{"id":579780,"date":"2026-07-11T04:05:27","date_gmt":"2026-07-11T04:05:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/579780\/"},"modified":"2026-07-11T04:05:27","modified_gmt":"2026-07-11T04:05:27","slug":"colombias-outgoing-environment-minister-warns-of-climate-action-setbacks","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/579780\/","title":{"rendered":"Colombia’s outgoing environment minister warns of climate action setbacks"},"content":{"rendered":"

BOGOTA, Colombia (AP) \u2014 Colombia<\/a> \u2019s outgoing environment minister warned Friday that the incoming government could reverse recent climate and conservation gains, pointing to its support for fracking and fossil fuel development and what she described as climate skepticism among some officials.<\/p>\n

In an interview with The Associated Press, Environment Minister Irene V\u00e9lez Torres said she fears Colombia could lose ground on climate action at a time when the country is already confronting increasingly severe environmental challenges, including El Nino,<\/a> a naturally occurring climate phenomenon that can disrupt rainfall patterns and trigger droughts, floods and extreme heat.<\/p>\n

\u201cArriving with an attitude of climate denialism is absolutely dangerous,\u201d V\u00e9lez said.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\"Colombian<\/p>\n

Colombian President-elect Abelardo de la Espriella, left, waves to supporters next to his wife Ana Lucia Pineda during a Mass in honor of Our Lady of the Rosary of Chiquinquira, in Chiquinquira, Colombia, July 9, 2026. (AP Photo\/Fernando Vergara, File)<\/p>\n

Colombian President-elect Abelardo de la Espriella, left, waves to supporters next to his wife Ana Lucia Pineda during a Mass in honor of Our Lady of the Rosary of Chiquinquira, in Chiquinquira, Colombia, July 9, 2026. (AP Photo\/Fernando Vergara, File)<\/p>\n

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The comments come weeks before President-elect Abelardo de la Espriella takes office on Aug. 7 following a narrow election victory that marked a sharp political shift in Colombia<\/a> after four years under President Gustavo Petro<\/a>. The outgoing administration sought to position Colombia as a global leader on climate diplomacy, Amazon protection and a transition away from fossil fuels.<\/p>\n

During his campaign endorsed by U.S. President Donald Trump, de la Espriella pledged to revive Colombia\u2019s oil sector, voiced support for fracking and argued the country should make greater use of its natural resources to spur economic growth. Environmental advocates and some Indigenous leaders have warned that greater emphasis on extractive industries could increase pressure on environmentally sensitive areas, including parts of the Amazon rainforest.<\/p>\n

About 42% of Colombia\u2019s territory is covered by Amazon rainforest, and the Petro administration made rainforest protection and a transition away from fossil fuels central pillars of its environmental agenda.<\/p>\n

Among V\u00e9lez\u2019s biggest concerns is the future of Indigenous environmental governance in the Amazon. She said she worries the incoming administration could weaken recent efforts to recognize Indigenous authorities as key environmental decision-makers and reduce support for Indigenous territorial governance initiatives.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\"The<\/p>\n

The Putumayo River flows near visible spots of deforestation on the outskirts of Puerto Asis, Colombia, Nov. 26, 2025. (AP Photo\/Ivan Valencia, File)<\/p>\n

The Putumayo River flows near visible spots of deforestation on the outskirts of Puerto Asis, Colombia, Nov. 26, 2025. (AP Photo\/Ivan Valencia, File)<\/p>\n

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She also expressed concern about the possible return of aerial glyphosate spraying of coca, the plant used to make cocaine, describing the herbicide as \u201cpotentially carcinogenic to humans\u201d and saying its use had caused lasting environmental and health impacts in Colombia.<\/p>\n

V\u00e9lez also warned about expanded fossil fuel development and mining in Colombia\u2019s paramos, unique high-altitude wetlands that supply water to millions of people.<\/p>\n

The incoming administration has rejected some of those characterizations. Fabio Arjona, the marine biologist chosen by de la Espriella to serve as environment minister, has said environmental debates should be less ideological, criticized what he called \u201cenvironmental hysteria\u201d and defended the possibility of fracking under strict controls while saying it should not occur in protected areas such as national parks and paramos.<\/p>\n

Representatives for de la Espriella and Arjona did not respond to requests for comment before publication.<\/p>\n

V\u00e9lez said the change in government should not erase recent efforts to reduce deforestation, restore ecosystems and strengthen protections for wetlands, paramos and the Amazon.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have a legacy that, despite our differences, should be preserved,\u201d V\u00e9lez said. \u201cIt would be an unforgivable mistake to abandon this agenda simply because it comes from a different political sector. Social and environmental justice must remain at the center of the political agenda.\u201d <\/p>\n

___<\/p>\n

The Associated Press\u2019 climate and environmental coverage receives financial support from multiple private foundations. AP is solely responsible for all content. Find AP\u2019s standards<\/a> for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at AP.org<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"BOGOTA, Colombia (AP) \u2014 Colombia \u2019s outgoing environment minister warned Friday that the incoming government could reverse recent…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":579781,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[269],"tags":[246594,29076,13642,3898,3477,442,11989,123626,356,18,440,58435,246595,121931,3334,20602,246596,19,17,227806,11992,7262,133,13647,66],"class_list":["post-579780","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-environment","tag-abelardo-de-la-espriella","tag-amazon-river","tag-central-america","tag-climate","tag-climate-and-environment","tag-climate-change","tag-colombia","tag-colombia-government","tag-donald-trump","tag-eire","tag-environment","tag-environmental-conservation","tag-fabio-arjona","tag-fracking","tag-general-news","tag-government-policy","tag-gustavo-petro","tag-ie","tag-ireland","tag-irene-vlez-torres","tag-latin-america","tag-plants","tag-science","tag-south-america","tag-world-news"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@ie\/116899370753212236","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/579780","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=579780"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/579780\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/579781"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=579780"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=579780"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=579780"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}