“To make a transition with justice, we can’t replace fossil fuels with the mining of rare earth minerals. We must move from the commodification of nature to respect for the sacred systems of life.”
–Julia Horinek, Indigenous Programs Director, Movement Rights
Movement Rights’ delegation has just returned from the historic 1st Conference on Transitioning Away from Fossil Fuels in Santa Marta, Colombia (April 24-29, 2026).
Colombia made a bold statement to the world by hosting the 1st International Conference on fossil fuels phase out—a statement of solidarity and the vision of a fossil-free future. A space where Indigenous Peoples, Civil Society, and countries gathered to collectively design a true Just Transition away from fossil fuels. While the process was bumpy and most certainly in need of refinement, it was overall a monumental and inspirational experience. Movement Rights was honored and privileged to be a part of the most significant global conversation on the fossil fuel phase-out ever.
Led by a coalition of 57 countries, Indigenous Peoples, and Civil Society, this space recognized the need to step outside the fossil fuel industry-co-opted UN Climate (COP) process to focus on real solutions. The spirit of “cooperation” over “negotiation” offered a refreshing way to reshape dialogue around global climate commitments.
The Ponca Nation becomes the first Tribal Nation to endorse the Fossil Fuel Treaty Initiative
Significantly, Colombia was the first and largest oil-producing nation to endorse the Fossil Fuel Treaty, now signed by 18 nations and over a million sub-national entities, politicians, organizations and caring people. Environmental Ambassador for the Ponca Tribe of Oklahoma, and Movement Rights co-founder and Board Chair, Casey Camp-Horinek, with Tribal Chairman Earl Howe III, led the Ponca to become the first Tribal Nation in the United States to endorse the Fossil Fuel Treaty. Setting a precedent of Sovereignty, the Ponca loudly proclaim that Indigenous Peoples are Rights Holders in the processes of a Just Transition and fossil fuel phase-out.
TAKE ACTION: Sign the Fossil Fuel Treaty here.
The Rights of Nature Emerged as a Powerful Just Transition
Movement Rights was proud to help bring Rights of Nature to the table in Santa Marta. We participated in the People’s Summit for a Fossil Free Future, and helped ensure the Rights of Nature were included in the official Civil Society document submitted to the Country delegates.
The 3rd Regional Tribunal for the Rights of Nature on oil extraction in the Amazon brought six powerful cases before the panel of International Judges. Movement Rights’ co-founders Shannon Biggs and Casey Camp Horinek joined a panel of seven judges to hear gut-wrenching testimony by Indigenous Peoples whose lives and territories are threatened by fossil fuel extraction and exploitation. Each case presented received a resounding YES from the judges, advancing the cases to the upcoming hearing at XII FOSPA 2026 in Ecuador. Among the judges was Yuvelis Morales Blanco, a 24-year-old Colombian activist, who was awarded the prestigious 2026 Goldman Environmental Prize for successfully leading efforts to halt hydraulic fracturing (fracking) in the Magdalena Medio region.
The Rights of Nature were also present within official spaces of negotiation. As GARN reports in their blog, “Juan Carlos Monterrey, Special Representative for Climate Change of Panama, brought the voice of Nature into high-level discussions, emphasizing the need to embed the Universal Declaration of the Rights of Nature within global transition frameworks.”
The Santa Marta Conference represented an inspiring opportunity to strengthen and step up international cooperation toward a fossil-free future. The vision of a fossil fuel phase-out took an enormous step forward, from vision to reality, through a collective commitment to a Just Transition that is rooted in the Rights of Indigenous Peoples and the Rights of Nature.
Next Steps: Tuvalu and Indigenous Leadership & Civil Society Integration
As we look forward to 2027 – Tuvalu and Ireland will lead the next International Conference Transitioning Away from Fossil Fuels. Tuvalu’s statement in Colombia stressed that the world must address the root causes of the crisis, demanding concrete, equitable phase-out plans and accountability regarding financial systems and debt, insisting that future meetings need to move beyond vague agreements towards tangible steps and solutions to accelerate the just transition away from oil, coal, and gas.
Movement Rights supports the vision of Tuvalu and further stresses that Indigenous people must be rights holders and have a seat at the tables of negotiation and decision-making.
It is only through the lens of Indigenous Cosmology and with Indigenous leadership that a phase-out of fossil fuels and a true Just Transition can be achieved. Indigenous Peoples must be included in all spaces – Indigenous Peoples are a part of civil society, not separate from it; Indigenous Peoples are Sovereign Nations; Indigenous Peoples are the most impacted by extraction, mining, and the violence of the commodification of Nature; Indigenous Peoples are a part of the solution to Climate Chaos. UNDRIP and FPIC must be strengthened, upheld, and implemented by all Nation States in the process of fossil fuel phase-out and Just Transition.
Movement Rights has an important role to play in local to global Rights of Nature movement and the transition away from fossil fuels. We can’t do it without you. If you support our local to global mission, please make a gift of support today and sign the Fossil Fuel Treaty here.
About Movement Rights
Working with Tribes and Communities to Align Human Laws with Natural Laws and advance climate justice.We are in the streets, in the news and in the courts, providing research and reports, convening strategic gatherings, speaking at the UN, community meetings, regulatory hearings, and more. We work with national and global climate allies, sovereign Indigenous Nations and communities. We have helped thousands of people connect the dots between the critical time we find ourselves in and the solutions that Indigenous people have always known: human activity must take place within the natural system of laws that govern life on Earth. We sit on the steering committee for People Vs Fossil Fuels coalition, and are a co-founder and Executive Committee member of the Global Alliance for the Rights of Nature. Movement Rights works for climate justice, the rights of Indigenous peoples and the Rights of Nature. Consider making a donation today to support our work.