Bogotá.- The President of Colombia, Gustavo Petro, ordered this Tuesday a modification of the General National Budget to transfer four trillion pesos (about 970 million dollars) to address the El Niño phenomenon, whose effects, as he has warned, will begin to be felt at the end of this year.
During an extraordinary session of the National Risk Management Council, the president stated, via teleconference, that the resources will come from funds that the Ministry of Finance had earmarked for the Colombia Solar program and will be directed to the National Unit for Disaster Risk Management (UNGRD).
“I have requested that the four trillion pesos be transferred to the UNGRD so that we have eight trillion to address, from an energy perspective, the potential drop in water levels as a generator of electrical energy,” stated Petro, who will finish his term on August 7th.
The president pointed out that the goal is to prepare the country for a potential reduction in reservoir levels between next December and March, a period during which he has warned a high-intensity El Niño phenomenon could occur.
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El Niño is characterized by the anomalous warming of the surface waters of the Pacific Ocean, which in turn produces intense drought and usually occurs cyclically every two years, altering weather patterns worldwide.
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Petro insisted that the response should not focus on expanding the use of fossil fuels but on accelerating the transition to renewable energy.
“It is not with more gas, it is with more solar panels, because what there will be is sun and plenty of sun throughout the territory of Colombia,” he stated.
The head of state also called for strengthening controls over the management of resources allocated to the emergency, warning: “Watch out for corruption,” in reference to the history of irregularities in the contracting of the UNGRD.
On the eve, during the installation of the ordinary sessions of Congress, Petro assured that there is an “almost 100%” probability that the country will face a “mega-El Niño” starting in December, which is why he urged the incoming government of Abelardo de la Espriella to adopt measures to mitigate its effects on water supply, food production, and the energy system.
