Estimating emissions and captures of greenhouse gases (GHGs) is an important element in achieving progress in fulfilment of the objective of successfully stabilising concentrations of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere at a level which could prevent dangerous human interference with the climate system.

During the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development, Río+20, Colombia with the support of Guatemala succeeded in passing a proposal on Sustainable Development Goals (SDG), which presents the design, consensus and implementation of indicators to measure the sustainability of social, environmental and economic development.

Economic and social analysis of climate change is vital in order to examine the causes, their effects, and to design an efficient strategy allowing for the transition to sustainable development. Quantification of the impacts is surrounded by great uncertainty given the long-term time frame involved, along with the diverse methodologies, depending on the availability of local, national and regional information.

A substantial rise in temperature is inevitable this century, and structured adaptation processes are therefore vital for Latin America. These processes include any type of adjustment to natural or human systems, or activities in response to the expected changes in climate variables (IPCC,2007).