Colombia versus oil and gas: what’s the truth behind the transition?

In 2022, Gustavo Petro became the first left-wing candidate to win the Colombian presidential election. During his election campaign, Petro pledged to end the granting of new oil and gas exploration contracts, a commitment his government has so far succeeded in maintaining.
This week, Alasdair speaks with third-year doctoral student Guy Edwards who has interviewed over 50 people - from former government ministers to academics and industry representatives - about the impact of Petro’s pledge on Colombia’s energy transition.
Guy and Alasdair discuss what the pledge entails, how it was received by the fossil fuel industry and right-wing media and what will likely become of it following fresh presidential elections next year.
Guy Edwards is a PhD candidate in International Relations at the University of Sussex and a member of the Working Group on Natural Resources, Energy and Climate Obstruction in the Global South of the Climate Social Science Network
Further reading:
Commentary: The Petro government’s big gamble on ending fossil fuel licensing,
University of Sussex, (sussex.ac.uk/research/projects/sus-pol/news-bl…) 2025
Climate obstruction in the Global South: Future research trajectories, PLOS Climate Journals, (journals.plos.org/climate/article/authors?id=1…) 2023
Supply-side climate policy: A new frontier in climate governance, WIREs Climate Change, (wires.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/wcc.…) 2024
El dilema de Colombia y el mundo: salir de la era fósil o sufrir sus impactos devastadores, Elespectador, (elespectador.com/ambiente/el-dilema-de-colombi…) 2023
Retrasar la transición energética podría costarle a Colombia 88.000 millones de dólares,
Elespectador, (elespectador.com/ambiente/retrasar-la-transici…) 2023
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