Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) to the Paris Agreement: Colombia

The 21st session of the Conference of the Parties (COP21) of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) was held in Paris in November and December 2015. 195 participating countries negotiated and adopted the Paris Agreement, which includes objectives to peak greenhouse gas emissions as soon as possible, to limit the global average temperature increase above pre-industrial levels to well below 2°C, and to pursue efforts to limit the increase to 1.5°C. 

The Paris Agreement, which entered into force on 4 November 2016, requires Parties to put forward their best efforts through “nationally determined contributions” (NDCs). These NDCs represent targets and actions for the post-2020 period. 

Colombia's NDC includes:

• An unconditional target of reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 51% below business-as-usual in 2030. This implies a net emissions peak starting from 2027. Additionally, a 40% reduction of black carbon emissions from 2014 levels.
• The new NDC (2020) does not set a conditional target.
• The NDC aims to set the pathway towards net-zero emissions by 2050.
• Adaptation components by 2030, with 30 different adaptation goals (the first NDC stated only 10). 

 

The NDC covers the following greenhouse gases (GHG): CO2, CH4, N2O, HFCs, PFCs, SF6, and Black Carbon. The NDC covers all economic sectors.

Regarding emissions from the oil and gas sector, Colombia’s NDC includes mitigation of fugitive emissions and makes a clear mention of Resolution 40807-2018 as a key component of its climate change mitigation strategy. The Ministry of Mines and Energy is the one responsible for the fugitive emissions measure that is part of the sectorial strategic lines towards GHG emissions mitigation. The potential for mitigation is between 0.39 and 3.24 MTCO2eq.

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