Cross-border newsroom at fossil fuel phase-out conference in Colombia

International Fossil fuels

Deadline to apply: 17 March, 23.59 CET

Santa Marta, Colombia

Personal details

Name

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Email address

County of primary residence

City of primary residence

What city do you plan to travel from to Santa Marta?

CLEW Journalism Network

Are you already a CLEW Journalism Network member?

Yes

If not, find out what the network is about here and register as a member here. The network is an additional service to journalists that can be helpful when researching a global energy transition story. Please note it is not a requirement to be a CLEW network member to apply.

Professional profile

How many years have you been working as a journalist?

Do you work as a freelance journalist?

Yes

I publish mostly in these media outlet(s)

Topics I cover

If you are a freelancer, please upload a letter of intent from an editor wanting to publish your stories in relation to this conference and the global phase-out of fossil fuels.

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32 MB limit.
Allowed types: txt rtf pdf doc docx odt ppt pptx odp xls xlsx ods.

Your Publications

Please give us an idea of your work as a journalist by providing either links or attachments of three recently published, relevant pieces of work.

Please make sure the links are working correctly.

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Link 2

Link 3

Each article’s author, its publication date and the news outlet in which it appeared must be clearly discernible.

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Attachment 2

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Attachment 3

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Motivation

Please tell us briefly why you are interested in participating in this opportunity.

(Max 150 words)

What will you contribute to the cross-border newsroom?

(Max 150 words)

Tell us a bit more about a journalistic (collaborative) project you are proud of.

(Max 150 words)

What story ideas do you have to cover the global phase-out of fossil fuels? What topics do you want to focus on during the conference?

(Max 150 words)

Travel costs

Please give us an indication of your travel costs in euros.

With travel costs we mean the flights to and from Santa Marta, you don't need to include accommodation costs or on-the-ground transport.

Will you be able to advance the payment of your travel costs and be reimbursed after the conference?

Do you need a visa to travel to Colombia?

Where did you hear about this opportunity?

Data protection

Your personal data will be used for further processing exclusively in connection with this opportunity and will be electronically stored until it is revoked. We take data protection very seriously and will under no circumstance publish your data. However, for registering your participation with this programme you agree that we share your contact details with the other participants, the organisers of the conference and the Fossil Fuel Treaty.

You can find data privacy policy here.

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This question is for testing whether or not you are a human visitor and to prevent automated spam submissions.

I agree with my data being shared with the others in the cohort and the organisers of the conference and this opportunity.

Yes

I agree that if I get selected I will have two publications out on the conference and/or the global phase-out of fossil fuels by the 1st of June.

Yes

Apply now for a grant to travel to Colombia and become part of Clean Energy Wire’s cross-border newsroom reporting on the first International Conference for the Just Transition Away from Fossil Fuels. As global efforts to transition away from fossil fuels continue to stall in formal UN climate negotiations, the governments of Colombia and the Netherlands have launched an initiative to support countries and regions willing to increase their ambition. The summit in Colombia in April 2026 will bring together governments and key stakeholders from business and civil society to map pathways to accelerate a just transition away from oil, coal and gas. Applications from journalists will be accepted until 17 March 2026, 23:59 CET.

Clean Energy Wire is setting up a cross-border newsroom to cover the first International Conference for the Just Transition Away from Fossil Fuels and global efforts to phase out oil, coal and gas. Apply now to join a team of five journalists from across the world and attend the summit in Santa Marta, Colombia on 27-29 April 2026.

This project is being organised in partnership with the Fossil Fuel Treaty Initiative.

Joining the cross-border newsroom allows journalists to cover the difficult move away from fossil fuels, using the summit as a key milestone in this year’s international climate agenda, seven months ahead of UN climate change conference COP31 in Antalya, Turkey. Participants will get the opportunity to share expertise and contacts, learn alongside journalists in a multinational cohort, and collaborate with team members. Stories will be published in each journalists’ outlet.

Three days on the ground in Santa Marta will provide opportunities to interview government representatives and other stakeholders, and develop the stories that best fit your audience.

The conference in Colombia is meant to complement formal UN climate negotiations, not replace them. It is a political platform for a “coalition of the willing” – those who want to move faster. The high-level segment of the conference will bring together ministers, senior officials and civil society in plenary and thematic sessions to discuss pathways for a just transition away from fossil fuels.

Selected participants get:

the opportunity to attend the first International Conference for the Just Transition Away from Fossil Fuels with travel and accommodation reimbursed
the chance to report on an important agenda-setting topic
membership of an international cohort with opportunities for networking and exchange, collaboration, and sharing of expertise.

This is a global call open to journalists from all countries, but we strongly encourage journalists from Iceland, Spain, Chile, Mexico, Fiji, the Marshall Islands, St Lucia, Barbados, Kenya, Ghana, Nepal and Bangladesh to apply.

Please read the FAQs carefully before applying.

FAQs

Who is eligible for this travel grant?

This fellowship is open to journalists globally with at least three years of professional experience and with a track record of reporting on climate and energy issues. Both freelance and staff journalists are eligible to apply.

Please note: Freelance journalists must include a letter of intent from a media outlet that agrees to publish their stories.

What is required from me when I get selected for the cross-border newsroom?

Every journalist needs to publish at least two stories. You get full editorial independence. The stories need to be published by 1 June 2026 and cohort members are encouraged to publish at least one story ahead of the conference kick-off.

What will I get if I get selected?

Five selected journalists from around the world will get their hotel and travel to Santa Marta, Colombia covered, as well as one dinner. Your accommodation will be covered from Sunday 26 April until Thursday 30 April. The cohort will stay in one hotel, and it will be booked by Clean Energy Wire. Everyone in the cohort gets their own room and breakfast is included.

You will need to book and pay for your own travel/flights, and you will be reimbursed after the conference. You will be reimbursed for flights between your place of residence, as stated in your sign-up form, and Santa Marta. You will not be reimbursed for car use, or travel to or from the airport.

If it is impossible for you to pay in advance, you can tell us via the signup sheet. However, please note that it puts a big strain on our small team to support with travel booking.

What about visas?

You are responsible for your own visa application. We will update this FAQ with official communication around visa questions from the conference organisers.

What does it mean to be in a cross-border newsroom?

This means that you will have the opportunity to meet and collaborate with colleagues from all over the world. We will create a temporary newsroom with five reporters and two Clean Energy Wire team members. We will hold daily newsroom meetings to discuss topics and support each other.

During a similar project at COP29, our cohort wrote joint stories, proofread each other's articles, conducted joint interviews and socialised together in the evenings. Ultimately, we are looking for journalists with a collaborative mindset who can make this a rewarding and enjoyable experience.

Every journalist remains responsible for their own reporting, in consultation with their editor/newsroom.

What time commitment is expected?

We expect the cohort to be communicative via e-mail and Signal from mid-March until the end of May. We will set up one to two Zoom calls before the conference starts and expect you to be in Santa Marta for three full days, on 27, 28 and 29 April.

What are the deadlines?

You can apply until 17 March, 23.59 CET. We will let you know latest by 24 March whether you got selected. Please be responsive after the deadline. Once selected, your travel must be booked asap.

Do you have a question that is not yet answered?

Please feel free to reach out to Milou Dirkx via event@cleanenergywire.org

Cross-border newsroom at fossil fuel phase-out conference in Colombia

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