In Colombia, the transport sector accounts for 36% of energy-related and 12% of total GHG emissions. Hence, decarbonizing the sector is fundamental for reaching the country’s NDC target of cutting expected emissions in halve by 2030. Additionally, public concern about air pollution impacts on public health has increased over the past years. According to calculations in Colombia urban air pollution is responsible of 10 thousand premature deaths and 75% of national health costs of environmental degradation, this is about 2% of the GDP (DNP, 2018).
Due to lacking regulations, the existing vehicle fleet is inefficient and polluting. The overall number of vehicles grows rapidly, between 2002 and 2020 it increased from 3.5 million to 16 million vehicles.
Regulatory instruments can improve the efficiency of the fleet and lead to a smooth transition to cleaner vehicles over time. Both the Ministry of Mines and Energy as well as the Ministry of Environment with the support of the Ministry of Transport have worked on different regulations such as fuel economy standards for light-duty vehicles and vehicle labels that provide information on GHG emissions and air pollutants. The IMPROVE project is supporting the Ministries in coordinating and moving efforts forward.
