Low-carbon development for Colombia

Colombia is well-positioned to pursue a low-carbon development path given the country’s already large hydropower production, a model urban transport program, and significant potential to reduce emissions from agriculture, forestry, and other land-use (AFOLU). While reducing carbon emissions through these and other activities can demonstrate Colombia’s commitment to addressing global climate change, the primary driver of such activities should be that they are part of the country’s economic and sustainable development agenda. Policymakers need to ensure that public policies for climate mitigation support projects that are economic and achieve macroeconomic goals such as generating income and employment.

Given the importance of hydropower and Colombia’s huge potential for expanding agriculture and forestry, another consideration is that mitigation measures should not increase the country’s vulnerability to climate change impacts—some could actually do that—but should also increase the country’s resilience to natural and manmade disasters. These findings are based on an analysis of Colombia’s climate mitigation options made jointly by the World Bank and the Department of National Planning (DNP).