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As part of his energy and climate campaign promises, Colombian President-elect Gustavo Petro’s intention to halt oil exploration and pilot fracking projects and accelerate the transition to renewable energy raises questions about the direction of energy policy in the country.
The Amazon rainforest, one of the world’s most important ecosystems, faces environmental impacts from hydroelectric dams, oil and gas drilling sites, and mining projects. A new database and analysis by the Inter-American Dialogue reveals that state-owned enterprises, as well as small and mid-sized international companies from a handful of countries, operate the largest share of such projects in the Amazon region, meaning these companies have a substantial influence over the implementation of environmental and social safeguards.
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On February 9, the Latin America and Caribbean Centre at the London School of Economics and Political Science hosted an event at which Lisa Viscidi spoke about how revenue from extractive industries can be used to accelerate climate change mitigation and adaptation in Colombia and Peru.
A new report by the Inter-American Dialogue analyzes the challenges to environmentally and socially sustainable development of the oil and mining sectors in Colombia and raises important questions for policymakers, such as where extractive industries should be permitted to operate, who should be responsible for oversight and how to make operations more environmentally sustainable.
Colombia has to remain competitive with other major producers such as Mexico to attract needed investment in extractive industries.
