break Colombia's historic dependence on resource extraction Fergus Green - 2015 Interview from 3CR Archive in celebration of its 50th birthday and contribution to public education on climate actionHe is now Associate Professor, University College LondonConsultant - climate change policy, law and politicsIn 2015 just before the Paris Climate Conference Fergus spoke to me at Melbourne University about phasing out fossil fuels. His example of the successful 1989 diplomatic initiative, led by Prime Minister Bob Hawke (alongside French Prime Minister Michel Rocard), to stop mining in Antarctica is still a beacon today.By Fergus Greenhttps://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/american-political-science-review/article/how-to-get-coal-country-to-vote-for-climate-policy-the-effect-of-a-just-transition-agreement-on-spanish-election-results/25FE7B96445E74387D598087649FDCC3 BREAKING NEWSThe news that the Colombian Government is now in the hands of a Trump Ally is a real setback for many of the gains made by Gustavo Petro's Government. "Abelardo de la Espriella, the apparent winner of the presidential election, has vowed to expand oil, gas and mining production". I wonder what will happen to all the talent flowering at the Santa Marta Conference. See the previous programmes on Santa Marta in the Climate Action Podcast list to know which voices are out of power..... for the moment.https://insideclimatenews.org/news/22062026/colombia-de-la-espriella-presidency-fracking-projects/Background to achievement of outgoing Colombian President Gustavo PetroHe spearheaded regional efforts to protect the Amazon rainforest, hosting global summits to prevent the biome from reaching an ecological "point of no return. In today's speech he mentions the rivers in the sky which brings water from forest transpiration to the uplands of the Andes. The severe drought of 2024/25 raised awareness of the results of deforestation in the Amazon.https://blogs.worldbank.org/en/latinamerica/mantenerse-unidos-tiempos-crisis-lecciones-gestion-sequias-bogota
