Green or grey growth for Colombia?

The report examines Colombia's struggle to transition toward green growth while remaining heavily dependent on oil and coal exports. It highlights a fragmented state where ministries tied to extractive industries often oppose environmental regulations. While the country has a low-carbon electricity grid dominated by hydropower, it is vulnerable to climate-induced droughts, leading to a push for thermal power and fracking. The report suggests linking renewable energy incentives to post-conflict rural development and leveraging a vanguard of sustainable private sector companies to drive a national transition.

• Colombia's economic growth has been largely driven by the extraction of oil and coal, with the oil sector accounting for over 50 percent of export earnings in 2012.
• The electricity supply is primarily based on hydropower, which makes the system highly vulnerable to climatic variations and droughts, such as those caused by the El Niño Southern Oscillation.
• To mitigate hydropower vulnerability, the government is increasing thermal capacity, including plans for three new coal-fired plants and one gas-fired plant to be online before 2018.
• There is significant institutional fragmentation within the Colombian state, where ministries for Mines and Energy, Infrastructure, and Housing often view environmental regulations as hurdles to competitiveness.
• A 'revolving door' practice between public office and private interests allows corporate lobbies, such as the palm oil sector, to influence legislation and obtain tax exemptions and subsidies.
• Despite official green growth rhetoric, the National Development Plan (2014-2018) allocates only 1.35 percent of the national budget to green growth strategies.
• Colombia has pledged to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions by 20 percent by 2030 compared to a business-as-usual scenario, though critics argue some policies are more symbolic than real.
• The peace process with the FARC presents an opportunity to implement 'territorial peace' by linking renewable energy incentives to economic stimulus in post-conflict rural areas.
• Urbanization is driving a rapid increase in energy demand, particularly in the transport sector, which is expected to account for half of all demand by 2050.

APA

Briscoe, I., Villaveces-Izquierdo, S., van Tilburg, X., & van Schaik, L. (2016). Green or grey growth for Colombia? Climate and Development Knowledge Network. https://cdkn.org/sites/default/files/files/Country_study_Colombia.pdf

Chicago

Briscoe, Ivan, Santiago Villaveces-Izquierdo, Xander van Tilburg, and Louise van Schaik. Green or grey growth for Colombia? Climate and Development Knowledge Network, 2016. https://cdkn.org/sites/default/files/files/Country_study_Colombia.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Briscoe |first1=Ivan |last2=Villaveces-Izquierdo |first2=Santiago |last3=van Tilburg |first3=Xander |last4=van Schaik |first4=Louise |title=Green or grey growth for Colombia? |publisher=Climate and Development Knowledge Network |date=October 2016 |url=https://cdkn.org/sites/default/files/files/Country_study_Colombia.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{briscoe2016green, author = {Briscoe, Ivan and Villaveces-Izquierdo, Santiago and van Tilburg, Xander and van Schaik, Louise}, title = {{Green or grey growth for Colombia?}}, institution = {Climate and Development Knowledge Network}, year = {2016}, month = oct, url = {https://cdkn.org/sites/default/files/files/Country_study_Colombia.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }