Q&A: A multigenerational approach to Colombia’s energy transition

[Editor’s Note: Over the past few weeks, R4D’s Leveraging Transparency to Reduce Corruption (LTRC) team reconnected with country experts and practitioners they have engaged with over the last couple of years to discuss their work together, and the challenges ahead. In a five-part series of interviews, they highlight the experiences and perspectives each of them have on strengthening extractives governance, transparency, and accountability. In this post, Crudo Transparente’s Álvaro Jiménez Millan and Yessica Prieto Ramos explains how a LTRC-supported guide is helping to improve transparency in Colombia’s energy transitioning plan.]

It’s an important time in the Colombian extractive sector where Crudo Transparente, a civil society organization, takes a holistic, multigenerational approach to addressing the socioeconomic issues associated with hydrocarbons and the use of royalties, by acting as an interlocutor. This is evident in our conversation with their Director, Álvaro Jiménez Millan Millán, and the organization’s National Director of Projects and Research, Yessica Prieto Ramos.

Crudo Transparente recently finished a project on applying the Natural Resource Governance Institute corruption diagnostic to hydrocarbons in the Colombian municipalities of Tauramena and Maní, in the department of Casanare. Transparencia Colombia is now building on the results of their work.

Can you tell us more about the current state of play of governance challenges in Colombia?

Álvaro: Colombia is transitioning and currently experiencing important changes in governance. Our government is proposing significant changes around energy transition and decarbonization of our economy to achieve a vision that aligns more with global climate action plans. Public opinion has shifted, just as economic actors adapt to the new changes.

Yessica: Yes, I agree with you, the transition debate focuses on the public agenda. Participation mechanisms are evolving such that communities and citizens are now being involved in developing energy generation initiatives in their regions. Also, there is the capitalization of the resources created by the hydrocarbon and mining sectors, which continue to be our country’s primary funding sources.

I believe these two issues are critical. On the one hand, we must consider participation channels. On the other hand, we must consider the investment of extractive resources in the energy transition.

Álvaro: Yes, I completely agree. I believe this situation will help us deal with transparency and corruption issues. The hydrocarbon sector will be observed more rigorously, especially because citizens have expressed concerns about the subject.

How are you working on these issues in Colombia?

Álvaro: Yessica and I approach the transparency issue, as well as the hydrocarbon issue, in different ways. In my case, I’ve been working with communities to address the issue of armed violence in different regions of Colombia. I have learned about the effects of the hydrocarbon industry in general and the extractive sector in Colombian armed conflict situations.

We decided it was important to investigate this industry’s social, economic, and political effects. Although the environmental issues are being considered, no Colombian organization is working on the economic impact of exploring or exploiting hydrocarbons on communities, and the political dynamics. That is why we are working on and researching these issues.

Yessica: As Álvaro mentioned, I pursued a different path. My area of expertise has always been research. Before joining Crudo Transparente, I worked on systematization of information on agricultural policy issues for the peace agreement. I also worked in corporate social responsibility programs in the energy industry and the systematization of reporting on local experiences with social responsibility issues.

When I joined Crudo Transparente in 2015, I started researching hydrocarbons and the social repercussions of the industry.

Álvaro: Now, this difference in our personal experiences is also associated with age. Because I am older than Yessica, it is as if two generations of Colombians from different origins and experiences are looking at the same problem in a society plagued by violence for the past 60 years. In my case, I have spent the last 30 years working on issues of armed violence, war, antipersonnel mines, the hydrocarbon industry, and Crudo Transparente’s projects.

Yessica: I am a political science professional. I’m finishing the last classes for a Master’s degree in the governance of risk and natural resources.

Interesting! And how has this been so far? How did Colombia’s political and social climate contribute to your focus on hydrocarbons?

Álvaro: I believe the Colombian political and social climate and our personal experiences with our country’s political and social situation encouraged us to consider the topic of hydrocarbons. In my case, I went through a difficult experience. An oil pipeline blew up in the Segovia municipality of Machuca due to an attack by the ELN, a non-state armed organization. The explosion happened about 25years ago. At that time, I was working in public administration in the area where this happened.

Eighty-four people died in that explosion, many of whom were children. Forty people were injured. Because of this incident, I became more interested in how these issues affect communities and the relationship between the extractive industry and armed violence in general. As a result, I wanted to investigate the effects of this industry on communities in a context as complex and violent as Colombia’s.

How about you, Yessica? Did Colombia’s political and social context impact your perspective in any way?

Yessica: I believe Colombian politics revolve around energy issues, even if people do not recognize it and are not deeply engaged in its public debate. This is because Colombia’s resources are primarily obtained from the extractive sector – it accounts for more than 4% of the national GDP and 50% of exports. As a result, what happens in the extractive sector impacts national politics and public policy decisions. It is impossible to discuss the current transitioning process toward a more social vision without considering the country’s energy future. Before deciding on other energy and social policies, you must analyze the extractive sector.

I believe all the research and the mission of Crudo Transparente are developed from this interest and my own.

How have these political and social climate issues been addressed at the subnational level of Colombia?

Álvaro: The truth is that Colombia has made very little progress in terms of fostering subnational public dialogue on the topic of hydrocarbons. The government’s effort to provide mechanisms for that remains unstable. Having said that, it is important to recognize that Colombians have discussed not only the hydrocarbons issues but also the extractive industry issues.

