Colombia’s Early Plans for Green Jobs and Just Transition

Colombia is integrating just transition principles into national planning documents and partnerships with the ILO and UNDP, aiming for a national strategy by 2023. However, the country faces a tension between these goals and its continued economic reliance on coal exports and fossil fuel revenues to fund its peace process.

• Colombia has integrated just transition objectives into several high-level policy frameworks, including the National Development Plan (2018–2022), the Low Carbon Development Strategy, and its 2020 Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC). The Ministry of Labor specifically aims to have a national just transition strategy developed by 2023.
• The Colombian economy is heavily dependent on coal exports, particularly to Europe, which creates a risk of stranded assets and threatens the jobs of 30,000 workers as international trade partners transition away from coal.
• There is a contradiction between Colombia's just transition goals and its current economic planning; while pursuing green jobs, the National Development Plan (2018–2022) simultaneously seeks to increase coal production by 98 million metric tons.
• The funding of Colombia's peace process relies on revenues from extractive industries, which may create incentives that favor the continued development of large-scale coal mining over transition efforts.
• Effective stakeholder consultation for a just transition is hindered by a dangerous environment for labor unions, evidenced by the murder of 70 trade unionists between 2016 and 2018, and human rights concerns regarding large-scale hydropower projects.

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} }