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The document examines the intersection of the COVID-19 pandemic, climate change, and urban inequality, proposing six priority solutions to build climate-resilient and equitable cities. It highlights how the pandemic exposed systemic vulnerabilities, particularly for the urban poor in informal settlements, and argues that adaptation investments offer high benefit-cost ratios (2:1 to 10:1) and local job creation. Proposed solutions include upgrading poor settlements, building water resilience, advancing nature-based solutions, creating knowledge networks, enhancing devolved funding, and fostering peer-to-peer city collaboration.

The report establishes that gender equality is both a co-benefit of and a tool for effective climate policy. Through an analysis of the Colombian coal sector, it finds that current climate and energy policies are largely gender-blind or rely on stereotypes, while gender policies often ignore the climate crisis. Field research reveals that while women—particularly Indigenous and Afro-Colombian women—are active grassroots leaders in defending their territories, they are structurally excluded from formal decision-making. The authors propose a GRCP that incorporates intersectionality, local expertise, and a 'just transition' framework to ensure that the phase-out of coal does not reproduce existing social inequalities.

This report by the Stockholm Environment Institute and UNEP analyzes the synergies between SDG targets in Colombia and the department of Antioquia. Using a cross-impact matrix and network analysis, the study identifies 'catalytic' goals—those that most positively influence others—to inform the implementation of the National Development Plan (PND) 2018-2022. Key findings highlight that while national priorities focus on sustainable production and urban impact, regional priorities in Antioquia center on sustainable agriculture, demonstrating that SDG interactions are highly dependent on local contexts.

Dr Paola Arias, an author for the IPCC Sixth Assessment Report, details a 2019 community meeting in Bogotá where a ceiling collapse caused by heavy rains served as a real-time example of climate risk. She argues that interpreting scientific evidence through the lens of social impacts and daily local issues—such as Bogotá's flood plain construction and landfill collapse—is more effective for public engagement than traditional presentation protocols.

The document argues that COVID-19 recovery offers a political opportunity to implement greener, more livable cities by prioritizing 'shovel-ready' decarbonization projects and non-motorized transport. It emphasizes that urban recovery must address social vulnerabilities, specifically by integrating informal settlements and workers into planning to ensure equity. The text highlights the critical role of public transport as the 'backbone of mobility' and calls for improved direct access to international finance for cities to bridge the gap between national recovery packages and local needs.

The text advocates for a 'green' economic recovery following the Covid-19 pandemic, suggesting that investments in renewable energy and sustainable transport create more jobs than the oil and gas sector. It highlights specific examples of sustainable shifts in Amsterdam, Bogota, and the UK, and calls for government investment in public transport and green energy over fossil fuel subsidies.

The report analyzes bioeconomy visions in Colombia based on a 2019 expert workshop, concluding that a 'bioresources' vision—balancing economic growth with environmental sustainability—currently predominates. While sectors like agriculture, biochemistry, bio-pharmaceuticals, and bioenergy show varying alignments with biotechnology or bioecology visions, common barriers include land tenure insecurity, poor rural road infrastructure, and the risk of overexploiting commercial species. The document argues that for a bioeconomy to be truly sustainable, Colombia must move beyond viewing biodiversity as a mere competitive advantage and instead integrate holistic monitoring of environmental outcomes and inclusive regional development.

WRI supported the procurement of electric bus fleets in Santiago, Bogotá, and Medellín to reduce emissions and operating costs. By developing scalable contractual and procurement mechanisms with partners like C40 and the Inter-American Development Bank, WRI helped these cities overcome the high upfront costs of e-buses. Santiago and Bogotá are procuring the two largest e-bus fleets globally outside of China, with Medellín adding 64 vehicles.

The report analyzes the bioeconomy landscape in Colombia, identifying a predominant 'bio-resources' vision that balances economic growth with environmental sustainability. Through a multi-stakeholder workshop, it explores sectoral visions for agriculture, biochemistry, bio-pharmaceuticals, and bioenergy, emphasizing the need for territorial development and the use of residual biomass. The document highlights critical sustainability gaps, including the risk of biodiversity loss if species are valued only for commercial advantage, the lack of formal land property rights for 60% of rural properties, and poor road infrastructure, with 75% of tertiary roads in poor condition. It concludes that a holistic, decentralized governance approach is necessary to align the bioeconomy with the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

The commentary asserts that bold climate action is not a trade-off with economic growth but an engine for it, potentially delivering $26 trillion in net global economic benefits by 2030. It advocates for 'people-centered climate action' that uses inclusive processes to unlock benefits for marginalized groups, such as recycling carbon pricing revenues to support low-income households. The text provides sector-specific opportunities in energy, urban planning, and food systems, while emphasizing that adaptation investments of $1.8 trillion could yield $7.1 trillion in benefits. It highlights real-world examples from Indonesia, Canada, and Spain to demonstrate how low-carbon transitions can reduce poverty and create millions of green jobs.

