"This is exactly why this conference matters now," said former Irish President Mary Robinson, who is attending the meeting as a founding member of The Elders group of former world leaders."The urgency is multiplied. What's happening has worsened the fossil fuel crisis we're already in."The dramatic events in the Straits of Hormuz and elsewhere are impacting the choices people are making about energy consumption."I've just stepped off an advisory board meeting with Mercedes-Benz, and they expressed what's happening as a success - a sharp rise in demand for electric vehicles in Europe," Prof Rockström said."People are recognising they want energy independence - they don't want to be in the hands of a volatile oil and gas market."The emergence of this new "coalition of the willing" raises questions about whether it represents a shift away from the COP process altogether."Ultimately you don't need all countries to drive global progress. You need a starting point," said Katerine Petersen from think tank E3G, who is attending the meeting."Then you need a coalition that can expand over time and show how it can and will be useful.
And I think that's what we're expecting to see from Santa Marta."The organisers stress that this meeting is not an alternative to COP, but see it as playing a key role in reviving that process.Some of the leaders of the Brazilian COP will be in attendance in Santa Marta and the main conclusions agreed there will become part of Brazil's roadmap away from fossil fuels that the country has said it will publish before COP31 in Turkey in November. vironment stories with the BBC's Justin Rowlatt. Outside the UK? .ClimateCOP30
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