Fragility and climate risks in Colombia

Colombia experiences very high climate exposure concentrated in small portions of the country and high fragility that stems largely from ongoing political violence related to both longstanding and new sources of conflict. Colombia’s effective political institutions, well-developed social service delivery systems, and strong regulatory foundation for economic policy position the state to make important progress for its populace in each of these areas. However, the historically high level of violence and accompanying population displacements continue to create risks for Colombians, including in areas that also face high climate risks.

This brief first identifies the locations and populations across Colombia that face the greatest climate exposure risks and the specific climate risks they face. Second, it discusses current fragility dynamics, spheres where the state has the greatest capacity to respond to public needs and aspects of fragility that present the greatest potential sources of instability. Lastly, it describes how the state’s compound fragility-climate risks serve to heighten insecurity in Colombia.