Wednesday Mar 29, 2023 - Colombia - Navy rescues Venezuelan migrants, Green Investments, First hydrogen powered bus

These are the trending news headlines in Colombia on Wednesday March 29, 2023

The Colombian Navy has rescued five Venezuelan migrants, including a pregnant woman and a minor, who were stranded on a small Caribbean island after being abandoned by human traffickers en route to the United States. The group paid $1,200 to the traffickers and departed from the San Andres archipelago in Colombian waters, with plans to continue their journey overland to the US. Instead, they were left stranded on Cayo Albuquerque, a small atoll located between Nicaragua and San Andres. Some migrants take clandestine boat rides from San Andres to avoid the dangerous journey on foot through the Darien Gap. Colombia is currently hosting 2.5 million Venezuelan refugees, with more than seven million people having fled Venezuela in recent years, according to the United Nations.

The Euroamerica Foundation recently held its annual forum in Colombia, focusing on digital, green and fair investments, aligned with the Global Gateway initiative. The event emphasized the need for more collaboration between the public and private sectors to accelerate sustainable and inclusive transformations in the country. The forum was attended by a high level of institutional representation from both Europe and Colombia, and showcased the strong links between the two regions. The Euroamerica Foundation's President, Ramón Jáuregui, indicated Europe's strong will to build solid collaboration with Latin America, supported by Spain. The forum also discussed the Global Gateway initiative to promote smart, sustainable, and secure links with regional partners through major investments. The need to count on the private sector and foster public-private partnerships was emphasized to attract European investments to the region, facilitating transformations and improving the quality of life of citizens. The forum brought together over 230 attendees and showcased the strong links between the two regions.

The Colombian capital, Bogotá, has presented its first bus for public transport powered by green hydrogen. The bus is part of a sustainable mobility program that aims to reduce emissions by 15% by 2024 and 50% by 2030. The green hydrogen bus will be one of a fleet of 13 units of this type that will operate in Bogotá, and it can transport 98,500 passengers per year while avoiding emissions of 135t of CO2 equivalent a year. The project is led by the mayor's office, Transmilenio, the Ecopetrol group, the fund for non-conventional energies and efficient energy management (FENOGE), auto parts factory FANALCA and Green Móvil. The green hydrogen bus has a range of 450km with a single charge of hydrogen and is a significant step towards Colombia's goal of carbon neutrality by 2050.

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