Colombia is currently updating its Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC), which will be submitted to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) later this year. This update aims to highlight Colombia’s national priorities, such as biodiversity and food security, as well as cross-cutting approaches related to peacebuilding, human rights and gender equity. It also seeks to enhance alignment with land-use planning to boost local climate action.
Recognizing the role that subnational governments play in planning and implementing the country’s climate commitments, Colombia endorsed the Coalition for High Ambition Multilevel Partnerships (CHAMP) pledge at UNFCCC’s 28th Conference of Parties (COP28) in Dubai. The pledge contains a commitment for greater multilevel cooperation in crafting country’s climate plans to ensure that the next round of national pledges reflect greater ambition and inclusivity.
To implement CHAMP’s commitments, WRI Colombia and Colombia’s Ministry of Environment and Sustainable Development designed and launched a strategy to involve subnational governments in the NDC update process and increase national and subnational climate ambition. Developed in partnership with the German Society for International Cooperation (GIZ) and with support from Bloomberg Philanthropies during the second half of 2024, the strategy utilized a participatory approach to host five regional workshops designed for a diverse set of subnational actors—including youth, women and representatives from secretariats, local government, and Indigenous and Afro-Colombian groups—to ensure inclusive formulation of the country’s updated NDC.
We broadly found that subnational proposals highlight the urgency of addressing local climate impacts while offering co-benefits like biodiversity conservation, disaster risk reduction and food security. However, Colombia must strengthen the connection between local planning and national climate instruments, while also enhancing the capacity of local governments to implement equitable and inclusive climate measures.
Below, we explore the needs, challenges and opportunities identified by subnational governments in detail to ensure their climate priorities are included and addressed in Colombia’s updated NDC.
Urban Priorities for Colombia’s Next NDC: Adaptation, Conservation & Restoration
The 35 participating cities (including larger metropolitan areas, municipalities and districts) focused their proposed NDC measures on adaptation to climate change, specifically around the implementation of nature-based solutions to strengthen urban climate resilience. Cities proposed actions such as ecosystem restoration (e.g., rebuilding riverbanks and canal areas), wetland conservation to prevent flooding, and tree cover and green space expansion to reduce the impacts of extreme heat. Mitigation impacts aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions were not widely prioritized among cities. Those that did propose them mainly focused on waste management.
The emphasis on adaptation reflects Colombia’s high vulnerability to the impacts of climate change, with cities often facing the most immediate and severe risks, such as flooding, landslides and extreme heat. As a result, adaptation has become the priority for this NDC update cycle. Likewise, as Colombia is not a major global emitter and already has a mitigation target aligned with achieving carbon neutrality by 2050, there is a strong national emphasis on building resilience while maintaining progress on existing emissions reduction commitments.
Cities also emphasized the need to incorporate peace and human rights perspectives, underscoring that climate action should not deepen inequities or generate conflict between communities and institutions. Workshop participants continuously voiced the need for a just transition, highlighting efforts to mitigate negative impacts from new technology and infrastructure.
Not only were city representatives asked to explore what they wanted to see in Colombia’s updated NDC, they also identified how city voices could be more effectively integrated into NDC planning processes. They argued that for cities to effectively contribute to national climate planning and implementation, Colombia must increase collaboration between local governments, the private sector, non-governmental organizations and international groups. Aligning efforts with local planning instruments and the “E2050” strategy represents an opportunity to steer actions toward more integrated and resilient urban development, as it facilitates the allocation of technical and financial resources for implementation.
However, cities still face significant challenges in implementing NDC measures. Chief among them is the need for greater clarity on the incentives available to implement the climate actions prioritized in Colombia’s NDC. Will the national government offer financial or technical support, or reward implementing cities? Or will subnational governments be left on their own to continue implementing climate solutions? Highlighting their need for increased access to climate finance and technical capacity, workshop participants called for clarity on how implementing NDC measures would fiscally and politically benefit cities, as they fear implementing NDC measures could increase national oversight and local workload.
