Tzeporah Berman

Let’s get something straight about fossil fuel phase-out: renewables needn’t replace all the coal, oil and gas we use today bc most of it is just used to produce and move those fossil fuels around! We only need to replace the useful energy: 37% of what we currently produce 🫨🧵

Will the First Conference on Transitioning from Fossil Fuels in Santa Marta be a success? It already is. For months people have been having conversations about fossil fuel phase out. Wrapping their heads around it, planning events, deciding whether to come. Now for the first time in history governments representing almost half of the global GDP are gathering not to talk about whether to phase out fossil fuels but how. Bumping into so many amazing people and everyone has a huge smile, so excited to have a week where instead of trying to wedge in a conversation on fossil fuel phase out and fight for a couple words in the text we are having substantive conversations. It’s true that many big producing countries will not be here. The absence of some countries doesn’t weaken this process—it explains why it’s necessary.     The question is no longer should we phase out fossil fuels but who is ready to lead. History is made by those who show up. It’s a coalition of the ambitious forming here in a coal port town, in one of the first countries in the world to commit to no new oil, gas and coal expansion. This is not another talk shop—it’s the start of building the rules of the transition. Today I read some criticism the conference, already saying it won’t produce a phase out plan or timelines. Of course not. Don’t be absurd. Santa Marta is a pivotal political and diplomatic platform, not a negotiating forum. I don’t expect it to produce any new, legally binding instrument itself. But it can and should lay out a clear pathway to new legally binding outcomes. This is just the beginning of the right conversation. Standing here by the water watching the sunset, I realized I am feeling…. hopeful…

The climate emergency may be the biggest problem humanity has ever faced. On this podcast episode with @energyintel we talked climate ambition, electrification, international cooperation, and what success in Santa Marta will look like. Listen now 🎧: energyintel.com/in-conversatio…

Through the fog of war and the ongoing climate emergency, dependence on fossil fuels is an addiction we can no longer afford. But an inflection point is approaching. My oped for @mongabay news.mongabay.com/2026/04/new-tr…

Congratulations to Yuvelis, your fearless defence of your river and your lands is a shining light that so deserves this highest honour.

Despite Donald Trump’s best efforts, the US got more electricity from renewables than from fossil gas last month. nationalobserver.com/newsletters/ze…

Building a coalition of the willing, breaking the deadlock, planning the transition without the blockers at the table…it hit me today that no matter what happens, Santa Marta is already a success. This conversation was unthinkable a couple of years ago. Overton window? Wide open theguardian.com/environment/20…

Such an honor to be in Vanuatu with Pacific Such an honor to be in Vanuatu with Pacific Nations as they organize for Santa Marta and the diplomatic conference on fossil fuel phase out next week. Today the Ministers and officials from Tuvalu, Samoa, Fiji, Palau, Federated States of Micronesia and the Republic of Vanuatu have signed off on the Tassiriki Call for a Fossil Fuel Free Pacific. They denounce carbon capture and storage as a justification for increasing fossil fuel production (first government statement to do this I think?) urge countries to commit to a clear, time-bound process to negotiate a fossil fuel treaty and commits to wielding international law strategically to target fossil fuel production and subsidies following a landmark opinion on climate change from the International Court of Justice. 💪🏻 Once again the leadership and climate ambition comes from the Pacific Island Nations

🚨BREAKING NEWS! Pacific nations just made history with a landmark declaration for a Fossil Fuel Free Pacific! ✊🌊 Read the Tassiriki Call for a Fossil Fuel Free Pacific 👉 fossilfueltreaty.org/tassiriki-call

As we finally move from conversations that are not about whether to transition from fossil fuels but how we need every tool in our toolbox! 55 countries and many academics, civil society, union, and indigenous leaders head towards Santa Marta for the first ever diplomatic conference on fossil fuel phase out, we thought a brief on three key initiatives and how they can complement each other would be useful

"But the wind doesn't always blow" Denmark just hit 92% low-carbon electricity in 2025, with 0 lumps of coal burned for 3 straight months While Big Oil's victims stay hijacked by volatile prices, the Danes are exporting clean energy to their neighbors lowcarbonpower.org/region/Denmark

Literally devastating news And almost certainly even worse because the models don't include the effects of huge volumes of Greenland meltwater pouring into the North Atlantic at a rate of 30 million tonnes AN HOUR theguardian.com/environment/20…

Dr. Amiera Sawas introduces a new report from @fossiltreaty, @PriceofOil and @MenaFem , highlighting the link between reliance on fossil fuels and rising debt in the Global South, “Spillover Effects: The Fossil Fuel Debt Trap in the Global South” 🔗Read the full report at fossilfueltreaty.org/research 🎥And join the Civil Society Policy Forum livestream! (April 16 | 3:00 ET) worldbank.org/en/meetings/sp…

“Santa Marta is different, it is a space conceived and led by the nations most impacted. We will not be at the back of the room, but setting the agenda at the head of the table" -@MainaTalia1 👏👏👏 this is the bold leadership the Pacific is known for! drilled.media/news/santa-mar…

It’s an honour to be in Vanuatu right now working with Pacific leaders on their plans for Santa Marta and the upcoming fossil fuel phase out conference. Their fearless leadership continues to be a beacon for a Just Transition

/ This is how petrostate politics takes hold. Not all at once — but step by step. What once felt unacceptable becomes “necessary.” Don’t accept it. Name it. Hold them accountable. The energy transition is happening. Let’s shape it and not let it be shaped here by vested interests and disaster.

BC was supposed to be different. A climate leader. A progressive counterweight to fossil fuel politics. But today, it’s becoming something else: a case study in petrostate politics. 🧵1/ theglobeandmail.com/opinion/articl…

4/ Recent conflicts show the truth: fossil fuels don’t make us secure — they make us vulnerable Price shocks Supply disruptions Inflation And at the same time: more fires, floods and extreme heat.

/ We’re told this is about “the economy.” But look closer: profits are concentrated in oil & gas companies while costs are shared by everyone else Higher prices, instability, and growing climate damage.

2/ Fracking has surged. LNG expansion is accelerating. We will blow past our legislated emissions targets. And public money continues to flow to one of the most profitable industries in history. This isn’t a transition. It’s entrenchment.