Where science and climate diplomacy converge across the Atlantic

On 11 and 12 May, Wopke Hoekstra, European Commissioner for Climate, Net-Zero and Clean Growth, visited Lisbon for high-level discussions on clean energy and EU competitiveness. During his visit, he met with Portugal’s Minister of Finance, Joaquim Miranda Sarmento, and Minister of Environment and Energy, Maria da Graça Carvalho, and praised the country’s commitment to renewable energy as a model for the clean energy transition. In an interview with the Portuguese newspaper Público, Hoekstra described the conference as a success and highlighted its plurilateral format, co-organised by Colombia and the Netherlands, as a promising model for future international climate diplomacy that bridges the Global North and South. "Plurilateral initiatives like the Santa Marta conference, organised by nations that bridge the North and the South, and bringing together participants from all over the world, are, to me, the way forward," stated the Commissioner. The AIR Centre was represented at the First Conference on Transitioning Away from Fossil Fuels (24–29 April, 2026, in Santa Marta, Colombia) by Prof. António Vallêra, from the University of Lisbon, and Natalia Ospina-Alvarez, Head of the AIR Centre's Biodiversity and Blue Economy Programme. Their participation built on a preparatory meeting held on 27 March at the AIR Centre's Lisbon office, organised in collaboration with the Colombian Embassy in Portugal, which brought together Portuguese experts in support of the global energy transition. On 24 and 25 April, both representatives took part in the Academic Dialogues, the scientific component of the conference led by the University of Magdalena and the Live It In The Ground Initiative (LINGO). During this event, researchers consolidated proposals and prioritised enabling pathways across three pillars: overcoming economic dependency, transforming supply and demand, and promoting international cooperation. On 26 April, Natalia Ospina-Alvarez also participated in the Peoples' Pre-Assembly, the official component for civil society organisations, contributing to the position papers that fed into the broader conference process.

The Commissioner’s endorsement of plurilateral approaches, alongside his recognition of Portugal’s role in the clean energy transition, aligns with the AIR Centre’s mission. Its participation in Santa Marta reflects a continued commitment to transatlantic scientific collaboration and to advancing the global conversation on sustainability, energy, and ocean–climate interactions.