We Mean Business Coalition calls on governments leaving Santa Marta to “go all in” on clean electrification as solution to fossil fuel volatility
Pascale Palmer, Director of Media
As leaders head home after the Santa Marta conference, We Mean Business Coalition urges governments to turn this week’s discussions into delivery by drawing up national electrification plans aligned with how business operates.
The business-focused non-profit also warns that without switching to electric technologies – from vehicles and heating to industrial equipment – economies will remain dependent on fossil fuels.
The conference, co-hosted by Colombia and the Netherlands, focussed on how a transition away from coal, oil and gas can be delivered in practice, including through policy frameworks, finance and international cooperation. More than 50 countries representing a third of global GDP, 30% of the world’s population and around one third of global fossil fuel consumption attended.
Maria Mendiluce, CEO, We Mean Business Coalition said: “Political momentum to move beyond fossil fuels is clearly broadening, and the current instability in the Middle East has reinforced why this is urgent. Exposure to fossil fuel markets is feeding directly into prices, industrial costs and competitiveness. The cooperation of willing nations at Santa Marta has achieved a clear direction of travel, but building more clean power on its own will not decouple economies from fossil fuels.
“Today, much of how we move, heat and produce still runs on fossil fuels. Electrification means switching those activities to run on electricity instead. As that electricity gets cleaner, so does the wider economy. Without that shift, businesses remain exposed to the same price volatility.
“We welcome France’s announcement of its fossil fuel roadmap, incorporating an electrification plan, and now all governments must take the outcomes of the Santa Marta discussions back into national policy and turn political momentum into delivery by putting in place the frameworks needed to go all in on electrification across their economies. Those frameworks must be anchored in how businesses actually invest, build and operate, so national plans can translate into real-economy delivery.
“The next phase will be defined by implementation. From a business perspective, the priority is predictable costs and reliable energy supply. Governments now need to move decisively – aligning policy, investment and market frameworks to enable electrification in ways that reflect different national starting points and economic structures. That is what will determine whether this shift translates into a more stable and competitive economy.”
We Mean Business Coalition is calling on governments to develop national electrification plans ahead of COP31 that set out how policy, investment and market frameworks will enable this shift in line with national circumstances. These plans must be rooted in how business operates, to ensure real economy implementation. These plans should focus on accelerating the uptake of electrified technologies across key sectors, supported by the expansion of clean energy, infrastructure and enabling conditions required to deliver at scale.
Electrification is replacing fossil fuelled technologies and processes – such as internal combustion engines and gas boilers – with electric equivalents like EVs and heat pumps, so low-cost, homegrown renewables-based electricity can be used wherever energy is needed across transport, buildings and industry. This shift must be matched by parallel expansion of clean energy. This transition will reduce exposure to volatile fossil fuel markets.