San Salvador, El Salvador, 30 July, 2013. The Deputy Minister for Development Cooperation and the Minister's Office in charge, Jaime Miranda, closed this afternoon the II Regional Dialogue on Climate Finance in Latin America and the Caribbean, which was attended by over 40 delegates from different countries and international and regional organisations.
During the two-day meeting that began yesterday in the capital city, the need to draw attention to the issue of climate change in the countries of the region played an important role in the discussions, as well as adaptation to this environmental phenomenon.
"We, the Government of El Salvador, are very satisfied with the Conclusions of this Dialogue, which reflects the legitimate interest of all countries gathered here to find the most appropriate options for addressing climate financing", said the Deputy Minister.
In addition, the representative of the Salvadoran Foreign Ministry added that this gathering allowed exchanging experiences and building partnerships between countries and regional partners to address this environmental challenge.
In the context of the meeting discussion, participants identified priorities, opportunities and challenges at national, regional and global levels.
At national level, participants agreed to continue to identify suitable financial instruments and mechanisms adapted to the realities of each country, as well as to map and analyse the comparative advantages among different financial instruments and mechanisms. Moreover, the participants aimed to further progress in strengthening the participation of all relevant stakeholders under the leadership of the governments of the region, enhancing the role of civil society, academia and the private sector.
Among others, the design of sectoral plans for adaptation and mitigation was pointed out, which should benefit from the experience in accessing international financing for climate change, and integrating the sectoral plans into the national development plans.
Regarding regional commitments, the participants agreed to update the country profiles and share the experiences identified on the basis of the thematic notes. Participants also decided to continue using the platform http://climatefinance.info, as a meeting point for policy makers, managers and experts from governments in the region and working together in the Regional Committee, supported by a Secretariat, which will facilitate the regional process.
In order to develop roadmaps for promoting institutional and operational capacity of key ministries and agencies, participants will continue to analyse the challenges and common barriers in climate finance.
Regarding the global proposals, the participants approved to highlight the urgency that developed countries make large-scale resource transfers, according to their commitments, and balancing mitigation and adaptation. Continuing the coordination and integration with multilateral organisations, bilateral agencies and other stakeholders was also highlighted as an important issue, as it will minimise the cost of using intermediaries and will guide efforts and provision of resources, in line with national priorities, ensuring transparency of these efforts, reducing fragmentation and improving access to climate finance, among others.
Deputy Miranda, in his closing speech, also urged participants to support actions in face of the coming Conference of the Parties of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), which will be held in November in Warsaw, Poland.
For more information:
http://climatefinance.info/profiles/blogs/arranca-el-ii-dialogo-finanzas-clima
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