Colombia Receives $70 Million Loan from Climate Investment Funds for Renewable Energy Integration

• Colombia has become the first country to benefit from the Climate Investment Funds (CIF), receiving a $70 million loan to transition to clean energy. This loan will help build infrastructure for renewable electricity transmission, including batteries, transmission lines, and green hydrogen facilities.

What happened? 

Colombia has become the first country to benefit from the Climate Investment Funds (CIF), receiving a $70 million loan to transition to clean energy. This loan will help build infrastructure for renewable electricity transmission, including batteries, transmission lines, and green hydrogen facilities. The loan is expected to attract an additional $280 million from multilateral development banks and carbon finance markets. The loan is part of a $300 million pot created from donations from the United Kingdom, Netherlands and Switzerland. Other countries that will benefit from the CIF are Kenya, Mali, Fiji, Ukraine, Brazil, India, Indonesia, Turkey, and Costa Rica. 

Why does it matter? 

The $70 million loan from CIF will help Colombia build infrastructure to transmit renewable electricity to both communities and businesses. It is estimated that the loan will help eliminate 1.6 million tons of CO2, which is 1% of the greenhouse gas generated in Colombia annually. The loan will also help Colombia reach its goal of being carbon neutral by 2050, as it is one of nine Latin American countries working toward a target of 70 percent renewable energy use by 2030. Additionally, the loan will help attract $280 million more from multilateral development banks and carbon finance markets. 

What's next? 

The largest energy firm of Columbia, Ecopetrol, and French renewable energy Independent Power Producer Total Eren will be implementing the ‘Rubiales’ solar photovoltaic (PV) park that will have a capacity of 100 MWp. Additionally, the World Bank’s Board of Directors has approved a $300 million loan for Colombia to strengthen its resilience to natural hazards and technologies to tackle climate change and health emergencies. With the loan from CIF and other initiatives, Colombia is on track to reach its goal of becoming carbon neutral by 2050.