Colombia’s Early Plans for Green Jobs and Just Transition

This fact sheet by the World Resources Institute describes Colombia's initial steps toward a national just transition strategy, highlighting the tension between green growth goals and a continued economic reliance on coal exports and fossil fuel revenues to fund the national peace process.

• The Colombian government is integrating just transition concepts into several national planning documents, including the National Development Plan (2018–2022), the Low Carbon Development Strategy, and the 2020 Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC). The Ministry of Labor has set a target to develop a national just transition strategy by 2023.
• Colombia faces significant economic risks due to its reliance on coal exports, particularly to Europe. In 2016, steam coal represented 14% of exports, and the transition of European partners threatens the jobs of 30,000 workers.
• There is a contradiction between Colombia's just transition goals and its current industrial policies. While the government signed a Pledge for Green Jobs and Just Transition with the ILO in November 2019, the National Development Plan (2018–2022) aims to increase coal production by 98 million metric tons.
• The funding of the peace process following the 2016 agreement with FARC creates a challenge for the energy transition, as extractive industries are expected to provide the necessary financing, which may encourage the development of large-scale coal mining.

APA

World Resources Institute (2021). Colombia’s Early Plans for Green Jobs and Just Transition. https://www.wri.org/snapshots/colombias-early-plans-green-jobs-and-just-transition

Chicago

World Resources Institute. Colombia’s Early Plans for Green Jobs and Just Transition. 2021. https://www.wri.org/snapshots/colombias-early-plans-green-jobs-and-just-transition.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=World Resources Institute |title=Colombia’s Early Plans for Green Jobs and Just Transition |date=1 April 2021 |url=https://www.wri.org/snapshots/colombias-early-plans-green-jobs-and-just-transition |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{worldresourcesinstitute2021colombias, author = {{World Resources Institute}}, title = {{Colombia’s Early Plans for Green Jobs and Just Transition}}, institution = {World Resources Institute}, year = {2021}, month = apr, url = {https://www.wri.org/snapshots/colombias-early-plans-green-jobs-and-just-transition}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }