Colombia

Colombia’s Política de Crecimiento Verde (CONPES 3934, 2018) sets a cross-government green-growth pathway to 2030, complemented by the Ley 2169 de 2021 (Acción Climática) and the Estrategia Climática de Largo Plazo E2050. Together they constitute a national green transition framework with legally anchored targets (e.g., neutrality pathway, sectoral instruments) and public monitoring via DNP/MinAmbiente. Score: 5/5 – Up-to-date policy architecture combining CONPES green-growth policy, climate law, and LTS;

Colombia applies a voluntary corporate-governance framework—Código País—coordinated by the Superintendencia Financiera de Colombia (SFC). The official 2023 implementation report shows 65.2% adoption of recommended practices among listed issuers, with improvements in transparency, board structure and shareholder rights; however, employee representation on corporate boards and binding gender quotas are not mandated, and ESG disclosure remains encouraged rather than compulsory. Broader public-policy participation and gender-equality provisions operate through national planning and quota laws, but there is no national strategy that requires inclusive corporate governance within private companies.

Law 1757/2015 establishes a national system of democratic participation (consultas, cabildo abierto, referendo, etc.) and requires public entities to maintain mechanisms throughout the policy cycle, with CONPES processes incorporating consultation inputs before policy adoption. Implementation can be uneven across entities and territories, and impact-assessment requirements specific to marginalised groups are not uniformly mandated across all policy types.

Colombia maintains an established System of Environmental-Economic Accounting (Cuentas Ambientales Económicas, CAE) led by the National Statistics Office (DANE). Regular SEEA-based accounts (e.g., air emissions, economy-wide material flows, water, forests/land cover) are compiled and published, with methodological bulletins and 2024–2025 releases indicating continued institutionalisation within official statistics. The National Planning Department (DNP) has piloted Gross Ecosystem Product (Producto Ecosistémico Bruto) and ecosystem-service valuation to inform territorial planning (e.g., the Sinú–Morrosquillo pilot as a basis for capital-account work). However, there is no evidence of a single, comprehensive national “comprehensive wealth” framework that integrates all capitals (human, social, natural, produced/financial) into the core budgeting and planning cycle under the 2022–2026 National Development Plan. Overall, integration is partial and primarily through environmental-economic accounts and selected planning pilots rather than a cross-capital wealth framework embedded in decision-making.

Colombia has advanced a green-finance architecture that includes a Green Taxonomy (phase I) and supervisory guidance on climate and ESG risks. The SFC, together with national and international partners, has conducted pilot climate scenario/stress-testing work and in 2025 circulated draft external circulars to set instructions for environmental, social, and climate-risk management for supervised entities. These steps strengthen risk governance, but fully mandatory, regular, detailed E&S stress testing across all financial institutions is not yet in force.

Colombia has formalized a sovereign Green Bond Framework to finance projects in areas like clean transportation and biodiversity. The country retains its leadership in the Latin American sovereign green bond market. Colombia has also rolled out a national Green Taxonomy (2022) to steer public and private capital toward eligible climate/nature investments, and it has strengthened the carbon tax via the 2022–2023 tax reform (gradual expansion to include coal, with revenue projections for 2025 showing significant growth, and rate increases through 2028). On the monetary/financial side, the Financial Superintendence (SFC) introduced climate/ESG disclosure instructions aligned with TCFD for supervised entities, while the central bank (Banco de la República) joined NGFS workstreams and continues research and regular system stress tests (not yet climate-specific mandates). Colombia’s 2022–2026 National Development Plan embeds green finance and budgeting, and recent biodiversity-themed bond initiatives signal further market deepening. These measures reflect structured, but still partial, integration of environmental risk into fiscal/financial policy.

Colombia has a national-level commitment to sustainable trade and finance anchored in its Green Growth Policy (CONPES 3934, 2018) and the development of a Green Taxonomy, launched in 2021. These instruments promote low-carbon production, sustainable investment classification, and alignment with the Paris Agreement. The country also pioneered the issuance of biodiversity-linked sovereign bonds at COP16 in Cali in 2024—positioning itself as a climate finance innovator.

Despite these financial instruments, Colombia has not embedded binding environmental clauses into trade agreements, nor implemented reforms related to investor-state dispute settlement (ISDS) or the liberalization of environmental goods and services. There is no multilateral green trade pact participation or clear interoperability with other countries’ taxonomies or carbon pricing mechanisms.

Colombia operates a national carbon tax (in force since 2017), whose scope and rules were updated by Ley 2277 de 2022—including limits to no causación (offsetting) and phased inclusion of coal from 2025—as reflected in official guidance and reports from the Ministerio de Ambiente. In parallel, Ley 2169 de 2021 (Ley de Acción Climática) mandates the design of an emissions trading system (ETS) by 2030. The carbon tax is legally binding and covers a significant share of fossil fuels; ETS design is ongoing.

The Long-Term Green Growth Policy (2018–2030), managed by the National Planning Department (DNP), continues to guide public policy across 10 thematic areas—such as bioeconomy, forestry, renewable energy, circular economy, and sustainable human capital—asserting a multi-sectoral vision for green growth.

Complementing this, Colombia’s Net Zero Strategy (2021) enshrines a 2050 decarbonization pathway through sectoral transformation, including a standalone roadmap for sustainable buildings launched in 2022.

The DNP now reinforces cross-sectoral coherence via its 2022–2026 National Development Plan and the 2021 Climate Change National Policy, along with CONPES mechanisms that articulate integrated climate, biodiversity, and production policies across government tiers

While implementation is improving through more sector-specific strategies, and green growth integration in regional development plans, there is still no single interagency body with authority over low-carbon policy implementation across sectors.

Colombia has a nationally integrated circular economy strategy in place. The National Circular Economy Strategy (ENEC), launched in 2019 and reinforced through 2021–2025 sectoral roundtables, covers six key material flows, eco-design, industrial symbiosis, and extended producer responsibility. The strategy is supported by regional circular pacts and included in the National Development Plan, biodiversity policies, and SDG-aligned planning.

In 2024, Colombia implemented a ban on several single-use plastics, including straws, bags, and stirrers—backed by enforcement and behavioral change campaigns. Public and private banks (e.g. Bancóldex and Bancolombia) have created circular finance instruments, with the support of IDB Invest, and workshops to define circular finance indicators were held in early 2025. At COP16, Colombia hosted the Circular Economy Symposium, reinforcing its leadership in regional transition planning.

Colombia’s green transport efforts are guided by the National Strategy for Sustainable Transport (ENTS) and the National Electric Mobility Strategy, both adopted in 2022. These policies set long-term goals for fleet electrification, modal shifts, and hydrogen use. Colombia’s legal framework includes Law 1964 (2019), mandating 100% of public bus fleets in major cities to be electric by 2035.

In 2024, Colombia became a signatory to the Zero-Emission Vehicle (ZEV) Declaration, committing to end sales of fossil-fuel vehicles by 2035. As of mid-2025, registrations of electrified vehicles have doubled, and the government continues to invest in EV charging infrastructure and low-emission logistics. Bogotá, Medellín, and Cali lead in electrified public transit fleets and bike infrastructure.

There is no defined overarching target for the share of renewables in final energy consumption across all sectors, though broader long-term decarbonization ambitions exist, such as net-zero by 2050 (enshrined in its Climate Action Law).

Non-conventional renewable energy (NCRE), including solar and wind, is on track to reach about 2.55 GW by end-2025, up from 1.88 GW—projected to make up 12% of total generation capacity including hydro. In 2024, Colombia unveiled its Renewable Energy Integration Investment Plan, aimed at bolstering solar and wind capacity and improving grid resilience. In early 2025, the country held its first offshore wind auction, attracting global interest, aiming for 1 GW by auction and a broader national objective of 7 GW offshore wind by 2040. Colombia has also mapped enormous potential through IRENA-supported zoning studies (1,605 GW solar and 31.5 GW onshore wind). While permitting delays and regulatory bottlenecks remain challenges, Colombia now has increasingly ambitious plans and deployment mechanisms. These reflect an operational investment framework and implementation momentum.

In 2023, the Ministry of Labour launched a Just Transition Strategy, developed in consultation with the ILO’s Green Jobs Assessment tools, and grounded in the 2050 Long-Term Strategy (E2050) and Climate Action Law . These efforts have led to regional pilots—most notably in the coal-producing departments of Cesar and La Guajira, where ILO-led cooperative workshops are equipping workers (including women and youth) with skills in sustainable agriculture, crafts, and services, promoting green cooperatives and economic diversification. Meanwhile, the Inter-American Development Bank and SENA (National Training Service) have partnered to develop technical skills in photovoltaic energy and sustainable tourism, with equity-focused initiatives such as Indigenous inclusion and gender-responsive training. These structured initiatives demonstrate meaningful efforts to create resilient, inclusive green livelihoods, especially for transitioning communities. However, a fully integrated national-level social protection and transition employment strategy covering all sectors still doesn't exist.

Colombia has introduced just-transition elements in national climate and energy policy. The updated NDC (2025) frames “Ambition, Justice and a Just Transition” as a strategic component, and the Ministry of Environment has advanced a Transición Justa de la Fuerza Laboral initiative. The Ministry of Mines and Energy is developing a national Transición Energética Justa roadmap, with diagnostic work published and consultation underway; the 2022–2026 National Development Plan emphasises territorial approaches, social dialogue and energy transition. These initiatives provide building blocks, but there is not yet a single, enacted national just-transition framework with sector-specific guidance, benefit-sharing arrangements and a consolidated project pipeline across affected sectors.

Colombia reconoce la Sociedad de Beneficio e Interés Colectivo (BIC) como forma legal para empresas con propósito social y ambiental, impulsada por MinCIT y su ecosistema de promoción. El Programa de Negocios Verdes del Ministerio de Ambiente ofrece criterios, acompañamiento y portafolios regionales para emprendimientos sostenibles; bases de datos y convocatorias regionales muestran continuidad y expansión 2024–2025. Estas medidas se complementan con líneas de financiación verde (p. ej., a través de la banca de desarrollo) y con la Taxonomía Verde como referencia de elegibilidad.

Since 2021, Colombia has launched several pilot initiatives linking social protection with environmental resilience, though a comprehensive national strategy is still absent. In 2022, a Just Transition pilot began in the coal-producing César region, led by the ILO with the Ministries of Labour, Mines, and Environment, engaging unions, academic institutions, and social partners to explore how social protection can support mining communities in moving toward low-carbon livelihoods. The World Bank has supported the integration of adaptive social protection—combining climate risk management with livelihood support—through programs targeting vulnerable rural and urban households and promoting climate-smart agricultural value chains. In 2023, workshops and networking sessions brought together government representatives, social partners, and development agencies to discuss the role of social protection in just transition planning, enhancing stakeholder engagement and policy understanding.

Colombia adopted the Plan de Acción de Biodiversidad de Colombia al 2030, aligned with the Kunming–Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework and SDGs 14/15, with six national goals (including protection/management targets up to 2030) and assignment of responsibilities across ministries and territories. Colombia reports having surpassed 30% marine protection (2022) through the designation of large marine protected areas; terrestrial and marine conservation is implemented via SINAP/Parques Nacionales, Natura-2000-analogous national systems, and monitoring by IDEAM. Implementation faces ongoing pressures from deforestation: official 2024 figures show an increase from 2023, though authorities note it remains among the lowest annual levels in the historical series and report 2025 Q1 reductions in Amazon deforestation versus 2024. Overall, Colombia has a clear, current NBSAP-equivalent implementation plan with regular monitoring mechanisms, though pressures on forest

Colombia mantiene y actualiza cuentas ambientales y económicas coordinadas por DANE (Cuenta Satélite Ambiental y cuentas por activos/flujo) en línea con SEEA, con publicaciones recientes sobre recursos minerales y energéticos (2023–2024p) y otras cuentas (agua, energía, emisiones, bosques). La gobernanza técnica es interinstitucional; no existe un órgano asesor independiente con mandato legal para revisar el impacto de presupuestos e infraestructura sobre el capital natural.

Colombia’s food systems strategy is rooted in the Zero Hunger Agenda (CONPES 3918) and the National Policy on Food and Nutritional Security (CONPES 113). These frameworks emphasize food sovereignty, sustainable production, and multi-sectoral coordination. They are supported by inter-ministerial partnerships and implementation tools focused on childhood nutrition, agricultural assistance, and access to healthy food.

In 2025, Colombia is also implementing the WFP Strategic Country Plan (2025–2028), which promotes climate-resilient food systems, inclusive market access, and supply chain innovation. Meanwhile, BIOFIN Colombia has developed a green agriculture financing roadmap, aiming to redirect credit lines and subsidies toward low-emission, ecosystem-based agricultural models.

Colombia has adopted several nature-finance instruments and environmental fiscal tools. The national carbon tax (Law 1819/2016) remains in force; Law 1930/2018 (Páramos) redirected proceeds to the Fondo Colombia en Paz for conservation, climate and related payments for environmental services. The 2022 tax reform (Law 2277) introduced the national tax on single-use plastic products used to package goods and maintains/updates other environmental taxes. A national framework for Payments for Environmental Services (PES/PSA) is established via Decree 1007/2018 and the earlier CONPES 3886 (2017), enabling public and co-financed projects in strategic ecosystems and community territories. These measures demonstrate prioritisation of nature-positive finance, but comprehensive reform to remove harmful subsidies and a consolidated national programme with substantial, recurring IPLC-targeted flows is not yet evidenced at scale.

During and after the COVID-19 shock, Colombia’s recovery policy centred on the Política para la reactivación, la repotenciación y el crecimiento sostenible e incluyente (CONPES 4023, 2021) and the “Nuevo Compromiso por el Futuro de Colombia” investment plan. CONPES 4023 sets a multi-pillar approach (households, productive sector, institutional framework, digital) and explicitly aligns recovery actions with longer-term sustainability objectives; the “Nuevo Compromiso” plan outlined >COP 135 trillion in public/private investments across infrastructure and sectoral programmes, including energy transition and environmental components. While these instruments embed green elements, they function primarily as general stabilisation and reactivation policies with limited economy-wide green conditionality; support to conventional sectors continued alongside targeted green investments. Subsequent planning under the 2022–2026 PND advances structural green goals.