Colombia and its climate challenges
The main areas of climate concern in Colombia are Droughts, wildfires, floods and deforestation. 2024 saw periods of intense droughts in Colombia and these helped triggered massive wildfires in many places across the country. According to Colombia One News, colombiaone.com, the the fires were so severe and extensive that the government was forced to seek international humanitarian aid in January, 2024, in order to adequately address the situation and this was done with the anticipation that the fires would continue on into the month of March. Colombia One News argues that on the night of January 24, 2024, 25 fires were actively burning at the same time, in different areas of the country. It argues that probably the most devastating fire was in Berlin Paramo, an area rich is biodiversity, in the north east section of the country near the Venezuelan border, where ” it is estimated that around 100 hectares of a reserve that has been protected for 20 years have been consumed by the fire.”
According to colombiaone.com, more droughts brought additional fires in several parts of the country in September, 2024. It claims the seasonal September and October rainfalls were not happening and the drought together with the intense heat were creating fertile conditions for wildfires. It contends that as of September 19, 2024, “there were 22 active fires and 6 controlled fires in the country.” and that “the situation was most severe in Colombia’s central range , especially in the departments of Tolima and Huila.” In Colombia a ‘department’ is similar to a province or a state.
The rain did not fall in September or October 2024, but it did in November and it caused mass floods across the country. According to Colombiaone.com, on November 10th the Government “announced a ‘situation of natural disaster throughout the country,’ due to heavy rains in various areas of the country since the beginning of November.” In declaring the natural disaster, the President of Colombia is quoted as saying, “a disaster situation is declared throughout the country by virtue of climate variability generating unpredictable and unusual impacts and increasing vulnerability in the territories.”
A big portion of Colombia is covered by two rainforests. On the east there is the Amazon. Though mainly situated in Brazil, the Amazon Rainforest extends into eastern Colombia, all the way north into Venezuela and into other countries in South America. The other is the Choco-Darien Rainforest, which occupies the entire east pacific coast of Colombia. It runs north all the way from the border with Ecuador, (in the south), through Colombia’s east pacific coast, passing eastern Panama and then into the western portion of Colombia’s Caribbean area. Colombia’s Choco-Darien Rainforest, though smaller, is considered to be richer in biodiversity than its Amazon region. Both Colombia’s rainforests are plagued by deforestation, mainly by illegal activities like, logging, cattle ranching, lands cleared for illicit crops and other activities, as observed by the international Union for Conservation of Nature, based in Amsterdam, Netherlands, iucn.nl. Brazil also plays a role in the deforestation activities in its portion of the Amazon Rainforest. In the Choco-Darien, Ecuador and Panama also play a role. Deforestation disturbs and dislocates the indigenous people that live in the regions, destroys biodiversity and rids the forests of the trees that participate in the elimination of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.
According to the World Bank, blogs.worldbank.org, Colombia is doing extremely well in the area of renewable energy. It says, “Colombia is in an impressive leadership position: The country generates as much as 75% of its electricity from renewable energy-more than twice the global average”. Most of Colombia’s renewable energy is derived from hydropower which itself is vulnerable to climate change, because droughts, which to some degree are influenced by climate change, can adversely affect the volume of water in rivers. The World Bank sees hydrogen as the next clean energy breakthrough for Colombia and has declared its willingness to assist in its production.
The Climate investment fund (CIF) of the World Bank, cif.org, asserts that it is working with Colombia in coordinating the necessary funds to help in the upgrade of Colombia’s energy integration system. The CIF is a financial program within the World Bank, that assists countries in finding the necessary financing to adapt energy facilities to meet national needs and reduce carbon emissions. As the CIF itself states, its “the world’s only dedicated climate investment program that supports developing countries in upgrading and adapting their national energy systems.” It further states, that it was able to assist Colombia with $70 million under the Energy Integration Program in 2024 and promises more help for the country in the future.
Colombia showed an impressive percentage increase in Electric Vehicle (EV) sales in 2025. Latam Mobility, latamobility.com, claims that “in January [2025] electric vehicle sales grew by 345%, with 966 vehicles sold compared to January 2024.” It claims Toyota brand led the way with Kia, Renault, Hyundai and BYD showed increased sales as well. To Latam Mobility, “Colombia continues to set the pace as one of the fastest-growing countries in the low-emission vehicle market in the region , driven by investments and public policies.” Latam mobility is a Mexican company with a Latin American focus, that operates in the transportation renewable-energy space in the region. It coordinates with stakeholders and invests in low emissions transportation initiatives, among other things.
—————————————————————————————————-