The communities in several sections of the country strongly oppose the expansion of extractive industries for three reasons. One, these industries have not provided very significant benefits to the communities in the exploitation zones. Two, the extractive industry has been linked to the armed violence that Colombia has experienced. Third, the lack of training and information at the subnational level about the industry and its economic impacts has hindered development.

Another key issue is that at the subnational level in Colombia, extractive industries, particularly hydrocarbon resources, are viewed as an issue of royalties. It has been a potent weapon of corruption in Colombia’s regional governmental sectors and communities. It creates a corruption cycle that is not dependent on a single person but rather on an entire system of corruption developed around this type of activity.

Yessica: We should also underline that while communities express displeasure on this industry, there are no legal or suitable means within political channels to convey this dissatisfaction because public engagement mechanisms have been paralyzed since 2019 or 2020. We are waiting for Congress to pass a new law outlining the coordination and concurrence procedures that must exist between nations and territories to define the issues regarding extractive projects.

This is necessary for territorial debate because most strikes and protests actions are carried out de facto, which means strikes and protests are the last resource that communities have for making their voices heard against a central government that keeps politics at the central level and has prevented communities and regional and municipal entities from participating in the development of extractive projects.

How do you navigate the complex relationships with underserved populations (indigenous, Afro-Latinas, laborers, etc.) through your public policy advocacy?

Álvaro: Our primary focus is on developing relationships in the regions. We are currently establishing a process of discussions in a zone high in natural gas production. We are speaking with local communities and national authorities on the role gas will play in the energy transition, because Colombia has considerable gas reserves. We have participated and discussed with the workers and the unions.

The debate of how to become energetically sustainable, using systems other than those we have traditionally used, is critical for society. Gas is an option, and our strategy is to interact with communities, form local partnerships, and strengthen the discussion with Afro-descendant and peasant organizations, as well as with nations’ authorities. It’s a difficult issue, but I think that’s how to handle it. We must communicate with communities affected by industry dynamics, whether positively or negatively. We believe this is very important.

What work are you doing with R4D under the LTRC initiative to address and reduce the corruption problem in this sector?

Álvaro: Our engagement with R4D under the LTRC initiative has enabled us to establish contact and build bridges with key industry players who were skeptical of working with non-governmental organizations. They believed it was impossible to create bridges with Colombia’s social division.

We have developed a guide from that process and started using it in our interactions with the Ministry of Energy and members of local communities.

However, continuity is very important. We believe it is critical to replicate this at the national and subnational levels because it will be a useful tool for discussion. Communities could use it to their advantage or benefit from getting rid of the things they don’t like.

How will you implement this work in the future, and which stakeholders will you work with?

Yessica: We have been collaborating with other organizations doing similar work. The guide serves as a road map for other organizations to explore the topic. However, as we indicated in the project and as Álvaro underlines, the guide must be applied in the territorial region so that we can assess the effectiveness of what has already been evaluated. That would be after obtaining the first results and after five years.

The guide outlines the steps to take in the future, starting next year. I believe everything is in place to continue developing the process and gaining community interest in this critical topic. The first subnational EITI pilot is being conducted in Casanare department, where the procedure for this guide was carried out. It is one of the first subnational EITI pilots.

We believe that the guide should be implemented in parallel with this process to strengthen citizen participation in anti-corruption and transparency issues and provide communities with factual and accurate information about the sector that can be discussed within the local EITI committee in Casanare.

Álvaro: Within the sector, a multi-stakeholder effort is necessary. We recently had a meeting with the Vice President for Latin America of the World Bank, who is also a Colombian citizen. I told him about the progress of our EITI activity.

It was interesting to see how important they believed EITI was. I told him, “The problem is that we haven’t been able to convince the government to turn it into a policy instrument that supports the fight against corruption.” We’ll keep talking with them in hopes of finding some articulation that will allow everyone to share their voice. I noticed they are interested in and considering the EITI issue for Colombia.

We have to work with Peter Siegenthaler, the World Bank’s Country Manager in Colombia and their Latin-American team to seek perspectives on political support. We want their support so that everyone will follow the same working logic. That is what we will have to work on in the future. We would collaborate with stakeholders such as the national government and companies, the international community, the World Bank, and communities.

In your opinion, what is the next big challenge we should address for improved governance and accountability in Colombia?

One, a transparent flow of information throughout the sector. Two, a collaborative effort with the national government to ensure that citizens are held accountable for the industry’s development. This will not be possible until we get the industry players to see things from the same perspective. I am happy with our progress.

When the current government took office, there was a lot of animosity between the government and the industry players. The minister was asked to resign because they said she made harsh statements. A democratic framework has now led to a discussion process where the minister and the industry are beginning to interact. I hope this has a positive outcome so that members of civil society may help maintain the same thread of public discourse.

Catch up on the series

• Q&A: What’s next for Mongolia’s beneficial ownership transparency and anticorruption agenda
• Q&A: A multigenerational approach to Colombia’s energy transition
• Q&A: Building trust and collaboration among mining stakeholders
• Q&A: A civic-tech approach to budget and beneficial ownership transparency in Nigeria
• Q&A: Creating shared value for sustainable development in Peru’s extractive sector