Thirteen Colombians have been recognized among the 100 Latinos Most Committed to Climate Action, a list that honors leaders driving environmental change across Latin America. The annual ranking, created by Sachamama, a nonprofit organization promoting sustainable attitudes and climate awareness in the region, highlights individuals who are using their platforms and professions to accelerate the transition toward a greener future. This year’s honorees include scientists, activists, artists, and policymakers whose efforts exemplify Colombia’s growing role in global climate action.
The Colombians Most Committed to Climate Action
Astrid Puentes Riaño – UN Special Rapporteur on the Human Right to a Clean, Healthy, and Sustainable Environment
Born in Bogota, Astrid Puentes Riaño is a Colombian-Mexican law professor who made history in 2024 when she became the UN Special Rapporteur on the human right to a clean, healthy, and sustainable environment—the first woman and first person from the Global South to hold this mandate. For 18 years, she served as co-executive director of the Interamerican Association for Environmental Defense (AIDA), leading groundbreaking efforts to uphold environmental rights across Latin America, particularly for Afro-descendant, Indigenous, and rural communities. Under her leadership, AIDA successfully opened a landmark case in La Oroya, Peru—one of the world’s most polluted places—establishing residents’ legal right to a healthy environment. She advocates for a holistic, justice-centered vision of conservation that addresses systemic inequalities while protecting ecosystems.
Carlos Eduardo Correa – Former Minister of Environment and Sustainable Development of Colombia
Carlos Eduardo Correa served as Colombia’s Minister of Environment and Sustainable Development from October 2020 to August 2022 under President Ivan Duque. During his tenure, he led transformative sustainability policies including Colombia’s Climate Action Law, Carbon Neutrality Program, and Green Taxonomy. Under his leadership, Colombia achieved a historic milestone by protecting 34% of its marine and terrestrial areas by 2022—fulfilling the 2030 target eight years ahead of schedule—resulting in recognition from National Geographic and his appointment as Champion for Nature by the World Economic Forum. He launched major restoration initiatives including the 180 Million Trees Program and One Million Corals for Colombia. Currently serving as Senior Fellow at Conservation International and Ambassador of the Mangrove Breakthrough Initiative, Correa also sits on the boards of Pristine Seas (National Geographic) and co-chairs the Experts Task Force on Nature Positive Cities for the World Economic Forum.
Carlos Vives – Singer-songwriter and Environmental Advocate
Carlos Vives, a multiple Grammy Award-winning Colombian singer, has leveraged his international stardom to become a devoted environmental and social activist. In 2018, he joined the Plastic Oceans Foundation as a supporting Ambassador to raise awareness about plastic pollution, stating his deep appreciation for protecting the sea from his upbringing in the coastal city of Santa Marta. He founded Tras La Perla, a non-profit organization that fosters social and sustainability initiatives in his hometown, working alongside Conservation International and Nature Conservancy to protect indigenous communities and the environment of Santa Marta and the Sierra Nevada. The Latin Recording Academy recognized his environmental activism in 2024 when naming him Person of the Year.
Claudia Bahamon – Founder of BeClá, TV Host, and Activist
Claudia Bahamon, one of Colombia’s top television presenters and host of MasterChef Colombia, has transformed her platform into a powerful voice for environmental activism and education. She founded BeClá in 2020, a multimedia platform featuring a popular podcast where she and guests guide audiences toward urgent lifestyle changes to protect planet Earth. As a WWF Colombia Ambassador since 2012, she has championed environmental causes for over a decade. She co-owns Ecologic Projetos e Consultoria Ambiental and serves as a member of CO2Zero, a company dedicated to reforestation and minimizing carbon footprints, where she helped unveil the Seal of Sustainable Fashion to promote good practices in Colombia’s fashion sector. Bahamon has been a Climate Reality Leader since 2015, certified by former US Vice President Al Gore, and serves as a SeaLegacy Ambassador. She has been the face and activist of Earth Hour for 13 years.
