Colombia

Other activities

Bricks

• In 2020, a project implemented by Corporación Empresarial Ambiental (CAEM) and sponsored by the CCAC was awarded the Sustainable Development Goals Award under the non-business category by the Global Compact Network for Colombia and the Bogota Chamber of Commerce. The award honours outstanding practices by companies and civil society that contribute to meeting the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of the United Nations.
• In 2020, the Ministry of Environment and CAEM began formulating the Mitigation Actions Compendium for Bricks Sector as a tool to promote the technological reconversion of this sector within the framework of new environmental challenges and demands.
• In 2019, Colombia developed a National Circular Economy Strategy. It prioritizes six action lines based on the flow of materials considering their potential use, added value and available technology.
• In 2018, Colombia amended resolution 909/2008 on air emission or discharge standards for stationary sources relating to the brick sector. This is the result of the CAEM's efforts under a CCAC-supported project, which led to the formation of an inter-disciplinary roundtable between public authorities and brick producers.
• In 2019, Black Carbon measurements were finalized with twenty-seven additional measurements deployed, consolidating a total of 230 hours of measurement that helped define three new emission factors and completed seven national emission factors, developing the first portfolio of black carbon reduction measures for the brick sector.
• In 2016, the CCAC and Colombia developed an Inventory and Assessment Tool in Colombia for black carbon and other emissions from the brick sector to help policy makers assess and make strategic decisions about the sector and promote awareness and incentives for brick producers.
• Since 2015, The CCAC has been working with CAEM to concretely reduce black carbon and carbon dioxide emissions, given the development and health co-benefits. The first phase of work focused on assessing the application of the black carbon measurement instrument known as Ratnoze2 and the Climate Accounting, Measurement and Analysis (CLIAMA) Sampling Protocol in Colombia. After that it involved conducting a field evaluation of the black carbon sample kit instrument on brick kilns.

Transportation

• In 2018, Colombia published the technical document on soot free public transport “Mass Public Transport—Soot Free and More Efficient,” to raise awareness on the potential benefits of improving public transport on air quality and climate in Colombia. This work was undertaken partially because the CCAC assessed that Colombian cities (and Latin American cities in generally) have significant opportunities to make public transport cleaner and more efficient, thereby reducing short-lived climate pollutants.
• By 2019, Colombia had committed to implementing soot-free standards for new heavy-duty diesel engines by 2025. By 2023, Colombia will complete the transition to ultralow-sulfur diesel and by 2035, all in-use Heavy Duty Vehicles will meet these standards.
• In 2019, the National Government launched the National Strategy for Electric Mobility.

Air quality

• In 2017, Colombia passed Resolution No. 2254 which establishes air quality standards and emissions levels to better protect the environment and human health.
• In 2017, the Aburra Valley region joined the CCAC’s BreatheLife Campaign with a variety of commitments to reduce air pollution from particulate matter (PM 2.5). The metropolitan area’s plan includes an upgrade of public transit, an expansion of cycling accommodations, more sustainable production in industry and agriculture, and a plan to monitor network and data intelligence to better track air quality.
• In 2019, the fast-growing city of Barranquilla joined the BreatheLife Campaign with a focus on combatting air pollution from industry and waste management. The city further committed to developing an air quality management plan in 2018.
• In 2020, BreatheLife member Bogota unveiled an ambitious plan to cut air pollution by 10 percent in four years. The District Development Plan, is “a new social and environmental contract for the 21st century,” and allocates billions of dollars to a green recovery from COVID-19.
• In 2019, Bogota announced that it had ordered 379 electric buses and the same year Medellin announced that it was unrolling a 64-strong electric bus fleet.
• In 2018, Caldas joined BreatheLife, focusing on road transport emissions.
• In 2017, BreatheLife member Medellin approved and launched PIGECA 2017-2030, an air quality plan by the Metropolitan Area of Aburra Valley in collaboration with the Clean Air Institute. This was responsible in part for reducing the number of days the city's red alert for air pollution was triggered from 30 in 2016 to just one in 2018.
• In 2018, Santiago de Cali joined BreatheLife after developing comprehensive climate and clean air plans which included scrapping around 4,000 buses, introducing cleaner vehicles to its integrated public transportation system, promoting the use of bikes, and encouraging a switch from diesel to electric vehicles.
• In 2019, Colombia released the “National air quality strategy: 2019 - 2022.” This document was formulated with the objective of improving air quality in urban areas, with emphasis on reducing particulate matter.

Cooling

• In 2016, Resolution 41286 adopted the Colombia Indicative Action Plan on Energy Efficiency, a plan for the years 2017 to 2022. This plan defines specific objectives and goals to increase energy efficiency by targeting the transport and industry sectors as well as some of the country’s biggest energy consumers. It is expected to reduce short-lived climate pollutant emissions, particularly black carbon. 
• In 2015, Colombia did a Hydrofluorocarbon (HFC) Emissions Assessment with the CCAC based on information and materials generated in an earlier HFC review supported by the CCAC.
• Starting in 2016, many household appliances including refrigerators, washing machines, and air conditioners are required to display energy efficiency labels. In 2017, these labels became mandatory for commercial refrigeration equipment and gas appliances, like cooking equipment and water heaters.
• Since 2019, Colombia has been working towards a NAMA (concrete measures to achieve Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) for the Domestic Refrigeration Sector. Colombia’s NAMA Support Project is working towards a variety of ambitious goals, including a ban on HFCs, the application of Minimum Efficiency Standards in the domestic refrigeration sector, and an innovative financing mechanism to safely replace old appliances.
• In 2019, as part of the NAMA Support Project, 21 technicians from domestic refrigerator producers were trained on safe maintenance and repairs and technical advice on best practices for domestic production of refrigerators was developed.

Energy

• In 2019, Ecopetrol, Colombia’s largest petroleum company, announced as progress in its decarbonisation plan the goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 20% by 2030. Additionally, it contributed 1 million tons of CO2e to the national mitigation goal of 36 Million tons of CO2 equivalents.
• In 2018, the Ministry of Mines and Energy (MinEnergía) adopted the Comprehensive Climate Change Management Plan for the Mining Energy Sector (PIGCCme) through Resolution 40807. It aims to reduce climate change vulnerability and promote low-carbon development by strengthening both the sustainability and competitiveness of the mining sector.
• In 2017, Ecopetrol announced its plan to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in Santander, in northern Colombia, by taking actions to reduce 410,000 tons of CO2 equivalent from its operations with measures including decreasing methane venting in gas production.

Waste

• From 2014 to 2016, Colombia’s Zero Waste or ‘Basura Cero’ approach increased solid waste management by introducing an integrated and sustainable approach to decrease landfilling and increase recycling.
• In 2014, the CCAC’s Municipal Solid Waste Initiative supported the city of Cali in developing an organic waste management study aimed to reduce SLCPs and greenhouse gas emissions while delivering other social and economic co-benefits.
• In 2016, the National Policy for the Integral Management of Solid Waste laid out a nationwide plan for preventing waste generation, minimizing how much waste goes to disposal sites, promoting the reuse and treatment of solid waste for things like renewable energy to improve the country’s health and the environment.