2023-12-13 15:00:26
Colombian President Gustavo Petro during a plenary session of the 28th world climate conference, in Dubai (United Arab Emirates), December 1, 2023. RAFIQ MAQBOOL / AP
On the occasion of the 28th Climate Conference of the Parties (COP28) in Dubai, ten small island states and Colombia committed to promoting a treaty on the non-proliferation of fossil fuels. A hundred cities and thousands of environmental defense organizations support the initiative. Twice the size of France, populated by 50 million inhabitants, Colombia, which produces some 800,000 barrels of crude per day and 85 million tons of coal per year, figures as a giant in this coalition where we find states such as Samoa, Palau, Fiji, Antigua and Barbuda and East Timor.
In power since August 2022, left-wing President Gustavo Petro wants to put his country on the path to an ambitious energy transition. In January, he announced that his government would not sign new hydrocarbon exploration contracts. The right-wing opposition is rebelling. Many, in the center and on the left, have doubts.
“It is not up to a country like Colombia, with very deficient infrastructure, to assume the cost of the energy transition”considers Sergio Guzman, director of the Colombia Risk Analysis institute, recalling that Colombia produces only 0.3% of global CO2 emissions, largely responsible for climate change.
“We choose the side of life »
President Petro knows that he is not unanimous. “Even my country’s society will say: ‘How can the president contemplate such economic suicide, knowing that we depend on oil and coal?’ », he declared in Dubai. According to a February poll by the Invamer Institute, 59% of Colombians disapproved of the decision to end oil exploration contracts and 65% said they were in favor of the establishment of multinational companies and foreign investments.
But Mr. Petro holds the line. “Today we are witnessing an immense confrontation between fossil capital and human life, and we must choose a side. We choose the side of life”, he added.
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Colombia, which has only seven years of oil and natural gas reserves left, remains very dependent on its fossil fuels. Taxes, dividends and royalties provide 15% of state revenue. Oil and coal exports represent 55% of total exports. The Colombian government wants to allocate the revenue collected to a fund intended to finance clean energy projects.
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