Bogotá’s Pioneering Urban Net Zero Strategy

Bogotá has declared a climate emergency and adopted its Climate Action Plan 2020–2050, committing to net zero emissions by 2050. The city has already exceeded its 15% reduction target for 2024, is on track for 50% reduction by 2030, and anticipates offsetting about 20% of residual emissions by mid-century. The city’s approach emphasizes mitigation first, while preparing to integrate offsetting through Colombia’s forthcoming national emissions trading scheme (ETS). Future offsets will be nature-based, prioritizing forests, watersheds, and biodiversity protection, ensuring co-benefits for both the environment and local communities.

Bogotá’s Climate Action Plan defines how mitigation is prioritized today while offsetting is prepared for the future. Key actions include:

• Governance: Climate Emergency declared in 2020, elevating climate policy as a management priority.
• Mitigation measures: Tree planting and greening, expansion of TransMilenio BRT, first metro line construction, electrification of buses and taxis, and efficiency upgrades for municipal buildings.
• Offsetting design: Secretariat of Treasury and Secretariat of Environment are preparing financial and legal frameworks for city participation in Colombia’s ETS.
• Offset focus: Nature-based projects—forests, jungles, and watersheds—are identified as the preferred credits to purchase, providing carbon sequestration and ecosystem co-benefits.
• Timeline: Mitigation drives action in the 2020s; offsets expected to scale from the 2030s to balance residual emissions by 2050.

Partnerships underpin Bogotá’s strategy, linking municipal action with national and community efforts:

• National government leads ETS development, providing the mechanism for offset purchases.
• Private sector will be key participants in credit purchasing and alignment with the ETS.
• Secretariat of Environment provides technical leadership and coordination.
• Secretariat of Treasury develops financing and procurement frameworks.
• Regional communities and ecosystems contribute land stewardship and implementation of nature-based projects.

Bogotá builds public trust by clearly explaining how offsets will complement local mitigation. Communication is delivered through official climate policy documents, public milestones, and international recognition. Key points include:

• Offsetting is complementary, not a substitute for local reductions.
• Bogotá will only purchase credits, ensuring its own reductions remain local.
• Projects must deliver biodiversity, water, and social co-benefits alongside carbon sequestration.

Financing is integrated into the city’s long-term planning, with climate action estimated to require USD 5.6 billion through 2050. Resources are mobilized through several channels:

• Municipal budgets fund current mitigation and resilience measures.
• International cooperation and loans support climate projects.
• Future ETS revenues and mechanisms will enable offset purchases.
• Economic co-benefits are highlighted, with projections of 1.7 million green jobs by 2030 across mobility, energy, and restoration sectors.

Bogotá has already delivered significant results. The city reduced emissions by over 15% ahead of its 2024 milestone, declared a Climate Emergency to raise political commitment, and developed a robust Climate Action Plan recognized internationally. Early implementation of greening and mobility projects has provided local environmental benefits, while offset planning has positioned the city to credibly address long-term residuals.

Despite progress, Bogotá faces structural and financial challenges:

• Transport emissions remain difficult to reduce,
• Fiscal constraints limit climate investments
• Offset strategy depends on the timely rollout of Colombia’s ETS.

Ensuring the availability of high-quality credits is critical to avoid reputational risks, while strong coordination is needed to align city action with national NDC commitments.

Bogotá demonstrates that cities can combine ambitious mitigation with careful preparation for offsetting. By sequencing actions, cutting deeply now, offsetting later, the city avoids over-reliance on markets and ensures credibility.

Its focus on nature-based credits guarantees that offsets also strengthen ecosystems and communities. This model is replicable for other megacities in the Global South: leverage national systems, integrate offsets into fiscal planning, and prioritize co-benefits.

Bogotá’s pathway proves that climate neutrality is achievable when mitigation and offsetting are treated as complementary pillars of a single strategy.

• Agreement 790 – Climate Emergecy Declaration
• Bogotá Climate Action Plan (Plan de Acción Climática 2020–2050)
• Colombia Ministry of Environment – ETS Development Updates
• UTMC Practical Implementation Guide: Carbon offsetting

Ricardo Delgado
Climate Change Expert
Secretariat of Environment, City of Bogotá