The imperative to achieve greater sustainability in energy production led to the launch of the Long-Term Green Growth Policy in 2018. This document contains sustainable development targets for 2030, including expanding the installed capacity of renewable energies to 15% of total energy production. [67] An earlier law (Law 1715), passed in 2014, set out to diversify the energy system by incentivising private capital investment in renewable energy integration. It provided fiscal incentives, a dedicated fund and the legal basis for the development of renewable energy initiatives, allowing further policy and regulatory action. [68]

With close to half of Colombia’s land area and approximately 4% of its population not connected to the electricity grid, expanding access is another priority. The World Bank has deemed essential the development of non-conventional energies in remote areas to enable local communities to access basic services and development opportunities. [69] To this end, the government has created a National Rural Electrification Plan (Plan Nacional de Electrificación Rural, PNER), which “prioritises the use of non-conventional and preferably renewable energies for the promotion and use of appropriate technological solutions for power generation”, in keeping with widespread support for a greener system. [70]

There are a number of barriers to Colombia’s investment in NCES. Perhaps most importantly, the country has vast resources of unexploited fossil fuels, as well as existing infrastructure that supports their extraction and use. This is likely to put off investment in renewable energies, particularly as Colombia does not have a strong record of incentivising green energy investment through subsidies, grants or other means. Energy production has also seen a sixfold increase since the early 1980s, with most of this growth due to the expansion of coal mining activity and oil exploration and production. [71] In addition, there is insufficient infrastructure to supply renewables from the energy-rich north-east of the country to centres of demand. [72]

There is also a huge skills gap across Latin America, which makes it hard for countries like Colombia to adjust to new sources of growth after reaching middle-income status. [73] Broadly speaking, 50% of Colombian firms report difficulty finding workers with the right skills. [74] Data also shows that 40% of young Latin Americans are neither studying nor working, and that 55% of employees are working in the informal economy. [75] With the involvement of the Inter-American Development Bank and the World Bank, the Colombian government launched the Colombia Científica programme in 2016 to strengthen research and teaching in higher education. This has resulted in improvements to the provision of high-quality educational and vocational programming up to the tertiary level. [76]