Cristian Samper Kutschbach – General Director and Leader of Nature Solutions, Bezos Earth Fund
Cristian Samper Kutschbach is a Colombian-American tropical biologist serving as Managing Director and Leader of Nature Solutions at the Bezos Earth Fund, overseeing the protection and restoration of nature and transformation of food systems within Jeff Bezos’s $10 billion climate commitment. He designed and leads the Protecting Our Planet Challenge, a coalition of private foundations pledging $5 billion to protect 30% of the planet by 2030—the single largest pledge for nature conservation. Previously, he served as President and CEO of the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) from 2012 to 2022, overseeing the largest network of urban wildlife parks and conservation programs in over 60 countries. He was Director of the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History (2003-2012) and served as acting Secretary of the Smithsonian (2007-2008), becoming the first Latin American to hold that position.
As founding director of Colombia’s Alexander von Humboldt Biological Resources Research Institute (1995-2001), he established Colombia’s national biodiversity research infrastructure. He chaired the science advisory body of the UN Convention on Biological Diversity and co-led the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment. A Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, Samper continues advancing biodiversity protection, sustainable food systems, and indigenous territorial rights globally.​
Fany Kuiru – Coordinator of Indigenous Organizations of the Amazon Basin
Fany Kuiru Castro made history in January 2023 as the first woman elected General Coordinator of the Coordinating Body of Indigenous Organizations of the Amazon Basin (COICA) in its 38-year history, representing over 511 Indigenous peoples across nine Amazonian countries. An Uitoto Indigenous leader from Colombia’s Chorrera region, she has extensive experience in legal and political advice on indigenous peoples’ rights, women’s rights, and environmental protection. She spearheaded the Amazon for Life Fund, an Indigenous-led initiative supporting sustainable projects and knowledge exchange while maintaining COICA’s control, ensuring resources directly benefit Indigenous communities.
Her leadership focuses on the “80×2025” initiative, mobilizing governments to protect 80% of the Amazon by 2025. She was instrumental in the recognition, titling, and delivery of the Great Indigenous Territory of the Resguardo Predio Putumayo (6 million hectares), ending a dark period of violence against Indigenous peoples in Colombia. She coordinated translating Colombia’s Peace Agreement into 68 native languages. Under her leadership, Colombia joined the “Amazon for Life” initiative.
Strengthening the self-determination and autonomy of indigenous peoples in the Amazonia through direct financing is crucial for the protection of biodiversity!
Indigenous leaders Fany Kuiru Castro and Gregório Mirabal from @coica_org, and IDB senior specialist, Veronica… pic.twitter.com/rZiaI1hvuF
— Inter-American Development Bank (@the_IDB) October 29, 2024
Fernando Trujillo – Scientific Director of Fundación Omacha
Fernando Trujillo is a Colombian marine biologist and Scientific Director of Fundación Omacha, which he founded in 1993, dedicating over 30 years to protecting South America’s endangered river dolphins and aquatic ecosystems. Named the 2024 Rolex National Geographic Explorer of the Year, he leads the South American River Dolphin Initiative, conducting systematic research across the Amazon and Orinoco basins in Venezuela, Colombia, Bolivia, Peru, and Ecuador. Winner of the 2007 Whitley Gold Award, Trujillo combines scientific research with grassroots and political action to conserve freshwater habitats.
Indigenous communities affectionately call him “Omacha” (meaning “pink dolphin” in Tikuna), believing he is a dolphin transformed into human form to protect these creatures. His foundation promotes dolphin-friendly fishing agreements, sustainable practices providing economic alternatives to protect dolphins and aquatic species, and has equipped over 60 dolphins across South America with satellite trackers to monitor populations and identify critical feeding, mating, and birthing areas. Trujillo achieved the first-ever global declaration for river dolphin protection in 2023.
