Protected Carbon in Colombia

Seventeen protected areas across Colombia's central and northern regions host 40 current, planned, or idled oil and gas projects, representing over 257 million tonnes of potential CO2 emissions if burned. Thirteen of these protected areas host extraction projects with reserves under 10 MMBOE. Shutting down such sites would reduce the financial cost of leaving reserves in the ground while protecting over three-quarters of the country's impacted protected areas. Six of these protected areas have no history of current or past fossil fuel extraction. With estimated start-up dates as early as 2029, swift action is needed to halt the oil industry's expansion into these undisturbed protected areas. The Guajira Basin Offshore project in the previously untouched Sawairu Seagrass Reserve is particularly concerning. While still in the initial bidding process, this development is projected to extract and transport almost 500 MMBOE of gas-condensate from a region vital to sea turtles and over 3,000 indigenous Wayuu community members

Affected Areas

These protected areas in Colombia contain current or planned fossil fuel projects. Oil, gas, and coal extraction in protected areas harms their natural value while contributing to climate change.

Extraction Data

This table shows a summary of potential emissions from fossil fuel extraction projects in protected areas in Colombia (including projects that are currently extracting, planned or idled).

Deposits Data

This table shows a summary of potential emissions from fossil fuel deposits under protected areas in Colombia. Many of these are not yet the target of any industry activities and could more easily become part of a non-extraction policy.

Early Warnings

This table shows untouched protected areas that have planned carbon extraction projects, along with their respective startup dates.

Profiting Companies