Trump's return forces Colombia to reconsider its $40 billion green plan

Trump's return forces Colombia to  reconsider its $40  billion green plan
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The country  failed to secure US  funding before former President Joe  Biden's departure and is now turning  to other sources.

Since President Donald Trump returned to the White House earlier this  month, Colombia has been forced to postpone its $40 billion climate investment plan.
Susana Muhamad, Colombia's environment minister,  has been frantically  asking officials in Washington  for seed funding to help the South American nation's economy  move away from fossil fuels  and toward green  investments.
Colombia's initial plan was to  reach an agreement with the  United States while former President Joe Biden was still in office, and the country sent a delegation to Washington earlier this month to  achieve that goal. But that failed, so Colombia  was forced to  turn to a new approach. Muhamad said she still hopes to  have "a good financial  plan in place" by the  start of the COP30 climate summit in Brazil in  November. President Biden Meets  with Colombian President Gustavo Petro
Gustavo Petro,  President of Colombia, meets with former  U.S. President Joe Biden at the White House on April 20,  2023. Photo: Oliver  Contreras/Sipa
The complications add to political turmoil in Germany, another country that was  expected to  play a leading role in the  deal. "We had to  change our  entire strategy," Muhamad said in an interview. "We were expecting a group of countries to come together  to support [the plan], led by the  United States and Germany. But with the political  change in both countries, they had to  back down," he said.
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On the first day of his second  term, Trump took steps to  withdraw the  United States from the Paris  Agreement, scrapping the  U.S. international climate finance plan and  suspending all foreign aid, signaling a broad retreat from global climate  action. FrenchZero
Colombia's plan to  abandon fossil fuels
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Trump's election and the rise of populism  around the world add new challenges to securing global climate finance at a time when developing countries  desperately need funds to  offset climate impacts and invest in clean,  safe alternative sources of income.
Read more: The  global climate order is under Trump's second attack
Withdrawing support for climate action "creates air cover for other countries  that want to say they want to do less  financing and less  emissions control," said David Victor, a professor of innovation and public policy at the University of  California, San  Diego, who  follows. closely. global climate  diplomacy.
Colombia's investment plan aims to attract  clean energy investment to replace  fossil fuel export revenues, which are expected to decline after the country  halted new oil and gas exploration two years ago. It mimics the so-called  Joint Energy Transition Partnerships,  multi-billion dollar programs signed between rich  countries and countries  such as Indonesia, South Africa and  Vietnam.
Indonesia's special envoy for climate and energy said on Friday that Trump  was "certain" to withdraw the  United States from the JETP  in that country, dealing a blow to  an agreement that has been  plagued by  political tensions, local  administrative formalities and  growing difficulties in  financing. Colombia is now working with other countries to become  key partners, Muhamad said. She declined to name any, but has previously  mentioned China as an alternative to the  United States. Muhamad said she also met with  representatives of the private sector and  philanthropic organizations during her recent visit to  Washington. The Colombian government  is providing up to  30 percent of the  plan's funds and expects  governments in developed  countries to contribute additional  funding. The government  is also working with the Inter-American Development Bank and the country's export credit agency, ProColombia, to help  meet remaining investment needs,  Muhamad said. "We are  changing the  direction, but we are  maintaining the strategy,"  he said. "There are  many opportunities  in the world.

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