Colombia obtained a 34.5 million dollars loan from the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) to finance an energy efficiency program for the residential and public sector in the Caribbean coast area. The program has two objectives: 1) to cut electricity consumption and reduce national government subsidies in low-income households and public buildings; and 2) to educate people in the region on the importance of saving energy by training technicians and energy consumers on how to efficiently manage electricity use.

The loan will finance activities to replace inefficient appliances that use greenhouse gases as refrigerants with cutting-edge alternatives that are less harmful to the environment. The loan will also fund photovoltaic panel installations for low-income households as a pilot self-generation strategy.

The proposed activities are in line with the updated version of Colombia’s Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) and Long-Term Climate Strategy (E2050) for achieving the Paris Agreement.