Narrar la transición energética justa

The document serves as a journalistic guide to the just energy transition in Colombia. It distinguishes between the country's clean electrical matrix and its fossil-fuel-dependent energy matrix, highlighting the potential for non-conventional renewable energy sources (FNCER) and the strategic importance of transition minerals like copper and lithium. It argues that a just transition must protect social and environmental rights and suggests that decarbonization offers greater employment opportunities than continuing with natural gas. The guide also addresses the environmental risks of mining and the specific case of Vaca Muerta in Argentina as a cautionary example of non-conventional hydrocarbon extraction.

• Colombia possesses a clean electrical matrix due to high hydroelectric generation, but its overall energy matrix remains heavily dependent on fossil fuels, with 68% of energy consumption coming from liquid fossil fuels like gasoline.
• The transition to non-conventional renewable energy sources (FNCER) in Colombia is supported by specific regional potentials: the Caribbean region (especially Alta Guajira and Cesar), Orinoquía (Vichada), and Tolima valleys have the highest solar radiation, while wind speeds are highest in Bolívar, La Guajira, Cesar, San Andrés, and Providencia.
• The Colombian government has prioritized the exploration and extraction of transition minerals including copper, lithium, molybdenum, nickel, cobalt, magnesium, and iron. Copper prospects are identified in three belts: western (Acandí, Murindó, Pantanos-Pegadorcito, Andágueda, and Piedrancha), eastern (Andes, Infierno-Chili, Dolores, and Mocoa), and central (Quebradona, El Pisno, Piedrasenta-da-Dominical, and Mazamorras).
• Decarbonization is presented as a superior economic opportunity compared to natural gas; according to PNUMA, it could triple the economic benefits of gas and multiply employment by 10 by the year 2050.
• Natural gas is characterized as a finite fossil fuel that is not a transition technology but rather a 'regression' due to methane leaks during extraction and transport, with methane having a warming potential up to 87 times higher than CO2 in its first 20 years of release.
• The Vaca Muerta reserve in Argentina, covering 30,000 square kilometers, represents the world's second-largest non-conventional gas reserve and fourth-largest non-conventional oil reserve, contributing 45% of Argentina's total oil production and 39% of its gas as of January 2023.
• The energy transition can create environmental liabilities, including toxic waste from solar panels and batteries (such as hydrofluoric acid, silicon oxide, and cadmium), ecosystem disruption from new transmission lines, and biodiversity loss due to the large land areas required for wind and solar parks.

APA

Morales, N. B., Criado, J., & Solano, M. A. (n.d.). Narrar la transición energética justa. Transforma. https://transforma.global/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Narrar-la-transicion-energetica-justa-Guia-periodistica.pdf

Chicago

Morales, Natalia Borrero, July Criado, and María Andrea Solano. Narrar la transición energética justa. Transforma, n.d. https://transforma.global/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Narrar-la-transicion-energetica-justa-Guia-periodistica.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Morales |first1=Natalia Borrero |last2=Criado |first2=July |last3=Solano |first3=María Andrea |title=Narrar la transición energética justa |publisher=Transforma |url=https://transforma.global/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Narrar-la-transicion-energetica-justa-Guia-periodistica.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{moralesndnarrar, author = {Morales, Natalia Borrero and Criado, July and Solano, María Andrea}, title = {{Narrar la transición energética justa}}, institution = {Transforma}, url = {https://transforma.global/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Narrar-la-transicion-energetica-justa-Guia-periodistica.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }