United States Department of State

In 2020, the Colombian government released its second National Action Plan (NAP) on Business and Human Rights for the period 2020-2022, which responds to the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights and the OECD’s Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises. A third NAP is under development. Colombia also adheres to the corporate social responsibility (CSR) principles outlined in the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises. CSR cuts across many industries and Colombia encourages public and private enterprises to follow OECD CSR guidelines. Beneficiaries of CSR programs include students, children, populations vulnerable to Colombia’s armed conflict, victims of violence, and the environment. Larger companies structure their CSR programs in accordance with accepted international principles. Companies in Colombia have been recognized on an international level for their CSR initiatives, including by the State Department.

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Climate

Colombia has set out a Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) target of reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 51 percent by 2030. Colombia accounts for 0.6 percent of global emissions. In December 2021, Colombia passed a Climate Action Law that codifies its NDC target and its commitment to reach net zero carbon emissions by 2050. It also mandates the establishment of carbon budgets for 2020 to 2030 and establishes sectoral goals for housing, health, agriculture, environment, mines and energy, and transportation. Colombia’s E2050 strategy, submitted to the UNFCCC in November 2021, outlines how Colombia will reach this 2050 goal through nine strategic initiatives. It is also the policy instrument that guides national, sectoral, and territorial actions to build a climate-resilient future in Colombia, while demonstrating the country’s international commitment to the achievement of the global objectives embodied in the Paris Agreement. Colombia has put in place instruments that internalize the social and environmental costs of climate change and incentivize companies to incorporate into their production costs the negative impacts caused by the generation of GHGs or carbon. Among the most recognized instruments in this area are the carbon tax and the Emissions Trading System (carbon bonds market).

Overall, Colombia has adequate environmental laws, is proactive at the federal level in enacting environmental protections, and does not waive labor or environmental regulations to attract investors. Colombian law also has provisions requiring consultations with indigenous communities before many large projects; however, the Colombian government struggles with enforcement, particularly in more remote areas. Geography, lack of infrastructure, and lack of state presence all play a role, as does a general shortage of resources in national and regional institutions. International NGOs such as Global Witness and Amnesty International consistently rank Colombia as one of the most dangerous countries in the world for environmental and land rights defenders. Environmental defenders face threats from narcotics traffickers, paramilitaries, and other illegal armed groups, particularly in areas with limited state presence. The Colombian government, activists, NGOs, and the international community all agree more can be done to protect environmental defenders. In October 2022, Colombia’s Congress ratified the Escazu Agreement to protect the rights of environmental defenders, and it is pending final approval from the judicial branch. NGOs and communities report that threats against environmental defenders are often related to their advocacy against land grabbing, illegal mining, deforestation, extractive projects, and fracking.

The Environmental Chapter of the CTPA requires Colombia to maintain and enforce environmental laws, protect biodiversity, and promote opportunities for public participation. Colombia participates in the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI). In parallel with its accession, the Colombian government worked with the OECD to develop and implement the OECD Due Diligence Guidance for Responsible Supply Chains of Minerals from Conflict-Afflicted and High-Risk Areas, especially related to gold mining. The Colombian government faces challenges in formalizing illegal gold mining operations. A 2023 UNODC report highlighted illegal gold output grew from 69 percent of the total gold produced in Colombia in 2020 to 72 percent of the total for 2022 (Colombia’s Comptroller General reported an 85 percent estimate in 2022); the proceeds from illegal gold mining were estimated at approximately USD 2.4 billion in 2020. Buyers, sellers, traders, and refiners of gold may wish to conduct additional due diligence as part of their risk management regimes to account for the influx of illegally mined Colombian gold into existing supply chains. According to local NGOs, Colombian authorities have struggled to effectively dismantle illegal gold mining operations that are responsible for negative environmental, criminal, and human health impacts, and often employ forced labor. The Colombian government has focused some efforts on transnational criminal elements involved in the production, laundering, and sale of illegally mined gold, and the fraudulent documentation that is used to obscure the origin of illegally mined gold.
Colombia ratified the Minamata Convention on Mercury in 2018 and banned the use of mercury in mining. Despite making mercury an illegal substance in most applications and a commitment to phase out mercury use from all other industries by 2023, mercury use has continued to rise because of lack of a plan for enforcement.

While the E2050 strategy calls for net zero deforestation by 2030, after the signing of the Peace Accord in 2016, Colombia saw increased deforestation each year because forested areas were accessible for the first time in decades and new criminal groups sought territorial control of previously claimed areas. That trend reversed for the first time in 2023, when deforestation rates decreased by 29.1 percent in 2022 compared to 2021, the lowest level in almost 10 years, and a further 25-35 percent reduction in 2023. However, in April 2024 the Minister of Environment reported deforestation in the first quarter increased 40 percent compared to the same period in 2023. The Petro administration is pursuing a new strategy to address deforestation that is focused on building social contracts with communities, prosecuting financiers of deforestation, and utilizing military and police efforts to monitor uninhabited areas. The results of the administration’s strategy remain to be seen. While according to the Colombian government, licit hydrocarbon, palm oil, and livestock industries increasingly implement best practices and meet high international standards, there are still producers in these sectors that are part of illegal and informal chains and are among the drivers of deforestation.

The primary drivers of deforestation are related to both commodities and the socio-political situation and include land grabbing, extensive cattle ranching, illicit crops, unplanned transport infrastructure, illegal mineral extraction, illegal logging, and agricultural frontier logging in prohibited areas.

In Colombia, deforestation is a crime. There is no form of legal deforestation unless there is a reforestation plan. There is no exception for the agricultural sector, including cacao, palm oil, and timber. Colombia presently encourages voluntary approaches such as zero-deforestation agreements, through which producers commit to eliminate deforestation from their supply chains.