Agrofuels Fuel Inequality and Environmental Damage in Northern South America

Northern South America is witnessing a worrying trend as governments in Colombia, Ecuador, and Venezuela promote agrofuels as a key contributor to national energy transitions.

However, this push for biodiesel and ethanol production comes with severe consequences: crops like oil palm and sugarcane are displacing food production and intensifying social inequality.

In Colombia, the expansion of oil palms has more than doubled in two decades, primarily to satisfy European Union demand for renewable energy. The majority of this growth occurs on lands previously dedicated to food crops or cattle ranching, displacing peasants and Afro-Colombian communities.

The IUCN-NL supply-chain analysis shows that certification guarantees are not enough when the environmental impact continues to affect vulnerable territories and populations for decades. Colombia is the largest producer of palm oil in Latin America and the fourth largest in the world.