South America’s top coal-producing country is proposing a mining bill to advance its “decarbonization goals” that would ban new exploration and production contracts for the commodity, reported Bloomberg.
The proposed Colombian law, which hasn’t been sent to Congress yet, would allow the expropriation of mining assets in some circumstances. The assets would need to “contribute to the country’s reindustrialization, energy transition, agricultural development and public infrastructure” and “generate direct qualified and unskilled jobs in decent conditions” among other requisites.
President Gustavo Petro came into office in 2022 on a pledge to wean the country off its dependency on fossil fuels. While his administration has refused to sign new coal and oil contracts, the proposed bill would go further by banning new coal licenses by law.
Source: Bloomberg