Environment at a Glance: Colombia
Table of contents
This country note features selected environmental indicators from the OECD Core Set, building on harmonised datasets available on OECD Data Explorer. The indicators reflect major environmental issues, including climate, air quality, freshwater resources, waste and the circular economy, and biodiversity. Differences with national data sources can occur due to delays in data treatment and publication, or due to different national definitions and measurement methods. The OECD is working with countries and other international organisations to further improve the indicators and the underlying data. The text of this country profile is complementary to and has benefited from the OECD Environmental Performance Review of Colombia 2026. Definitions of indicators can be found in the Reader’s Guide.
Colombia is an upper middle-income country that has maintained steady economic growth over the past decade, except for a sharp decline in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, underpinned by a commodity price boom, significant economic policy reform and improved security. Despite progress, per person income remains low and inequality high. The vast majority of people live in cities in the Andean and Caribbean regions.
Colombia is located in the northwest of South America, with some territories falling within the boundaries of Central America. It is the 25th largest nation in the world and one of the world’s mega-diverse countries. Much of the biodiversity resides in forests, which cover more than half the territory. Colombia has abundant freshwater resources but variations in spatial and temporal distribution are marked.
Colombia is endowed with abundant minerals, metals and fossil fuels. It is the largest coal producer in Latin America and one of the largest coal exporters in the world. Colombia holds large reserves of metallic and non-metallic minerals, mainly in the Andean, Caribbean and Pacific regions. Gold, ferronickel and emeralds are the most important in terms of export revenue. Agriculture and mining are the two key sectors.
The per person production-based (i.e. produced within the territory) and demand-based (or footprint, i.e. including emissions incorporated in imported goods) greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions have fluctuated but generally declined since 2012. They remain well below the OECD averages. Demand-based emissions are close to production-based ones.
Emissions have been increasing since 2000, and their sectoral composition has not evolved significantly. The majority of GHG emissions originate from the land use, land-use change and forestry (LULUCF) sector, primarily driven by deforestation. Agriculture is the second-largest contributor, mainly due to livestock-related emissions, followed by transport and waste disposal. Energy consumption and the associated emissions continue to rise, driven by economic and population growth (OECD, 2026[1]).
Colombia continues to rely heavily on fossil fuels, despite having a relatively high share of renewables in total energy supply (TES). The country is one of the main coal exporters but the share of coal, peat and oil shale in TES is relatively small and has changed little since 2000, at 13.8% in 2024. Colombia is endowed with modest oil and gas resources. The shares of oil and natural gas in total energy supply have also evolved little since 2000, remaining at 41.3% and 21.4%, respectively, in 2024.
The share of renewables in TES has remained stable at 23.5% in 2024. However, their share in electricity generation has declined, falling from 70.7% in 2010 to 64.2% in 2024. Nearly all renewables are from roughly equal shares of biomass and waste, and hydropower, while solar, wind and geothermal remain marginal. Hydropower dominates electricity generation. However, limited storage capacity in hydropower infrastructure, combined with extreme precipitation and drought periods, leads to significant fluctuations in supply. During droughts, these shortfalls are typically offset by thermal generation, mainly from natural gas (OECD, 2023[2]) (OECD, 2026[1]).
Emissions of nitrogen oxides (NOₓ), non-methane volatile organic compounds (NMVOCs), and carbon monoxide (CO) have risen significantly since 2010, while particulate matter (PM₁₀, PM₂.₅) and sulphur dioxide (SO₂) have shown marginal declines. Fuel combustion remains a major driver of air pollution in Colombia. SO₂ emissions originate primarily from energy industries, manufacturing, and construction. Transport is among the largest contributors to NOₓ, NMVOCs, and CO emissions. Although some transport-related pollutants have decreased, overall emissions increased since 2015, largely driven by a sharp rise in CO emissions. These trends are most evident in urban centres, where deteriorating air quality is closely linked to the growing vehicle fleet and expanding industrial activity—both driven by demographic growth and rising consumption of goods and services (OECD, 2026[1]).
Emission intensities per unit of GDP of SOx, NOx, NMVOC and CO are much higher than the OECD average. By contrast, emission intensities per person are lower, except for SOx.
Despite recent progress, air pollution remains one of Colombia’s most urgent public health challenges. Population exposure to PM2.5 is much higher than the 2021 World Health Organisation threshold of 5 µ/m3, and regional variations are large: from 9 µ/m3 in Nariño to 17 in Antioquia (OECD, 2026[1]).
