Latin American refineries are adapting existing infrastructure to produce renewable fuels rather than constructing new facilities, with Colombia positioning itself to enter the emerging biofuels market through pilot programs and planned capacity expansion in Barrancabermeja.
Colombia’s natural gas shortage is driving an environmental reversal in the industrial sector, forcing companies to switch from cleaner fuels to more polluting alternatives. Between January 2025 and January 2026, Colombian industry substituted 38.6 Giga BTU per day of natural gas – equivalent to 16% of non-regulated industrial demand – with higher-emission fuels.
Colombia has avoided nearly 7 million tonnes of CO₂-equivalent emissions during the Petro administration through the entry into operation of clean energy projects including solar, wind, and small hydroelectric facilities, the Mines and Energy Ministry announced on World CO₂ Emissions Reduction Day.
Colombia’s industrial natural gas demand reached its lowest level in a decade during December 2025, triggering increased consumption of more polluting fuels as companies abandon gas for coal, diesel, fuel oil, and liquefied petroleum gas.
Acting Environment Minister Irene Vélez Torres led a dialogue with 40 Colombian ambassadors and diplomatic mission representatives to advance preparations for the First Conference for Transition Beyond Fossil Fuels.
Colombia’s Environment and Sustainable Development Ministry has opened a public consultation to define the roadmap for implementing the Escazú Agreement, aiming to strengthen environmental democracy and guarantee rights to information, public participation, and environmental justice.
Ecopetrol and the José Benito Vives De Andréis Marine and Coastal Research Institute (Invemar) signed a renewed collaboration agreement to advance knowledge generation and conservation of Caribbean seabed ecosystems, building on their existing framework partnership.
The Unión Sindical Obrera (USO) called on November 28, 2025, for Colombia to develop experimental fracking pilot projects with “the highest oversight” to open possibilities for developing unconventional deposits as an effective short-term measure to increase oil and gas reserves.
Colombia’s Constitutional Court validated Decree 1275 of 2024, which recognizes indigenous peoples as environmental authorities within their territories, but established specific conditions for its application. The decree, signed by President Gustavo Petro and issued by the Ministry of Environment, responds to a demand from ancestral communities spanning more than three decades.
Ecopetrol achieved a significant sustainability milestone by contracting a vessel equipped with an auxiliary wind propulsion system, reducing CO2 emissions by 49% compared to conventional ships.
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