2019 Latin America and Caribbean Climate Week

The Latin America and Caribbean (LAC) Climate Week 2019 aimed to advance regional climate action and support the implementation of LAC countries’ nationally determined contributions (NDCs) under the Paris Agreement. Like other regional Climate Weeks held in various regions, the event is envisioned as a stepping stone to the UN 2019 Climate Summit where UN Secretary-General António Guterres has encouraged countries to announce new, more ambitious NDCs.

Our summary report outlines the discussions from selected thematic dialogues and the high-level dialogue day. The report includes discussions on the main themes of energy transition, industry transition, infrastructure, cities and local governments, and nature-based solutions. The LAC Climate Week was attended by around 4000 participants including national, subnational and municipal governments, intergovernmental organizations and agencies, non-government organizations, business, and academia.

Pursuing greater climate ambition in Latin America

During Latin American Climate Week, EUROCLIMA+ held a side event to showcase its actions to support policies for achieving greater climate ambition in Latin American countries. EUROCLIMA+ is an EU funded programme that supports policy dialogue to accelerate the implementation of Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs).

Jorge Pinto Antunes, DG Clima, European Commission, emphasized the European Union’s (EU) commitment to climate action and proposal for achieving climate neutrality by 2050. Pinto underscored challenges, such as the impacts on citizens of the deep modernization agenda, and emphasized the need for a just transition. Pinto stressed the large financial investments needed to achieve carbon neutrality. He said a multilateral agenda is essential given climate change’s global nature. Pinto noted that achieving climate goals is not only about having the right targets, but also the right regulatory frameworks and roadmaps. He said climate progress in the EU shows emissions reductions can be achieved alongside economic growth.

Stephanie Horel, EUROCLIMA+ Programme Manager, DG International Cooperation and Development, European Commission, explained that EUROCLIMA+ works with implementing agencies, including the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC), UN Environment, the French Development Agency (AFD), Expertise France, GIZ, International and Ibero-American Foundation for Administration and Public Policies (FIIAPP), and the Spanish Agency for International Development Cooperation (AECID). Horel underscored that EUROCLIMA+ is demand-driven and acts at regional, national, and multi-country levels. She said EUROCLIMA+ currently has 57 projects in 6 sectors, with the largest number addressing urban mobility. She highlighted in-country dialogues as a new element of EUROCLIMA+, with five ongoing and two in the pipeline.

Several speakers then relayed their experiences working with EUROCLIMA+. Mariana Gianiaki and Mário Mantovani, National Association of Municipal Environmental Bodies, Brazil (ANAMMA), described a project to support public policies for ecosystem-based adaptation at the municipal level. She said the project, which involves 3 municipalities in Mexico and 4 in Brazil, seeks to strengthen local technical and governance capacities to reduce vulnerability to climate change. She underscored the fundamental importance of engaging civil society in local council initiatives. Gianiaki emphasized enhancing technical cooperation among municipalities and with other subnational governments. She suggested that the project can contribute to the NDCs of Mexico and Brazil through agroforestry contributions.

Cristina Garcia, Climate Change Mitigation Unit Coordinator, Ministry of Environment, Ecuador, underscored the value of in-country dialogues to identify actions at the national level that may be funded by EUROCLIMA+. She explained that Ecuador developed its NDC in 2015 through a participative iterative process involving over 1000 participants and 150 organizations. Garcia emphasized that the process was informed by gender specialists alongside mitigation specialists, and thus had an ingrained gender dimension. Garcia identified opportunities derived from the intra-dialogue participatory process, including linking national actors to funding sources, empowering participants, securing agreements between institutions, enabling frameworks to achieve NDCs, and generating new commitments.

Hernan Blanco, Avina Foundation, Chile, described a collaborative effort with EUROCLIMA+, GIZ, ECLAC, Avina and Libélula to foster South-South and triangular cooperation on NDCs, with the participation of 18 countries in the region. He underscored that effective implementation of NDCs requires aligning elements to account for the different national complexities including territorial, economic, social, and environmental. He announced the imminent launch of a publication including country descriptions of the level of NDC implementation in different sectors. Blanco underscored the need for NDC formulation to be science-based, seek synergies with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), consider social aspects, and have the highest level of political leadership to ensure institutional coordination. He urged peer exchanges among countries, both from Latin America and the Caribbean, and Europe, to advance NDC implementatio

Presentations were followed by interactive discussion, when several topics were brought up, including:

• how local organizations can access EUROCLIMA+;
• the role of EUROCLIMA+ in supporting the revision of NDCs, including at the technical level;
• support for NDC implementation plans;
• the importance of multi-stakeholder participation to ensure NDC buy-in;
• and the reinforcement of processes between national and municipal-level governments.

IISD Reporting Services, through its Earth Negotiations Bulletin (ENB) meeting coverage, has provided a summary report from the Latin America and Caribbean Climate Week 2019, which is available in HTML and PDF.