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.
Environment at a Glance: Colombia
Except during the COVID-19 pandemic, Colombia has enjoyed strong economic growth for much of the last decade, 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 and demand-based (or footprint) 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.
Available data suggest that emissions have been increasing since 2000 and their sectoral composition has not evolved significantly. The majority of GHG emissions are due to the land use, land-use change and forestry (LULUCF) sector, due to deforestation and emissions from livestock. The agricultural sector is the second largest emitter, ahead of the energy and transport sectors.
In 2021, Colombia ranked sixth largest net exporter of coal in the world. At least 85% of the indigenous production of coal were exported in the last ten years, with Europe and the United States being its main export partners (OECD, 2023[1]). Yet, the share of coal, peat and oil shale in total energy supply is relatively small and has changed little since 2000, at 11.2% in 2023.
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% and 23%, respectively, in 2023.
The share of renewables has also remained stable, at 25% of total energy supply in 2023. Hydroelectric generation dominates the power, electricity sector. Climatic variability impacts hydroelectric generation, which is substituted with thermal generation, mainly from natural gas, in times of drought (OECD, 2023[1]).
2018 data show that emission intensities per unit of GDP of sulfur oxide (SOx), nitrogen oxide (NOx), non-methane volatile organic compounds (NMVOC) and carbon monoxide (CO) are much higher than the OECD average. By contrast, emission intensities per person are lower, except for SOx.
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 16.9 in Antioquia.
Municipal waste generation per person is much lower than the OECD average. However, almost all 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 at about the same rate as the OECD area, 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.
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[2]).
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 GBF target pf protected 30% of coastal and marine areas, more efforts are need 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. Its share in total tax revenues has also been declining, from 5% in 2000 to less than 3% in 2022. Like most OECD countries, the tax base is almost exclusively energy and transport.
Electricity and gas subsidies targeting underprivileged parts of the population amounted to around COP 1.3 billion annually between 2012 and 2020, with COP 2.85 billion earmarked for 2023. Despite rationalising the modalities of the Fuel Price Stabilisation Fund to improve its sustainability, the Fund remains a strain on the country’s public budget, which has registered a deficit of almost COP 18 trillion in 2022 (1.2% of GDP) (OECD, 2023[1]).
In total, 13.4% of GHG emissions in Colombia were subject to a positive Net Effective Carbon Rate (ECR) in 2023. Explicit carbon prices in Colombia consist of carbon taxes, which cover 31.6% of GHG emissions in CO2 eq. Fuel excise taxes, an implicit form of carbon pricing, cover 19.9% of emissions in 2023. Direct fossil fuel subsidies cover 18.2% of emissions. About 01% of GHG emissions have a Net ECR above EUR 60 per tonne of CO2 eq., a mid-range estimate of current carbon costs. The largest emitting sector with on average positive net effective carbon rates 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[3]).
The share of the environmentally-related government R&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[4]).
References
[2] CBD (2022), Country profiles: Colombia, https://www.cbd.int/countries/profile?country=co.
[4] 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.
[3] 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.
[1] OECD (2023), OECD Inventory of Support Measures for Fossil Fuels: Country Notes, OECD Publishing, Paris, https://doi.org/10.1787/5a3efe65-en.
OECD/ECLAC (2014), OECD Environmental Performance Reviews: Colombia 2014, OECD Environmental Performance Reviews, OECD Publishing, Paris, https://doi.org/10.1787/9789264208292-en
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