Colombia’s outgoing president Gustavo Petro, a former guerrilla and the rustic’s first leftist chief, got here to energy in 2022. He promised one thing few leaders of fossil fuel-producing international locations have critically tried: to scale back his nation’s dependence on oil, gasoline and coal.
Along with his vice-president Francia Márquez, a former environmental activist, Petro put in combination an bold plan to make Colombia much less depending on useful resource extraction. As an alternative, the point of interest was once on financial diversification, renewable power, larger democratic keep an eye on over power techniques and environmental coverage. With declining reserves of oil and gasoline, and rising prices of state of being inactive on local weather exchange, lowering dependence on fossil fuels has develop into an increasing number of pressing.
4 years on, as Petro prepares to depart workplace having served the utmost unmarried time period allowed underneath Colombian legislation, the consequences are combined. His authorities made essential development, in particular in renewable and neighborhood power. However a lot of its maximum bold reforms had been undermined via political opposition, institutional inertia and the ongoing significance of fossil gas revenues.
That have issues a ways past Colombia. Around the world south, governments face a rising debate over whether or not fossil fuel-producing international locations will have to proceed to extract assets to fund construction and the transition to low-carbon power, or start transferring clear of extractive fashions altogether. Colombia has supplied one of the crucial clearest checks but of the second one manner.
The significance of the controversy was once highlighted on the contemporary First Convention on Transitioning Clear of Fossil Fuels, co-hosted with the Netherlands within the Colombian town of Santa Marta. Held in a while ahead of Petro left workplace, the development showcased Colombia’s try to place itself as an international chief in post-fossil construction. It got here six months after the UN’s Cop30 local weather summit in Brazil failed to noticeably take on fossil fuels.
Gustavo Petro talking on the UN in New York in 2025.
John Angelillo / Alamy
It additionally supplies a chance to evaluate what Petro’s authorities in truth accomplished – and what stood in its approach. Teachers ceaselessly describe his manner as “post-extractivist” – the concept construction will have to now not rely on increasing fossil fuels and mining, however as an alternative paintings against what Petro has referred to as “the economy for life”. Petro’s enjoy highlights the demanding situations confronted via different states taking a look to practice the similar trail.
Loads extra renewable power
Colombia has historically were given maximum of its electrical energy from hydropower. Then again, the environmental value of large dams, together with droughts connected to local weather exchange and the El Niño phenomenon imply the Petro authorities was once prepared so as to add extra wind and sun.
When Petro was once elected in 2022, non-hydro renewables supplied not up to 2% of Colombia’s electrical energy technology capability. Through the top of 2025, that was once as much as 15%, most commonly due to new sun. The large soar in renewable power could be the outgoing president’s unmarried maximum tangible local weather fulfillment.
Then again, Petro’s authorities additionally recognised that creating renewables can reproduce inequality in the similar approach as fossil fuels, the place income are extracted and locals omit out. It due to this fact sought to democratise power manufacturing via neighborhood power schemes focused at areas suffering from poverty, war or coal dependence. Some 18,000 teams expressed hobby and round 1,000 entered government-backed coaching programmes.
Fossil gas struggles
However in spite of all this, the state struggled to decelerate fossil gas construction. Petro’s management had pledged to prohibit fracking, halt new exploration licences for mining, oil, gasoline and coal, and to take away a fuel subsidy. The measures sparked sturdy resistance from the fossil business. However round 380 contracts had been already underway via the top of 2022. There was once little room to forestall ongoing manufacturing, in spite of some wins. In the meantime the federal government failed to completely dismantle different fossil subsidies corresponding to the ones for diesel.
Turning in those reforms proved politically tricky. They had been undermined via the loss of a majority in parliament, the cancellation of coverage choices via the rustic’s Constitutional Court docket and via political instability inside Petro’s management. Ministers and senior officers had been often turned around and plans and priorities ceaselessly modified.
On this context, it’s not sudden that Petro’s management often attempted to decelerate fossil fuels the usage of decrees or brief choices, corresponding to pointing out geographical zones the place mining lets in can’t be given. Then again, those choices may also be simply got rid of via a long run authorities, thus making it laborious to maintain through the years.
A very powerful failure was once the shortcoming to go a legislation to prohibit fracking in spite of a couple of makes an attempt. In any other instance, efforts to ban new large-scale open-pit coal mining initiatives had been dropped from the rustic’s nationwide construction plan.
In construction strengthen for the post-fossil-fuel transition, one of the most hindrances Petro confronted are particular to Colombia: his birthday party political instances, as an example, and even the specter of US army intervention.
However many identical hindrances will likely be confronted in different places within the world south. Those come with a powerful fossil gas foyer, persevered revenues from extractive industries, other people anxious about their jobs or power shortages, disconnect between native pressing wishes and the tempo of state reaction and institutional inertia.
Petro succeeded in increasing renewables, construction new neighborhood power programmes and striking a fossil gas phase-out at the coverage schedule. But he struggled to go rules that may lock in those adjustments or to triumph over the state’s dependence on fossil gas revenues.
Whether or not Petro’s reforms will final will in part rely on who replaces him. However Colombia’s enjoy already provides important courses for different international locations making an attempt to transport clear of fossil fuels and construct selection construction fashions.