Municipal waste generation per person is lower than the OECD average but growing. Nearly all of this waste is landfilled.
Per person domestic material consumption and material footprint are low by OECD standards but unlike most OECD countries, have not been declining during the past two decades. Material productivity, although increasing, is well below the OECD average. Due to the importance of the forestry and agricultural sectors, the bulk of materials is composed of biomass, followed by non-metallic minerals.
Colombia is listed as one of the world’s “megadiverse” countries, hosting close to 10% of the planet’s biodiversity. Worldwide, it ranks first in bird and orchid species diversity and second in plants, butterflies, freshwater fishes and amphibians. With 314 types of ecosystems, Colombia possesses a rich complexity of ecological, climatic, biological and ecosystem components. Colombia is also one of the world’s richest countries in aquatic resources, which is explained in part by the fact that the country’s large watersheds feed into the four massive sub-continental basins. The country has several areas of high biological diversity in the Andean ecosystems, characterized by a significant variety of endemic species, followed by the Amazon rainforests and the humid ecosystems in the Chocó biogeographical area. However, a considerable part of these natural ecosystems has been transformed for agriculture, primarily in the Andean and Caribbean regions. It has been estimated that almost 95% of the country’s dry forests have been reduced from their original cover, including close to 70% of typically Andean forests. Ecosystem degradation is accelerating, driven by structural pressures such as land-use conflicts, agricultural and urban expansion, timber harvesting, extractive industries, infrastructure development, as well as invasive species (OECD, 2026[1]).
More than half of the mainland is covered with natural forests, which host more than half of the terrestrial animals and plants. One of the most threatened forest ecosystems is the dry forest, whose range is around 2% of its original extension (CBD, 2022[3]).
Colombia’s shares of terrestrial and marine protected areas are higher than the OECD averages. Most of terrestrial areas are strictly protected (IUCN categories I and II). Colombia already achieved the 2030 Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF) target of protecting 30% of coastal and marine areas, whereas more efforts are needed to reach the same target for terrestrial areas.
This section shows selected policy instruments based on data available for most OECD countries and does not provide a complete overview of countries’ policy mix to achieve their environment-related objectives. Interpretation should consider the country specific context.
The share of environmentally related tax revenue in GDP is well below the OECD average and declining in recent years, at a mere 0.6% in 2023. Its share in total tax revenues has also been declining, from 4.7% in 2010 to 2.8% in 2023. Like most OECD countries, the tax base is almost exclusively energy and transport. Most receipts came from the excise duty on fuels and, to a lesser extent, vehicle taxes. The revenue from taxes on pollution and resource management, however, remain negligible.
The country has long subsidised energy use for transport and residential purposes, primarily to stabilise fuel prices and address energy affordability concerns. Households in low-income categories benefit from lower electricity and gas prices. These are financed by a 20% surcharge on households in higher-income categories and commercial and industrial users. As the surcharge is insufficient to cover the cost to utilities, the government fills most of the difference at high fiscal costs (OECD, 2026[1]).
Colombia’s fuel price stabilisation mechanism (Fondo de Estabilización de Precios de los Combustibles or FEPC), introduced in 2007, compensated fuel suppliers for the gap between domestic and international petrol and diesel prices, shielding consumers from price fluctuations. In practice, fuel users paid below costs when global oil prices were high. With rising international energy prices and unfavorable exchange rates, the mechanism’s cost reached 2.5% of GDP in 2022. This prompted the government to gradually align petrol prices with international levels. As a result, the petrol price more than doubled and the fiscal cost of subsidies dropped to 1.3% of GDP in 2023 (OECD, 2026[1]).
In total, 13.4% of GHG emissions in Colombia were subject to a positive Net Effective Carbon Rate1 (ECR) in 2023. Explicit carbon prices in Colombia consist of carbon taxes, which cover 31.6% of GHG emissions in CO2 equivalent. Fuel excise taxes, an implicit form of carbon pricing, covered 19.9% of emissions in 2023. Direct fossil fuel subsidies cover 18.2% of emissions. About 0.1% of GHG emissions have a Net ECR above EUR 60 per tonne of CO2 equivalent, a mid-range estimate of current carbon costs. The largest emitting sector with on average positive Net ECRs is the industry sector, which accounts for 17% of the country's total GHG emissions. The Net ECR is zero or negative in the road transport, buildings and other GHG emissions sectors. Together, these sectors account for 78.7% of GHG emissions (OECD, 2024[4]).
