On July 24, 2023, a group of citizen members of two NGOs (Dejusticia and Ilex Acción Jurídica) filed a lawsuit against Article 57 of Law 99 of 1993. The article establishes the definition and criteria of environmental impact assessments (EIA) in Colombia, which includes biotic, abiotic, and socioeconomic elements. Plaintiffs argue that, as it stands, this norm does not abide by the constitutional and international human rights standards, given the lack of consideration of climate change and human rights. Plaintiffs assert that even though climate change-related standards only appeared after the law was issued, failing to update the interpretation of this legal provision results in unconstitutional restrictions and interpretation issues that prevent EIA from complying with international commitments that have been ratified by Colombia and are part of the constitutional bloc.

The plaintiffs are not asking the Court to declare the unconstitutionality of the article since this would create a legal vacuum that could eventually derive in more significant violations of constitutional rights. Instead, the plaintiffs asked the Court to order that the provision should be interpreted as to include climate change and human rights protection as part of the criteria to be considered when conducting an EIA. In so doing, the legal provision is updated to comply with the currently admissible constitutional standard, while its interpretation is clarified, avoiding unconstitutional applications.

The plaintiffs’ arguments were twofold: first, article 57 incurs in a lack of constitutional protection, violating articles 2, 79, 80, and 93.1 of the Colombian Constitution, as well as articles 1.1 and 2 of the American Convention on Human Rights, by failing to include impacts associated to climate change in the EIA criteria. Second, article 57 violates articles 7, 20, 74, 79, 80, and 334 of the Colombian Constitution, as well as articles 4.1, 5.1, and 13 of the American Convention on Human Rights by failing to include human rights violations in the EIA criteria. The plaintiffs claim that human rights and the environment are interconnected and that this should be reflected in the laws governing EIAs.

On January 12, 2024, the Constitutional Court declared the admissibility of the lawsuit, but only regarding the first argument supported in the alleged violation of articles 79 and 80 of the Colombian Constitution. The arguments related to the violation of the legal provisions of the American Convention on Human Rights were dismissed. The Court also ordered several governmental authorities, including the Ministry of Environment and Sustainable Development, as well as NGOs such as Greenpeace Colombia, the Colombian Association of Oil and Gas, and others to provide written comments on the impacts of climate change in the interpretation of the right to a healthy environment and article 57 of Law 99 of 1993.

On July 11, 2024, the Constitutional Court found that article 57 of Law 99 of 1993 was constitutional insofar as it is understood that EIAs must include climate change among the evaluation criteria. The Court ordered the Congress to issue the necessary regulations to ensure climate change is considered when conducting activities that require EIA. The Court also ordered the Ministry of Environment and Sustainable Development to modify and update EIA's terms of reference. In the Court's opinion, failing to include climate change in EIA processes would amount to a violation of the Colombian Constitution and a failure to guarantee the protection of the right to a healthy environment and sustainable development.

Challenging Environmental Impact Assessment Law for Failing to Consider Climate Change

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An aim to achieve a quantifiable outcome within a given time-frame, set by an institution such as a national government.

Policy instruments are techniques or tools used by governing authorities to promote certain policies in order to achieve predetermined goals. Put simply, instruments are how a government tries to achieve its goals, with this taxonomy being focused on national policy instruments.

Risk is the potential for adverse consequences resulting from the dynamic interplay between (climate-related) hazards, exposure, and vulnerability of affected human or ecological systems.

Groups  of people who are adversely affected by climate change or the response to it

A set of principles, processes, and practices that build economic and political power to shift from an extractive economy to a regenerative economy.

Justice is the ethical and political framework that addresses fairness, including issues of responsibility, rights, and structural inequity.

Renewable energy means all forms of energy produced from renewable sources in a sustainable manner.

Fossil fuel is a generic term for non-renewable energy sources such as coal, fossil gas, and oil (including crude oil, and petroleum products), that can be used for electricity and heat generation. Fossil fuels are hydrocarbons formed from pressurised and heated organic material buried over millions of years.

Molecules in the atmosphere that play a key role in the greenhouse effect by trapping heat radiating from Earth’s surface.

Area of the economy in which actors engage in identical or related activities.

In human systems, the process of adjustment to actual or expected climate change and its effects, in order to moderate harm, increase resilience or exploit beneficial opportunities. In natural systems, the process of adjustment to actual climate change and its effects; human intervention may facilitate adjustment to expected climate change and its effects.

The management and allocation of funds, assets and investments to meet various objectives

Zoning and spatial planning are both methods for guiding the distribution of people and activities in a space, and are regulatory restriction.

Actions or measures to adapt freshwater systems to climate change.

Actions to adapt human health, healthcare systems and well-being to climate change.

Actions or measures to adapt freshwater, coastal and marine systems to climate change.

Oil is a combustible liquid fossil fuel composed mainly of hydrocarbons, occurring as crude oil and refined into petroleum products such as petrol, diesel and kerosene.

Fossil gas, commonly known as natural gas, is a fossil fuel consisting chiefly of methane with smaller amounts of other hydrocarbons and trace gases, found in underground deposits.

Coal is a combustible sedimentary rock formed from carbonised plant matter, rich in carbon and hydrocarbons, and occurring in several main types including hard coal and brown coal.

People with different national or cultural traditions from the dominant population

Social and cultural groups that share collective ancestral ties to the lands and natural resources where they live, occupy or from which they have been displaced

Jobs that contribute to preserving or restoring the environment. We include jobs which require a high amount of green skills or which spend much of their time on green activities, as well as jobs transforming polluting industries.

Activities of industries that extract natural resources, such as mining, oil, and gas, for commercial use.

This sector involves managing waste treatment, sanitation, pollution control and environmental cleanup.

Activities that involve planning, designing and building infrastructure, residential, and commercial structures.

Activities of government agencies and institutions that provide public services, enforce laws and manage public resources.

Activities that involve the cultivation of crops and raising of livestock for food, fibre, and other products essential for human life and industry.

This sector involves the distribution, treatment, and conservation of water resources.

Challenging Environmental Impact Assessment Law for Failing to Consider Climate Change - decision

Policy instrument

Impacted group

Just transition

Fossil fuel

Economic sector

Adaptation/resilience