Opec Fund gives $150m in loan to Colombia

The OPEC Fund for International Development (the OPEC Fund) is co-financing Colombia’s “Climate Action Policy and Energy Transition Programme” with a $150 million policy-based loan. The programme aims to foster economic opportunities based on the sustainable use of natural resources, develop circular economy models and promote the energy transition.

OPEC Fund Director-General Abdulhamid Alkhalifa said, “We are pleased to support Colombia’s climate action and promote sustainable and resilient growth. With our loan, the country will be able to adopt measures that reduce the vulnerability to climate change and boost economic performance. This aligns with the OPEC Fund’s Climate Action Plan targets.”

The OPEC Fund is co-financing the project with the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), the Development Bank of Latin America (CAF), Germany’s KFW Development Bank, the Agence française de développement (AFD) and the Central American Bank for Economic Integration (CABEI).

The OPEC Fund’s policy-based lending contributes to countries’ financing needs by providing fast-disbursing resources conditional on policy and institutional reforms that help strengthen the economic framework and the creation of conditions for sustainable and inclusive growth. The loans support a reform agenda and the implementation of policies agreed between co-financiers and the government.

Colombia’s programme focuses on three components: to strengthen implementation capacity to manage climate action; to foster economic opportunities based on the sustainable use of natural resources and the development of circular economy models; and to promote the energy transition. Policy actions include, among others the conservation and protection of biodiversity, consolidation of green businesses, promotion of climate-smart agriculture and diversification of the country’s energy mix.

The OPEC Fund’s Climate Action Plan, launched in 2022, commits 40 per cent of all new financing to climate-related investments by 2030. The programme is being successfully implemented across the OPEC Fund’s entire investment portfolio.