Colombia is making progress towards decarbonizing its economy with the support of the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), through a line of credit to finance projects related to the energy transition that contribute to the reduction of CO2 emissions and economic reactivation.

The financing line for Banco de Comercio Exterior de Colombia S.A. (Bancóldex) includes a COP$175,000 million (approximately $45 million) IDB loan, as well as a co-financing of $3.5 million, and a $1.5 million non-reimbursable financing from the Clean Technology Fund.

This program will help promote the country's productivity and competitiveness, through the financing of strategic green energy and electric mobility projects aimed at private or public promoters of clean and inclusive energy transition projects.

Through the program, Bancóldex will be able to finance vehicles for mass or integrated public transportation systems, for private transportation services, individual passenger and cargo transportation. It will also be possible to finance electric vehicle stations, bus maintenance depots and homologation and test centers for electric vehicles.

In addition, projects related to battery storage, energy efficiency, distributed generation, smart metering infrastructure (AMI), and projects of non-conventional sources of renewable energy such as solar, wind, small hydroelectric energy projects, biomass and green hydrogen will be supported, as well as associated transmission lines.

Colombia's goal is to reduce greenhouse gases by 51 percent by 2030, as part of its commitment to the Paris Agreement and within the framework of nationally determined contributions.

In Colombia, the agriculture, forestry and energy sectors are the main emitters of greenhouse gases. The transport sector, in particular, represents 36 percent of final energy consumption and is one of the largest generators of emissions derived from combustion.

As part of its commitments to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, the country launched the decarbonization of the transport sector by promoting zero-emission vehicles and recharging infrastructure.

The loan is aligned with Vision 2025, the IDB Group's roadmap to advance toward recovery and inclusive growth in Latin America and the Caribbean, along four of its pillars: digital economy, productivity, gender and inclusion, and climate change.

This is the third operation in a series that is part of the Conditional Credit Line for Investment Projects, approved by the IDB's executive board in 2019 for an amount of $600 million over a six-year period.