Santa Marta highlights systemic barriers and collaborative pathways in just energy transitions
Original framing: “Santa Marta was a learning moment for how to shape inclusive just transitions” — Climate Home News
Santa Marta's energy challenges are rooted in centuries of colonial resource extraction and displacement. The current push for transition echoes past 'development' projects that imposed external models without addressing the root causes of inequality and ecological degradation.
Santa Marta's experience with inclusive energy transitions reveals the urgent need to decolonize climate knowledge and governance.
By centering Indigenous and Afro-Colombian voices, integrating traditional ecological knowledge, and challenging the technocratic assumptions of international climate institutions, the region offers a model for how transitions can be both just and sustainable. The lessons from Santa Marta align with broader global movements, such as the Just Transition Frameworks in South Africa and the community energy cooperatives in Latin America, showing that equity must be the foundation of any meaningful climate action. Future pathways must include not only policy reform but also cultural reclamation and the redistribution of power in environmental decision-making.