The share of the environmentally related government research, development and demonstration (RD&D) budget, at 15.6% in 2020, is relatively high by OECD standards.
With less than 1 invention per person by national residents, Colombia is a small player in environmentally related innovation.
Colombia plays a dual-role in the international co-operation architecture as both a recipient of official development assistance (ODA) and a South-South and triangular co-operation provider. As such, Colombia highly values country ownership, capacity building and knowledge sharing as critical drivers to support national development through international co-operation (OECD, 2025[5]).
References
[3] CBD (2022), Country profiles: Colombia, https://www.cbd.int/countries/profile?country=co.
[6] IDEAM et al. (2024), “Annex 1. Document from Colombia’s National Inventory of Atmospheric Emissions and Removals: Greenhouse gases (1990–2021), criterion pollutants and black carbon (2010–2021)”, Colombia’s First Biennial Transparency Report (BTR 1), Institute of Hydrology, Meteorology and Environmental Studies, Ministry of Environment and Sustainable Development, United Nations Development Programme; Fundación Natura.
[1] OECD (2026), OECD Environmental Performance Reviews: Colombia 2026, https://doi.org/10.1787/968398f7-en.
[5] OECD (2025), Development Co-operation Profiles, OECD Publishing, Paris, https://www.oecd.org/en/publications/development-co-operation-profiles_04b376d7-en/colombia_32c7d65f-en.html.
[4] OECD (2024), Pricing Greenhouse Gas Emissions 2024: Gearing Up to Bring Emissions Down, OECD Series on Carbon Pricing and Energy Taxation, OECD Publishing, Paris, https://doi.org/10.1787/b44c74e6-en.
[2] OECD (2023), OECD Inventory of Support Measures for Fossil Fuels: Country Notes, OECD Publishing, Paris, https://doi.org/10.1787/5a3efe65-en (accessed on 21 March 2025).
OECD/ECLAC (2014), OECD Environmental Performance Reviews: Colombia 2014, OECD Environmental Performance Reviews, OECD Publishing, Paris, https://doi.org/10.1787/9789264208292-en
This work is published under the responsibility of the Secretary-General of the OECD. The opinions expressed and arguments employed herein do not necessarily reflect the official views of the Member countries of the OECD.
This document, as well as any data and map included herein, are without prejudice to the status of or sovereignty over any territory, to the delimitation of international frontiers and boundaries and to the name of any territory, city or area.
The statistical data for Israel are supplied by and under the responsibility of the relevant Israeli authorities. The use of such data by the OECD is without prejudice to the status of the Golan Heights, East Jerusalem and Israeli settlements in the West Bank under the terms of international law.
Note by the Republic of Türkiye
The information in this document with reference to “Cyprus” relates to the southern part of the Island. There is no single authority representing both Turkish and Greek Cypriot people on the Island. Türkiye recognises the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC). Until a lasting and equitable solution is found within the context of the United Nations, Türkiye shall preserve its position concerning the “Cyprus issue”.
Note by all the European Union Member States of the OECD and the European Union
The Republic of Cyprus is recognised by all members of the United Nations with the exception of Türkiye. The information in this document relates to the area under the effective control of the Government of the Republic of Cyprus.
Kosovo: This designation is without prejudice to positions on status, and is in line with United Nations Security Council Resolution 1244/99 and the Advisory Opinion of the International Court of Justice on Kosovo’s declaration of independence.
© OECD 2026
Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)
This work is made available under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International licence. By using this work, you accept to be bound by the terms of this licence (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
Attribution – you must cite the work.
Translations – you must cite the original work, identify changes to the original and add the following text: In the event of any discrepancy between the original work and the translation, only the text of original work should be considered valid.
Adaptations – you must cite the original work and add the following text: This is an adaptation of an original work by the OECD. The opinions expressed and arguments employed in this adaptation should not be reported as representing the official views of the OECD or of its Member countries.
Third-party material – the licence does not apply to third-party material in the work. If using such material, you are responsible for obtaining permission from the third party and for any claims of infringement.
You must not use the OECD logo, visual identity or cover image without express permission or suggest the OECD endorses your use of the work.
Any dispute arising under this licence shall be settled by arbitration in accordance with the Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) Arbitration Rules 2012. The seat of arbitration shall be Paris (France). The number of arbitrators shall be one.
← 1. Effective Carbon Rate (ECR) is the sum of fuel excise taxes, carbon taxes and tradeable permits that effectively put a price on carbon emissions. The Net ECR equals the ECR minus fossil fuel subsidies that decrease pre-tax fossil fuel prices.