Colombia Regulates Carbon Markets

Why this is here: The draft decree legally recognizes “inequitable capture of benefits,” acknowledging a practice where outside parties accumulated profits that should have primarily aided those conserving ecosystems.

Alejandro Ballesteros writes that Colombia is developing regulations for carbon markets after years of operating with few rules. For years, carbon market projects advanced in indigenous and local territories without sufficient safeguards. These projects sometimes replicated extractive practices, weakening local governance and creating internal conflicts, particularly in the Amazon.

Researchers at Liga Contra el Silencio labeled these actors “carbon cowboys” due to opaque contracts and disproportionate benefit appropriation. The issue wasn’t the carbon market itself, but a lack of oversight and institutional structures to protect those who traditionally conserve the land. A draft decree now under public consultation attempts to address these issues by recognizing inequitable benefit capture and affirming community ownership of projects.

The draft also strengthens requirements for prior consultation and emphasizes the importance of respecting indigenous self-governance. Colombia is also establishing Indigenous Territorial Entities, which could receive funding through environmental functions—including carbon markets—to strengthen their institutional capacity. The work to ensure carbon market benefits support long-term autonomy continues.