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This paper examines the impact of COVID-19 on marginalised communities and its effects on the provision of public services. Focusing on two coal mining regions in Colombia during the pandemic crisis, and examining Indigenous and Afro-Colombian communities, we analyze the provision of public services at a local level, identifying both shortcomings and resilience. Findings show that the lack of resilient public services amplified the effects of COVID-19 and its containment measures, exacerbating existing structural inequalities within local marginalised communities. It also reinforced the control exercised by coal mining companies within local economies. However, the substantial lack of public service provision also provided space for the development and strengthening of several resilience strategies among local communities, such as solidarity networks and schemes and the revitalization of local environmental knowledge. The study identifies multiple shortcomings in how the national and local administrations handled the COVID-19 outbreak and highlights the potential of enhancing resilience in public services to support marginalised communities in times of crisis. • COVID-19 affected the delivery of public services at a national and local level in Colombia. • COVID-19 further aggravated living conditions of mining communities in the country. • Multinational companies replaced the government in delivering services to mining communities. • But the crisis gave an incentive to these communities to adopt resilient strategies themselves. • More resilient public services in Colombia are needed to help marginalised communities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Following developments responding to the need for transition from a fossil fuel to a bio-based economy, the concept of bioeconomy has become increasingly present in the global economic agenda. Alongside ongoing debates about the understanding and implications of this concept, the definition of national approaches in regards to bioeconomy is a work in progress for many countries around the world. This paper explores this process for the case of Colombia, as a promising national context on the cusp of formulating its national strategy, and examines the variety of actors participating in this transition and the sources of assigned authority governing it. By taking a network perspective of agency theory, this research intends to answer: Who (actors) governs bioeconomy transitions and how (agency) these transitions are governed? By applying social network analysis and directed content analysis to interviews with actors from various sectors in Colombia, our results show that central actors are not necessarily also the relevant agents with the capacity to change the course of events or the outcome of transition processes. At the same time, our results illustrate that agents in bioeconomy transitions can play key roles from a variety of structural positions, as their relevance depends on the assigned authority and not primarily on their relative position in the actor network. Expert and capacity-based authority are the most relevant ones in determining agency for the Colombian context; even so, most of the agents identified mix different sources of assigned authority to legitimize their power regarding the direction of this transition. Image 1 • 55 central actors and 56 agents were identified in the actor networks governing the Colombian bioeconomy transition. • Agents depend on the assigned authority and not primarily on their relative position in the actor network. • Most relevant agents for Colombia belong to government and international research. Private actors also play a key role. • Expert and capacity-based authority are the most important types in determining agency for the Colombian context. • With its approach to bioeconomy Colombia has continued to be a trend-following country of the global economic agenda. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Global offshore wind technology shows increasing progress evidenced in the recent reports of wind power capacity, expectations of market expansion and international research projects. Colombia is privileged with several types of natural resources (e.g. wind, sun, water) but there is not a clear legal context to regulate sustainable and safe exploitation of the offshore wind energy considered non-conventional. The development of offshore wind technology in Colombia could attend the energy demand when the hydroelectric system presents low electricity generation during dry hydrological conditions and El Niño – South Oscillations events. This paper analyses international actions that have motivated different countries to establish strategies to reduce CO 2 , and their advances and challenges in implementing offshore wind technology. The review of the administrative framework of renewable energy in Colombia proved the lack of information for implementing offshore wind technology. Furthermore, the analysis of several studies of marine energies showed the need to increase the knowledge of offshore wind energy. The local applying projects to generate electricity from non-conventional renewable energies are not considering offshore wind energy projects. Hence, this research analysed wind speed and calculated wind power density at different height levels, what evidenced magnitudes and positive trends what justify to increase the research in offshore wind energy in Colombia. As a result, the present document compiles technical, economic, administrative and legal information of the renewable energies in Colombia that may be used for taking decisions of different stakeholders and evidences the potential implementing offshore wind farms in areas near to the Colombian Caribbean coast. Colombia has great resources to implement offshore wind energy technologies, reducing the dependence on fossil fuels and substituting other systems when they cannot guarantee the energy offer. Graphical abstract Image 1 Highlights • Advances and challenges of the offshore wind energy around the world. • Legal and administrative framework of the renewable energy of Colombia. • Wind speed trends and power density results justify offshore wind energy research. • El Niño (2015–2016) put at risk to the Colombian electric system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The global contribution of all kinds of organizations to greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions is noteworthy. Calculating, reporting, reducing, and compensating for carbon footprints are the appropriate steps to take to guide companies toward a path that is compatible with their country's objectives for the fulfillment of the Paris Agreement. In Latin American countries, carbon footprint reporting is limited and incipient. This paper aims to start closing this gap by assessing the carbon footprint of a university operating in the city of Bogotá, Colombia. Based on a city input-output table (IOT) nested in a multiregional input-output (MRIO) table framework, we estimate the three categories of the carbon footprint (scopes 1, 2, and 3) identified by the Greenhouse Gas Protocol using an improved multiregional tiered hybrid analysis of the university's energy and other input expenditures. Our results show that 94% of the entire institution's footprint is attributed to scope 3, which represents indirect emissions linked to the upstream value chain. The results allow us to identify emission hotspots and their impact on the supply chain, which can be helpful for reducing costs and encouraging organizations, users, and suppliers to make more sustainable decisions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]