Fossil Fuel Transition Talks Must Address Militaries

Apr 20, 2026 | Ellie Kinney
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The global energy crisis triggered by the Israeli-US war against Iran has catapulted the relationship between militarism, armed conflict and fossil fuels into the spotlight. Attacks on oil and gas infrastructure, a trend that has become worryingly normalised in recent years, have indiscriminately exposed civilians to pollution, and breached international law. Meanwhile, the closure of the Strait of Hormuz exposed the vulnerability of countries dependent on imported fossil fuels, and impacted consumers globally. The message couldn’t be clearer: there is no security in our fossil fuel dependency.

This month, governments, civil society and academia will meet in Santa Marta for the First Conference on Transitioning Away from Fossil Fuels. Hosted by Colombia and the Netherlands, the conference aims to accelerate the global energy transition. It was announced in November 2025 just as COP30 declared its failure to agree on the need to phase out fossil fuels. COP30’s failure reflected the weakness of climate action by consensus, where vested national interests can block progress. Those behind the conference are mindful of how earlier independent diplomatic processes have been used to reach agreements on land mines, cluster munitions and nuclear weapons, bypassing consensus bodies locked in stalemate. 

The conference is structured around three key pillars: advancing international cooperation; overcoming economic dependence; and transforming fossil fuel supply and demand. Conflicts and security are a thread that should weave through all three; from the way that transition plans are already being derailed by illegal wars — Colombia’s own ambitious plans are under pressure — to the fossil fuels fuelling the world’s militaries, to any transition’s impact on the stability of fossil fuel producing economies, and to the scramble for critical mineral resources. In today’s unpredictable world, it’s vital that we ask how a new climate framework could support a peaceful and sustainable future.