The proposal outlines an 18-month project to enhance Colombia's climate finance management. Key objectives include updating the Country Programme to better reflect national priorities, establishing a regular participatory review process, and refining the 'no-objection' procedure for funding proposals. The project also aims to develop a Gender Action Plan for climate finance, align Direct Access Entities with the Country Programme, and update the National Climate Finance Strategy. Implementation will be led by Fondo Acción, with a steering committee comprising the National Planning Department, Ministry of Finance and Public Credit, and Ministry of Environment and Sustainable Development.

The World Resources Institute (WRI) supported Bogotá and Mérida in implementing mandatory energy-efficient building regulations by adapting national guidelines to the local level. In Mérida, WRI used the Greenhouse Gas Protocol and multi-stakeholder working groups to identify savings and oversee regulation adoption. In Bogotá, WRI collaborated with the Colombia Green Building Council to improve national guidance and advocate for a city-level energy-efficient building code. By 2018, both cities became the first in their respective countries to adopt such mandatory regulations, aiming to reduce energy and water consumption, lower air pollution, create green jobs, and avoid carbon-intensive infrastructure lock-in.

The report details the technical and financial structuring of climate change adaptation plans for three Colombian sectors: Water and Basic Sanitation, Manufacturing Industry, and Housing, City and Territory. It establishes adaptation goals, indicators, and portfolios of measures for each, while providing estimated costs for prioritized actions. The process highlights a strong reliance on existing Disaster Risk Management (DRD) frameworks and a significant need for knowledge management and technical capacity building across all sectors.

The report details a participatory framework developed by the Stockholm Environment Institute (SEI) to identify synergies and conflicts between SDG targets in Colombia. It outlines a 7-point scoring system to evaluate first-order (direct) and second-order (indirect) interactions, which are then analyzed using network analysis to inform policy prioritization. The methodology will be piloted through workshops in Bogotá and Antioquia, focusing on a preselected set of 20 targets with a particular emphasis on water management as a transversal element. The goal is to provide a systemic tool for national and subnational decision-makers to ensure that progress in one area does not hinder another.

The paper examines the decline of urban accessibility in the global South due to rapid urbanization and motorization. It introduces an access-mobility framework to categorize under-served residents and proposes three priority action areas: building safe, democratic street networks; developing integrated, user-oriented transport services; and managing private vehicle demand. The authors emphasize that these actions require capable governance and sustainable funding models to move cities from a vicious cycle of car-dependency to a virtuous cycle of balanced, multimodal transport.

The report proposes the PAYS for Clean Transport instrument to address the high upfront costs of electric buses, which can be up to 40% higher than diesel alternatives. Under this model, utilities invest in batteries and charging infrastructure and recover costs through a fixed charge on the bus service provider's (BSP) electric bill. This approach shifts capital expenditure from the BSP's balance sheet to a monthly operating expense, reducing the need for grants and leveraging private finance. Modeling for a 100-bus fleet in Santiago, Chile, indicates that PAYS can make electric buses cheaper than diesel over their lifecycle and leverage over 70 dollars of private investment for every grant dollar provided.

The report details the 2nd Joint Meeting of the SAC and SPAC in Antigua, Guatemala, focusing on the selection process for the Small Grant Program (SGP-HW) on ecosystem services, the need for hybrid transdisciplinary training, and proposals to restructure the SPAC as a sub-committee of the SAC to improve science-to-policy coordination.

This briefing document from the IAI Directorate outlines the coordination of meetings between the Scientific Advisory Committee (SAC), the Science Policy Advisory Committee (SPAC), and the Conference of the Parties (CoP) to enhance interaction and the science-to-policy interface.

The report examines the strategies of Colombian businesses during the transition from armed conflict to peace, based on 53 interviews with business leaders. It finds that while many firms viewed the formal end of the FARC conflict as having little impact on their specific operations—often because they had already adapted to security gains between 2005 and 2014 or operated in urban areas—a minority of firms actively pursued new markets in previously off-limit territories. The study highlights that corporate engagement is heavily influenced by CEO leadership, sectoral and regional variations, and the availability of state incentives and risk-sharing mechanisms. It concludes that the 'logic of the firm' varies significantly, with some companies viewing peace as a long-term investment opportunity while others remain skeptical due to slow implementation and continuing insecurity.

The Stockholm Environment Institute (SEI) provides technical tools and research in Colombia to bridge science and policy across water management, energy transition, and sustainable sanitation. Key efforts include the use of WEAP for water resource planning, LEAP for low-emission energy modeling, and TRASE for mapping deforestation in agricultural supply chains. SEI also investigates the socio-economic transition away from thermal coal in the César and La Guajira departments and supports the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).