Carbón y política en Colombia: nuevas dinámicas

The document analyzes the precarious state of Colombia's coal industry, which faces declining global demand, falling prices, and increasing domestic resistance. It details how the industry has shifted from a 'development locomotive' narrative to one linking extraction to the financing of peace processes. The paper highlights a significant shift in opposition strategies, moving from protests to institutional channels like 'acciones de tutela' and local consultations, which have empowered the Constitutional Court to challenge mining governance. In response, coal companies have increased spending on public relations, formed the Asociación Colombiana de Minería (ACM) to strengthen lobbying, and accused the judiciary of 'judicial activism'. The authors argue that a successful energy transition requires separating coal from other minerals and hydrocarbons in public discourse and developing alternative development models for affected regions.

• Colombia's coal sector has seen significant growth, with production increasing from 38 million tonnes (Mt) in 2000 to nearly 89 Mt in 2015, representing 1.3% of the GDP and 12% of exports in 2015.
• The coal industry has benefited from substantial government support; in 2015, the mining sector received 23.4% of all tax exemptions granted to legal entities in Colombia, which reduced its income taxes by 11%.
• Opposition to large-scale mining has shifted toward institutional and legal channels, utilizing 'acciones de tutela' to demand prior consultations and local community consultations to challenge national mining plans.
• The Constitutional Court has significantly influenced mining governance between 2010 and 2016, issuing over 50 decisions that included prohibiting mining in páramos, affecting more than 340 mining titles.
• To counter opposition, the national government and coal companies shifted their narrative from the 'locomotive of development' (used between the late 1990s and 2014) to emphasizing the sector's role in financing the peace process with the FARC.
• Coal companies have adopted more aggressive public relations and lobbying strategies, including the 2014 creation of the Asociación Colombiana de Minería (ACM) to unify the industry and joining the World Coal Association in 2016.
• The industry and government have responded to unfavorable court rulings by accusing the Constitutional Court of 'judicial activism,' claiming that legal uncertainty has deterred foreign direct investment.

APA

Strambo, C., & Velasco, A. J. P. (2017). Carbón y política en Colombia: nuevas dinámicas. Stockholm Environment Institute. https://www.sei.org/mediamanager/documents/Publications/SEI-DB-2017-carbon-y-politica.pdf

Chicago

Strambo, Claudia, and Angélica Johanna Puertas Velasco. Carbón y política en Colombia: nuevas dinámicas. Stockholm Environment Institute, 2017. https://www.sei.org/mediamanager/documents/Publications/SEI-DB-2017-carbon-y-politica.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Strambo |first1=Claudia |last2=Velasco |first2=Angélica Johanna Puertas |title=Carbón y política en Colombia: nuevas dinámicas |publisher=Stockholm Environment Institute |date=2017 |url=https://www.sei.org/mediamanager/documents/Publications/SEI-DB-2017-carbon-y-politica.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{strambo2017carbn, author = {Strambo, Claudia and Velasco, Angélica Johanna Puertas}, title = {{Carbón y política en Colombia: nuevas dinámicas}}, institution = {Stockholm Environment Institute}, year = {2017}, url = {https://www.sei.org/mediamanager/documents/Publications/SEI-DB-2017-carbon-y-politica.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }