Colombia

Colombia Mountain Forest
© flickr/ Pedro Szekely
Member of the

Cluster activities

In-country lead: United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)
Contact
Michael Comstock, UNDP NY
NDC Support Cluster approach:
  • NDC Support Cluster organizations with on-going projects in Colombia (UNDP, WRI, GIZ) have held two coordination calls to discuss the scope of planned activities by each organization. 
  • UNDP is currently in the process of finalizing the scope of its NDC support, which will be launched in fall 2017. Support is expected to focus on: sectoral implementation plans, enabling measures, private-sector commitments/ corporate reporting platform, a roadmap for developing a mid-century strategy, and gender considerations in NDC implementation.
  • WRI’s project began in June 2017 and is focused on: guidance on methodologies for assessing the impacts of policies/actions (in context of MRV system), milestones/indicators for two policies in the energy sector, and private-sector capacity building for corporate reporting. 
  • GIZ’s on-going projects are supporting Colombia on issues related to NDC implementation: capacity development on monitoring/reporting, improving Colombia’s MRV system, and supporting sectors on accounting/MRV in the context of sectoral mitigation action plans and NDC.
  • These organizations are currently in the process of determining an approach to improve collaboration and coordination in the country. Partners have also begun discussions on opportunities for collaboration, including possible joint missions or events in Colombia. Further details on these efforts will be forthcoming.
  • These projects have direct links to three of the Cluster’s thematic support areas: political/institutional frameworks, sector approaches, and data/transparency. 
  • Stakeholders targeted through these projects include government representatives (e.g., Ministry of Environment and Sustainable Development, the National Planning Department, the intersectoral commission on Climate Change, sectoral line ministries, etc.), as well as private-sector representatives (e.g., unions, companies, etc.)
  • UNDP will support Colombia in creating gender-responsive climate change policies and management processes, particularly through a cross-wide approach of the National Climate Change Policy implementation process and the country’s NDC mitigation and adaptation plans. They will particularly focus on three workstreams, which are institutional frameworks that will identify capacity gaps and country needs for achieving NDC targets, NDC planning for implementation, and enhanced climate instruments that are gender-responsive.

Political Partner: Ministerio de Ambiente y Desarrollo Sostenible (MinAmbiente)

Projects

NDC Cluster project(s)

For a complete overview of projects relevant for NDC implementation in Colombia, download the list here

NDCs

Colombia signed the Paris Agreement on 22 April 2016 and ratified it in June 2017.  The country’s NDC is available at the UNFCCC website.

Target

  • Reduce GHG emissions by 20% compared to BAU scenario by 2030 or by 30% if international support is provided
  • Exploration of market instruments envisaged
  • LULUCF sector included
  • Adaptation component builds on National Adaptation Plan (PNACC)

Priority Sectors

  • Priority sectors regarding mitigation targets:
    Energy; Industrial Processes and Product Use (IPPU); waste; Agriculture, Forestry and Other Land Use (AFOLU)
    [Covers all emission sectors acknowledged by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)]
  • Priority sectors regarding adaptation targets:
    Transport; Housing; Energy; Agriculture; Health

Climate Change Policy Context

  • Colombia’s NDC will be implemented in the framework of the National Climate Change System (SISCLIMA), which is a space for coordination among various relevant ministries in the country. Created in February 2016, SISCLIMA comprises state, private, and non-profit entities involved in policies, norms, processes, resources, plans, strategies, instruments, and mechanisms for coordinating and articulating greenhouse gas reduction actions and measures that at the same time will help with climate change adaptation.
  • Colombia has a national adaptation plan, which outlines adaptation actions. On the mitigation side, there are sectoral action plans that will serve as the basis for sectoral implementation plans in the context of achieving Colombia’s NDC target. In June 2017, Colombia also finalized a national climate change policy.
  • The country has made progress in developing an MRV system conceptually composed of three modules: MRV of emissions, MRV of emissions reductions, and MRV of financing. Related to this is a corporate reporting system that is underway and will provide inputs to the MRV system in the future.
  • Colombia presented its BUR at COP21 in Paris. The agriculture, forestry and land use (AFOLU) sector and the transport sector emerged as the major GHG-emitting sectors. Colombia is in the process of developing its second BUR.
  • The country has engaged in the identification of portfolios of regional mitigation actions and has advanced in the development of regional adaptation and mitigation plans.