Francisco Vera – UNICEF Latin America Climate Action Advocate
Francisco Vera Manzanares, now 16 years old, became UNICEF’s first youth advocate for environmental and climate action in Latin America and the Caribbean in June 2023 at age 13. At age 9, he founded Guardianes por la Vida (Guardians for Life), a movement bringing together over 700 children and adolescents advocating for climate justice, environmental peace, and children’s rights. Vera created and promotes the Ecoesperanza (Eco-Hope) concept, a document translated into multiple languages including Arabic, French, and Indigenous languages, containing proposals responding to global environmental education needs and climate curriculum integration. He visits schools throughout Latin America conducting environmental education programs and has developed a teacher network across the region.
In 2022, he published “Pregúntale a Francisco: ¿Qué es el cambio climático?” (Ask Francisco: What is Climate Change?), translated into Arabic and presented at COP27, explaining climate impacts and solutions for children. He served as Children’s Advisor to the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child for General Comment No. 26 on Climate Change. Despite receiving death threats requiring relocation to Spain with his mother, Vera continues his advocacy. Recognized by the UN at the 2023 Young Activists Summit, he was also appointed Goodwill Ambassador of the European Union Delegation in Colombia.​
Isabel Cavelier Adarve – 2022 Climate Breakthrough Awardee and 2023 Skoll Fellow
Isabel Cavelier Adarve is a Colombian former diplomat and changemaker who became the first woman in Latin America to receive the prestigious Climate Breakthrough Award in 2022, accompanied by a $3 million grant to support her climate work. She served in various roles at Colombia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, including as part of the negotiating team at COP21 that culminated in the 2015 Paris Agreement. Together with like-minded women negotiators, she helped create the Independent Alliance of Latin America and the Caribbean (AILAC), positioning Latin American countries at the forefront of climate ambition. She contributed significantly to Colombia’s influential proposal for the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and later served as lead negotiator on the New Urban Agenda for both Colombia and the G77 bloc. In 2017, she co-founded Transforma, a prominent Bogota-based environmental think tank, serving as director of vision. Recently, she founded Mundo Común, an initiative dedicated to seeding a culture of care rooted in interdependence, restoring and nurturing climate change agents.
Juan Carlos Lozada Vargas – Member of Colombia’s House of Representatives
Juan Carlos Lozada Vargas, born April 4, 1979, is a Colombian Representative from the Liberal Party serving his third term (2014-2018, 2018-2022, 2022-2026) representing Bogota, and has dedicated his legislative career to environmental protection, animal welfare, and peace activism. He is best known as the author of Law 1774 of 2016, Colombia’s groundbreaking Animal Welfare and Protection Law, which also established the Animal Abuse Task Force within the Attorney General’s Office to investigate offenses against animals nationwide. He authored Law 2047 of 2020, prohibiting animal testing for cosmetic products, and Law 2111 of 2021, which completely reformed environmental crimes in the Penal Code, creating new crimes of deforestation and wildlife trafficking while also criminalizing illegal appropriation of national property. Lozada introduced legislation prohibiting single-use plastics and a bill making beef traceability mandatory in Colombia to combat deforestation-linked cattle ranching in protected areas.
Fuimos nominados por nuestro trabajo incansable en la defensa del medio ambiente. Ser parte de la lista de Los 100 Latinos Más Comprometidos con la Acción Climática 2025 es un honor y un reconocimiento a nuestro compromiso con la sostenibilidad y el activismo climático.
Este… pic.twitter.com/ynlb2Wwf2T
— Juan Carlos Losada (@JuanKarloslos) October 25, 2025
Julia Miranda – Member of Congress of Colombia
Julia Miranda Londoño is a Colombian environmental lawyer and Member of the House of Representatives (2022-2026) from the New Liberalism party who previously served as Director General of Colombia’s National Natural Parks system for nearly 17 years (2004-2020). During her tenure, she significantly expanded Colombia’s protected areas network, creating or expanding 15 protected areas totaling more than twice the size of Switzerland, including the nomination of Chiribiquete National Park—”The Maloca of the Jaguar”—to the UNESCO World Heritage List.
