ABSTRACT

Colombia, a country that is very vulnerable to climate change, has played a positive role in international climate negotiations. Paradoxically, Colombia is also the sixth largest coal exporter globally, and its government has adopted policies to further increase the country’s production of coal and other fossil fuels. This article explores to what extent the national government reproduces a powerful paradigm – namely, that fossil fuel extraction is necessary for development – and how this resonates at the sub-national level. We find that the government’s narrative has evolved to accommodate Colombia’s changing national circumstances and public criticism. Though counternarratives exist, they have struggled to propose credible nationwide alternatives to extractive-based development, thus reinforcing the belief that extraction-based development is unavoidable. We describe how government narratives constitute an obstacle to both supply-side policies to restrict fossil fuel development and to transitional assistance policies to adjust to shifts in the global coal market.

Key policy insights

• The view that fossil fuel extraction is necessary for development is a powerful barrier to supply – side climate policy.

• This view also hinders the formulation of transitional assistance policy.

• Empirical evidence that fossil fuel extraction seldom leads to equitable development is not enough to overcome this view.

• Narratives on fossil fuel-based development continuously adjust to prevailing economic development paradigms and contemporary development challenges.