Colombia

In 2025, Colombia submitted its third Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) for the period up to 2035. The ‘NDC 3.0’ was drawn up in line with the country’s long-term climate strategy and confirms the existing reduction target to reduce net emissions by 51 per cent by 2030 to a maximum of 169.44 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents (MtCO₂e) compared with the business-as-usual scenario. In addition, the NDC sets an emissions target for 2035 for the first time: emissions are to be capped at between 155 and 161 MtCO₂e. Furthermore, the NDC strengthens measures to adapt to climate change and improves the information and implementation of measures that contribute to achieving the national mitigation target.

Reducing emissions from deforestation is a key component of Colombia’s climate action measures: according to the Climate Action Tracker, further efforts are needed, particularly in the energy and transport sectors, to fully decarbonise the economy.

At the 26th Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC COP 26), Colombia also published its Long-Term Low Greenhouse Gas Emission Development Strategy (LTS), known as ‘E2050’. The overarching goal is to achieve climate neutrality by 2050, with the focus on the sectors responsible for the highest greenhouse gas emissions – primarily the energy sector, as well as the agriculture, forestry and other land use (AFOLU). The Colombian government is relying on government-wide coordination through the LTS to ensure the country’s low-carbon and resilient development. The target of climate neutrality by 2050 was also enshrined in national legislation in 2021.

Back in 2016, the country initiated its process to develop a National Adaptation Plan (NAP), which was led by the National Planning Department (DNP) and submitted in 2021.

In 2012, Colombia published its National Biodiversity Policy, followed in 2017 by its National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan (NBSAP) (2016-2030), within the framework of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), aimed at implementing strategic biodiversity targets. In 2024, the country published its updated NBSAP at the CBD COP16 in Cali, Colombia – the Biodiversity Action Plan (BAP) 2024-2030. It defines four national priority areas with six goals for the implementation of the Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF).

Together with Germany, Colombia launched the NBSAP Accelerator Partnership at CBD COP 15 in September 2023 and is currently receiving IKI support through the project Operationalizing the NBSAP Accelerator Partnership with a funding volume of EUR 30 Million.

Colombia was also a founding member of the NDC Partnership in 2016. Since then, it has repeatedly submitted requests for support to the NDC Partnership and has received such support, including through IKI projects.

The cooperation with Colombia focuses on the IKI funding areas of Mitigating Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Conserving Biological Diversity.
In the area of mitigation, cooperation takes place primarily through numerous multi-country projects and constitutes the largest area of funding. Main topics are

• NDC and LTS support, 
• Just Energy Transition (JET), including coal phase-out and energy communities,
• Sustainably Energy and Resilience,
• Green Financing, and
• Sustainable Urban Development and Low-carbon Mobility.

In the funding area of Conserving Biological Diversity (Biodiversity and Marine Protection) the main topics are 

• Management of Protected Areas and Peace,
• Ecosystem protection and restoration and the sustainable use of ecosystem-based services,
• Cross-border measures to protect marine megafauna,
• Nature-based Solutions (NbS),  
• NBSAP implementation and biodiversity monitoring approaches,
• Support for Indigenous Peoples and Community Conserved Areas and Territories (ICCAs) and the participation of women, as well as 
• Biodiversity Financing. 

The other IKI funding areas are a little less represented. 

In the funding area of Adapting to the Impacts of Climate Change, the most important topics are 

• NAPs and NDC,
• Ecosystem-based Adaptation (EbA), 
• Nature-based Solutions (NbS) for resilient low-carbon and biodiverse developments, as well as 
• Land Use and Agriculture. 

In the funding area of Preserving and Restoring Natural Carbon Sinks, the focus is on 

• Forest Landscape Restoration (FLR), 
• Protection and conservation of moors and wetlands,
• deforestation-free and sustainable supply and value chains.

Strengthening bilateral cooperation Through the IKI Country Call Colombia

Colombia was one of the first three countries with which the IKI jointly organised a country call in 2017/18. As part of the second Country Call Colombia in 2024, two projects focusing on the following key areas were selected:

• Roll-out of renewable energies and economic diversification for a just coal phase-out
• Landscape scale restoration as an economic and multifunctional nature-based solution for peace

Partnership for Climate and a Just Energy Transition

In June 2023, Colombia and Germany signed a partnership on climate action and a just energy transition. On the German side, the Federal Ministry for the Environment, Climate Action, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety (BMUKN) was involved, alongside the Federal Ministry for Economic Co-operation and Development (BMZ), the Federal Foreign Office (AA) and the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy (BMWE). In June 2025, the first high-level dialogue under the partnership between Colombia and Germany took place in Bogotá. In addition to political dialogue, the partnership’s cross-cutting focus is on cooperation with other relevant stakeholders, such as civil society, the academic community and, in particular, the private sector.

The key topics of the Partnership for Climate and a Just Energy Transition are:

• Just energy transition: Expansion of renewable energies, green hydrogen and its derivatives, coal phase-out, energy communities
• Climate action: Strategic dialogues within the framework of international negotiations; support for UNFCCC negotiations; strategic exchanges on international climate agendas; support for the training of female leaders
• Protection and sustainable use of biodiversity and the environment: support for COP17, synergies between biodiversity and climate, bioeconomy, environmental crime, and communication training on forest conservation
• Sustainable and resilient urban development: strengthening decentralised cooperation in the field of sustainable urban development, energy transition in the transport sector, strengthening the gender approach in the field of sustainable urban development, Conversápolis platform
• Climate and biodiversity finance: access to funding for climate and biodiversity protection; promoting dialogue on green taxonomy; strengthening capacity for green finance; and measuring, reporting and verifying climate and biodiversity finance