Colombia Launches P4G National Platform to Build upon Green Growth Success
Subject
P4G Country Partners
Publication Date
2019-10-08
About
NEWS RELEASE
BOGOTÁ – OCTOBER 8 – Today, the government of Colombia and the P4G (Partnering for Green Growth and the Global Goals 2030) Initiative announced the launch of the Colombian P4G National Platform: a community of leaders in business, government and civil society that will provide guidance within the country to pursue a partnership-driven approach to advancing the SDGs.
The National Platform will make critical contributions to Colombia’s pursuit of a low-carbon economy. The country has committed to up to 30% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2030, a goal that requires coordinated action from leaders across sectors. Through the P4G National Platform, the Government of Colombia will have the opportunity to extend its network of innovators, thought leaders and investors aimed towards green growth solutions.
The launch, hosted by the Government of Colombia and the Danish Embassy, featured high-level presenters, including First Lady of the Government of Colombia María Juliana Ruiz Sandoval, who opened the event, Ambassador Mogens Pedersen of Denmark, Ambassador Jeroen Roodenburg of the Netherlands, National Planning Minister Luis Alberto Rodríguez, Minister Ricardo José Lozano of the Ministry for Environment and Sustainable Development, and Leila Surratt, P4G Head of Strategy and Engagement. Speakers discussed how P4G is helping Colombia promote sustainable transportation in line with the government’s recent launch of its National Strategy for Electric and Sustainable Mobility. Presenters also discussed P4G’s partnerships’ contributions in Colombia toward clean energy and building efficiency. More than 90 individuals from diverse sectors also attended.
“In my role as Goodwill Ambassador of SDG 17 in Colombia, it is an honor to witness the launch of the national P4G platform, an accelerating and financing initiative for green projects and solutions that allows us to make visible and support the alliances we make in our country in favor of Ecological sustainability” said Mrs. Ruiz.
The Minister of National Planning reiterated the entity's commitment to lead the P4G initiative and the National Government's commitment to the implementation of the 2030 Agenda and the Sustainable Development Goals.
“As Minister of National Planning, I consider important to reinforce the message that sustainable development is a responsibility of all the stakeholders of the society. Within the P4G initiative, the private sector is recognized as a key player for green growth”.
“We are honored to work with the Government of Colombia to launch the P4G National Platform in Colombia today,” said Surratt. “Together with our Colombian partners, we have already built a strong foundation for progress. From our five partnerships working towards key SDGs in Colombia to the leadership the First Lady recently demonstrated at our 2019 P4G Awards event, we are glad to share this vision for a more sustainable, inclusive future with our Colombian stakeholders. We look forward to advancing on work that has yet to be done.”
To qualify for P4G funding and acceleration support, partnerships must include public, private and civil society partners, be focused on projects in one or more developing countries, and offer a commercially viable solution in one or more of the sustainable development goals (SDGs) in food and agriculture, water, energy, cities and circular economy. P4G is currently accepting applications for 2020 partnerships.
P4G currently funds five partnerships in Colombia:
The Zero Emission Bus Rapid-deployment Accelerator works in Mexico City, Mexico, São Paulo, Brazil and Medellín, Colombia to increase their deployment of electric buses. ZEBRA expects to secure a public commitment from regional finance institutions to invest USD 1 billion in zero emission electric drive technology in Latin America by 2021. The partnership is also working to gain commitments from major bus and engine manufacturers to support EV growth through collaboration with cities on vehicle specifications, charging strategies, pilot projects, financing and other steps necessary for fleet-wide deployment of zero emission buses.
The Clean Energy Investment Accelerator (CEIA) expands clean energy access with multinational companies in developing markets, including in Colombia, Indonesia and Vietnam. Their approach focuses on three pillars for increasing clean energy access at scale: purchasers, pipeline and policies. Having received a second round of P4G funding in 2019, the partnership will expand its onsite and offsite renewable energy procurement models in Colombia.
Cities Climate Action Project supported by the Building Efficiency Accelerator works across an international network that includes Green Building Councils, city governments, businesses and NGOs to bring about transformational change in building practices. Ultimately, the project will provide cities with the tools they need to develop and implement energy-efficient building policies and programs to scale energy savings. Through P4G funding support, the initiative is scaling across Latin America, with special focus in Colombia and Mexico.
PlusPlus is designed to scale agri-food related small and mid-size businesses in developing countries that are considered too large for micro-credit and too small for mainstream banks. The partnership provides a solution and creates access to funding for this so-called “missing middle” by linking them to a crowd of investors. Ultimately, this partnership will boost the expansion of many scalable agri-food businesses, contributing to sustainable economic development and the fight against hunger and poverty in Colombia, Ghana, Indonesia, Kenya, Mexico, Zambia.
Electric Mobility Partnership for Colombia aims to bring green economy principles to this high-traffic, high-movement microeconomy by working with a leading Latin American airline to renewably power their fleet of El Dorado Airport ground vehicles. To achieve this goal, the partnership will track the amount of organic residue the airport produces, and how much of this can be used to power fleet vehicles. When completed, this partnership provides a model circular economy approach to a more sustainable transportation sector in Bogotá.
About P4G
P4G – Partnering for Green Growth and the Global Goals 2030 – is funding 20 public-private partnerships with projects in developing countries. P4G is a collaborative partnership among 12 partner countries: Bangladesh, Chile, Colombia, Denmark, Ethiopia, Indonesia, Kenya, Mexico, the Netherlands, the Republic of Korea, South Africa and Vietnam. P4G is funded by the governments of Denmark and the Netherlands and hosted at World Resources Institute. Other partner organizations include C40 Cities, Global Green Growth Institute, International Finance Corporation, World Economic Forum and the United Nations Global Compact.
About DNP
DNP – National Planning Department – is an Administrative Department that is part of the Executive Branch. Administrative departments are technical entities responsible for directing, coordinating a service and providing the Government with the appropriate information for decision-making. They have the same category of Ministries, but they have no legislative initiative. The DNP is an eminently technical entity that promotes the implementation of a strategic vision of the country in the social, economic and environmental fields, through the design, orientation and evaluation public policies, the management and allocation of public investment. As President of the SDG Commission, DNP is the leading entity for the implementation of the SDGs in Colombia.