BOGOTA, Colombia — BOGOTA, Colombia (AP) — Colombia’s outgoing environment minister warned on Friday that the incoming administration could undo recent climate and conservation progress, citing its backing for fracking and fossil‑fuel development and what she called climate skepticism among certain officials.
In an interview with The Associated Press, Environment Minister Irene Vélez Torres said she worries Colombia might slip backward on climate action just as the nation faces mounting environmental pressures, including El Niño—a natural climate pattern that can alter rainfall and provoke droughts, floods, and extreme heat.
Her remarks come weeks before President‑elect Abelardo de la Espriella is sworn in on August 7, after a tight election that signaled a pronounced political shift in Colombia following four years under President Gustavo Petro. The outgoing administration had sought to portray Colombia as a global leader in climate diplomacy, Amazon conservation, and a move away from fossil fuels.
During his campaign, which received the endorsement of former U.S. President Donald Trump, de la Espriella promised to revitalize Colombia’s oil sector, backed fracking, and argued that the nation should exploit its natural resources more aggressively to drive economic growth. Environmental groups and certain Indigenous leaders cautioned that a stronger focus on extractive activities could intensify pressure on fragile ecosystems, including portions of the Amazon rainforest.
Approximately 42 percent of Colombia’s land is covered by Amazon rainforest, and the Petro government placed forest protection and a shift away from fossil fuels at the core of its environmental policy.
One of Vélez’s primary worries is the fate of Indigenous environmental stewardship in the Amazon. She said she fears the new administration might erode recent progress in recognizing Indigenous authorities as essential environmental decision‑makers and cut funding for Indigenous territorial governance programs.
She also raised alarms about a possible resumption of aerial glyphosate spraying on coca—the plant used to produce cocaine—calling the herbicide “potentially carcinogenic to humans” and noting that its past use has left enduring environmental and health scars in Colombia.
Vélez further warned against expanding fossil‑fuel development and mining in Colombia’s páramos, the distinctive high‑altitude wetlands that provide water to millions.
The incoming administration has pushed back on some of those descriptions. Fabio Arjona, the marine biologist selected by de la Espriella to serve as environment minister, argued that environmental discussions should be less ideological, denounced what he termed “environmental hysteria,” and defended fracking under strict regulations—provided it stays outside protected zones like national parks and páramos.
Representatives for de la Espriella and Arjona did not reply to requests for comment before publication.
Vélez stressed that the governmental transition should not erase recent strides to curb deforestation, rehabilitate ecosystems, and bolster protections for wetlands, páramos, and the Amazon.
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