The world’s first Transitioning Away from Fossil Fuels conference, co-hosted by Colombia and the Netherlands, takes place in Santa Marta, Colombia, from 24 to 29 April. A “coalition of the willing” – including 54 countries and various subnational governments, civil society groups and academics – will try to chart a new path to powering the world with low-carbon energy. What is the transition away from fossil fuels? With temperatures at land and sea breaking records, the prospect of limiting global heating to 1.5C above preindustrial levels looks increasingly remote. It is widely accepted that the only way of avoiding the worst ravages of climate chaos is to slam the brakes on fossil fuels and shift the global economy urgently to a low-carbon footing. The technologies needed to do that – wind and solar power, electric vehicles, heat pumps for home heating, battery storage – are all available and increasingly affordable.…