Under her leadership, 59 national parks covering 313,000 square kilometers (18% of Colombia’s land area and 13% of national marine areas) were protected. She led the removal of Los KatÃos National Park from the World Heritage in Danger List in 2015. In 2021, she received the Frankfurt Conservation Award (Bruno H. Schubert Prize), Germany’s highest endowed private environmental prize, for her contributions to keeping the Amazon from critical tipping points. She serves as Deputy Chair of the IUCN World Commission on Protected Areas and Vice-President for South America (2008-2012). In Congress, she co-chairs the House Committee on Forests and Climate Change and co-authored legislation on cattle traceability to combat deforestation. She signed the Parliamentarians for a Fossil Fuel-Free Future declaration and was named among the 100 Latinos Most Committed to Climate Action.​
El Nuevo Liberalismo celebra con orgullo el reconocimiento otorgado a @JuliaMirandaLo, Representante del partido y miembro del Consejo Asesor de The Nature Conservancy Colombia, quien recibió el Nature’s Advocate Award por su destacada labor en la defensa del medioambiente. 🌱 pic.twitter.com/RSE5VXs3nO
— Nuevo Liberalismo (@NvLiberalismo) October 9, 2025
Marcela Fernandez Barreneche – Founder of Cumbres Blancas
Marcela Fernandez Barreneche, a 33-year-old from Medellin, founded the multidisciplinary NGO Cumbres Blancas after reading about Colombia’s rapidly disappearing tropical glaciers in 2018. Learning that Colombia’s six remaining glaciers (having lost eight in the past century) had only 30 years left, she mobilized mountaineers, scientists, photographers, artists, and environmentalists to monitor and raise awareness about glacier retreat due to climate change. The only Colombian included in BBC’s 2023 list of 100 most influential women worldwide, she was recognized for creating consciousness about rapid glacier deterioration.
Cumbres Blancas conducts scientific monitoring expeditions, working closely with Jorge Luis Ceballos, Colombia’s only glaciologist from IDEAM (Institute of Hydrology, Meteorology and Environmental Studies). The movement has expanded internationally to Peru, Mexico, Ecuador, Italy, France, Kenya, Venezuela, the United States, Switzerland, Norway, and most recently Canada. She was featured as a speaker at UNESCO’s 2025 International Year of Glaciers’ Preservation launch, representing youth glacier conservation efforts in Latin America. Beyond environmental activism, Fernandez founded PAZabordo (Peace on Wheels), where 35 activists traveled Colombia for 40 days visiting conflict-affected “red zones,” connecting peace-building with environmental tourism.
Sergio Diaz-Granados – Executive President of CAF (Development Bank of Latin America and the Caribbean)
Sergio Diaz-Granados Guida, a Colombian lawyer born in Santa Marta in 1968, has served as Colombia’s Minister of Commerce, Industry and Tourism (2010-2013) under President Juan Manuel Santos and Executive President of CAF—Development Bank of Latin America and the Caribbean—since 2021, leading the institution’s transformation into the region’s environmental and green bank. He spearheaded CAF’s historic $7 billion capital expansion to double its portfolio by 2030, with significant portions dedicated to boosting the fair transition to a green, low-carbon economy resilient to climate change. Under his leadership, CAF committed that 40% of its transactions by 2026 would be linked to climate change mitigation and adaptation, focused on biodiversity conservation.
In June 2025, CAF approved a record $5.2 billion across 16 sustainable development projects in 10 countries, including clean energy, climate action, mobility, and mental health initiatives. Diaz-Granados emphasizes Latin America as a “solution region” with capacity to increase food production, expand clean energy goods and services, and provide natural resources for global energy and digital transition. He recently signed partnerships with the European Investment Bank and Commonwealth Secretariat to accelerate climate resilience and sustainable development in Caribbean Small Island Developing States.​
En las sesiones de otoño del @BancoMundial y el @FMInoticias en Washington, fortalecimos alianzas clave para América Latina y el Caribe.
Nuestro presidente ejecutivo, @sergiodigra, comparte los avances en integración, financiamiento y seguridad regional alcanzados esta semana. pic.twitter.com/myPNNvO6rC
— CAF (@AgendaCAF) October 17, 2025
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