Regional Priorities for Colombia’s Next NDC: Climate Finance & Multilevel Cooperation
Like cities, most departments (similar in size and operation to state governments in other countries) prioritized adaptation targets such as protecting water supply areas and increasing community agroforestry zones. However, departments stressed the importance of implementing climate finance and planning measures to enhance territorial resilience, including the need to integrate climate and variability considerations into land-use planning to reduce loss and damage.
The departments’ proposals also did not significantly focus on mitigation targets. However, sectors such as environment and agriculture were seen as having potential for emissions reduction strategies, particularly through nature-based solutions and sustainable agriculture practices.
Cross-cutting approaches were prominent in departmental discussions, with a strong emphasis on peacebuilding and human rights. Proposed targets aimed to ensure equal access to the benefits of climate action. Gender equity and the inclusion of ethnic communities were also seen as fundamental for the design, implementation and monitoring of territorial climate action. Departmental representatives highlighted the need to improve climate resilience, increase biodiversity and food security, and prevent loss and damage for the most vulnerable communities. This feedback from departmental representatives reflects a commitment to a more just, inclusive and locally focused climate transition.
Departments also identified local benefits from NDC implementation, such as job creation, reduction of greenhouse gas emissions and improved food security. Additionally, they acknowledged a growing alignment with global trends that promote the integration of climate action and biodiversity conservation. Local knowledge was seen as a key advantage for designing context-specific and effective measures.
The alignment of departmental proposals with existing plans and the E2050 strategy reflects growing coherence between regional public policies and climate goals, which could support more efficient use of technical and financial resources to scale prioritized targets for the NDC update. But despite progress, departments face major challenges in implementing the proposed targets. Particularly, departments struggle with climate governance, as they still lack clarity around roles and responsibilities in the design, implementation and monitoring of local climate action.
Why Multilevel Partnerships Are Vital to Effective National Climate Commitments
Subnational governments play a key role in climate action. Involving them in planning and target-setting processes is crucial to ensure that Colombia’s climate commitments are aligned with local and regional realities. Proposed targets gathered from participants of our workshops primarily focused on adaptation, underscoring the urgency of addressing climate impacts at the local level. Nature-based solutions stood out among the prioritized actions—not only for their mitigation and adaptation benefits but also for their co-benefits, such as biodiversity conservation, disaster risk reduction, food security and their ability to strengthen local economies. This reinforces the importance of aligning the country’s NDC with broader biodiversity agendas.
And, while the importance of incorporating inclusion and justice into Colombia’s NDC was recognized by cities and departments, there is still a clear need to strengthen local capacities to adequately adopt and effectively implement equitable climate action. Likewise, it is crucial to strengthen the articulation between subnational planning, climate instruments and national commitments to facilitate the integration and scaling of local measures into the NDC.
It is important to analyze the feasibility of subnational proposals to incorporate them into Colombia’s NDC 3.0. Not all proposed measures may be viable, given local capacities, resource availability or technical requirements. However, by evaluating the proposals with clear criteria, the subnational governments can prioritize the most impactful, realistic and complementary actions for inclusion. This approach ensures that local contributions meaningfully enhance Colombia’s NDC while remaining achievable.
What’s Next?
As Colombia prepares to submit its climate commitments ahead of COP30 in Brazil, the Ministry of Environment has launched a public webpage inviting stakeholders to contribute to its updated NDC. The platform also highlights key insights from the ongoing consultation process, reinforcing Colombia’s commitment to inclusiveness and climate ambition.
Héctor Miguel Donado is Research & Project Manager for WRI’s Climate, Economics & Finance program.
Olga Nieto is Subnational Climate Action Consultant for WRI Colombia.
Juliana Durán Prieto is Project Coordinator for WRI’s Climate, Economics & Finance program at WRI Colombia.
Carolina Useche is Director of the Climate, Economics & Finance program at WRI Colombia.
Pandora Batra is Senior Strategic Engagement Manager for WRI’s Climate program & WRI Ross Center for Sustainable Cities.
