On September 26, 2025, an Interinstitutional Workshop was held in Bogotá with sectoral entities from the housing, energy and environment sectors and from the national planning level of Colombia, coordinated by the Colombian Commission for the Regulation of Drinking Water and Basic Sanitation (CRA) and ECLAC, in which the consolidated results of the initial evaluation of the technical and financial feasibility of using methane in 56 lower-capacity WWTPs (Wastewater Treatment Plants) located in different regions of the country were disseminated to these entities.

The main objectives of the Workshop were: (i) the presentation of the results of the pilot project to promote methane utilization on which the technical teams of ECLAC and the CRA have been working since the second half of 2023, prior to its dissemination on October 8, 2025 in Santiago de Chile, within the framework of Water Week, and (ii) the formation of a working group led by the CRA, with representatives of the entities linked to the workshop to validate the results of the study and prepare a Roadmap to design a national program to reduce methane emissions from the water and sanitation sector in Colombia. 

The workshop was attended by representatives from the National Planning Department (DNP), the Ministry of Housing, City and Territory - MinVivienda (the governing body of the water and sanitation sector in Colombia), the Ministry of Environment and Sustainable Development - Minambiente (Directorate of Environmental, Sectoral and Urban Affairs), the Ministry of Mines and Energy -MinMinas y Energía and was led in Colombia by the Commission for the Regulation of Drinking Water and Basic Sanitation (CRA).  

The workshop was chaired by the Colombian government by Ruth Quevedo, expert commissioner of the Colombian Commission for the Regulation of Drinking Water and Basic Sanitation (CRA), and Silvia Saravia Mateús, Economic Affairs Officer at ECLAC. In addition to the presentation of the study results by regional methane recovery specialists, presentations were made by the CRA on the background of the pilot project with ECLAC and prospects for methane utilization within the new regulatory framework, and by the Ministry of Mines and Energy on national policy guidelines for the use of methane as an alternative energy source. 

The initial results of the study carried out by ECLAC in coordination with the CRA are promising: out of a total of 56 WWTPs located in 15 departments of the country, the total recoverable methane potential amounts to 20.1 million cubic meters per year, with the capacity to generate around 70,900 MWh of electricity per year, equivalent to the consumption of approximately 40,000 inhabitants [1] . The use of this energy for self-consumption in the WWTPs will allow savings in the consumption of energy purchased in the Colombian electricity market, of approximately US$ 17.5 million annually. In addition, the use of methane would prevent the emission of 113.8 million tons of CO₂ equivalent per year. 

Representatives from the DNP, the Ministry of Environment, and the Ministry of Housing expressed their interest in participating in the analysis of the progress of this study through a working group led by the CRA. They also confirmed their willingness to participate in the preparation of a Roadmap for the design of a potential national methane utilization program, which could contribute to mitigating GHG emissions from the water and sanitation sector. For this purpose, analyses would be conducted to determine the potential for this initiative to access resources from international climate finance funds.

3. Conclusions and next steps

Medium- and small-capacity municipalities in Colombia and LAC face challenges financing investments in the circular economy, which offer economic benefits (provision of renewable energy), environmental benefits (mitigation of greenhouse gas emissions), and social benefits, such as methane harvesting. ECLAC has been assisting Colombia since 2023 to establish an initial analytical basis for assessing the technical and financial viability of these types of initiatives in medium- and small-capacity WWTPs, in line with the priorities of the 2022-2026 National Development Plan and the National Climate Change Policy, as well as compliance with the SDGs.

The following activities are highlighted as next steps: (i) priority is being assigned by national and sectoral authorities to agree on a Roadmap for the preparation of a National Program associated with the circular economy and methane utilization; under the leadership of the CRA and with technical assistance from ECLAC, an inter-institutional working group is being formed for this purpose. (ii) the results of the technical and financial evaluation of WWTP utilization, disseminated during the workshop, will be jointly presented by the CRA and ECLAC during a special session on Circular Economy on October 8, 2025, in Santiago, Chile; and (iii) ECLAC will offer future Technical Assistance: training sessions for entities in the APSB sector, including the CRA and MinVivienda, on project preparation with potential financing from international climate and environment funds.

[1] Using as a reference a per capita consumption of 150 kWh per month.