The purpose of the event was to provide spaces for the exchange of experiences and lessons learned between Latin American and European countries
in the process of developing Long-Term Strategies for the decarbonisation of various economic sectors through resilient sustainable development.
Salvador de Bahia, Brazil, August 20, 2019. Five Latin American countries are preparing to develop their Long-Term Strategies to achieve zero net greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.
In the context of Latin America and Caribbean Climate Week, on Tuesday the “Workshop for the exchange of knowledge for the development of Long-Term Strategies: Experiences between leading European and Latin American countries” was held.
The event was organised by the UN Environment Transparency Centre and the UNEP DTU Alliance, the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC), GIZ, and FIAPP, with support from the EUROCLIMA+ Programme of the European Union, and its purpose was to provide spaces for the exchange of experiences and lessons learned between Latin American and European countries on the process of developing Long-Term Strategies for the decarbonisation of the different economic sectors through resilient sustainable development.
Germany, Spain and the European Union as a bloc shared their experiences with representatives of Latin American countries, who also had an opportunity to present the areas prioritised in their strategies, update the baseline of their projects and share points of view on their process and needs for the regionalisation of the strategies. Finally, the countries as a whole were able to define a work plan and next steps for the achievement of their strategies and their integration.
The purpose of the Long-Term Strategies is to visualise the transformations needed in the economies of the countries for complying with decarbonisation and adaptation to climate change in line with the overall objectives of the Paris Agreement. They are also an opportunity to “understand the immediate policy changes needed to initiate transformation and anticipate and remedy transition costs” (Fay et al. 2015; Vogt-Schilb and Hallegatte 2017; Pathak 2017).
By 2020, countries must submit an update of their Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) that they committed to meet in order to reach the 1.5-2°C global temperature target set by the Paris Agreement. However, the worsening effects of climate change are causing States to increase their ambition in the light of a long-term vision for 2050.
This workshop is part of an agreement on regional collaboration at the ministerial level for the integration of Long-Term Strategies, signed at COP24 by Argentina, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica and Uruguay. Under this agreement, the countries requested technical support for the development of their strategies from the EUROCLIMA+ Programme of the European Union and its implementing agencies, under the coordination of the UN Environment Centre for Climate Transparency and the UNEP DTU Alliance.
To date 181 parties have submitted their first NDCs and only 11 countries have communicated their Long Term Strategies (UNFCCC, 2019), including only Mexico for Latin America.
About EUROCLIMA+
EUROCLIMA+ is a programme funded by the European Union to promote environmentally sustainable and climate-resilient development in 18 Latin American countries, particularly for the benefit of the most vulnerable populations. The Programme is implemented under the synergistic work of seven agencies: Spanish Agency for International Development Cooperation (AECID), French Development Agency (AFD), Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC), Expertise France (EF), International and Ibero-American Foundation for Administration and Public Policies (FIIAPP), the German Society for International Cooperation (GIZ), and UN Environment.
For more information, please contact:
Communication Unit for Latin America and the Caribbean, UN Environment: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., +507 305-3182.