(17 October 2008) The possible imposition of trade barriers on products from the region due to carbon emissions in their production and transportation is becoming a concern for developing countries. According to the Kyoto Protocol, developing economies are not obliged to meet emission-reduction goals.
Negotiations over measures to mitigate the effects of climate change are enormously complex, in spite of a shared awareness that the longer it takes to reach agreements, the greater the negative impact will be, especially in the developing world, as well as the efforts the international community must make to address it.
These are some of the conclusions of the seminar "Climate change in Latin America: Impact, Possibilities for Mitigation and Financing", carried out October 15-16 in ECLAC headquarters in Santiago, Chile. The seminar was organized by the UN regional commission and Endesa Latin America.
The seminar, inaugurated by Commission Secretary Laura López, was attended by representatives of governments, the United Nations system, the World Bank, the Inter American Development Bank (IDB), universities and NGOs.
The keynote speakers were the United Nations Special Envoy on Climate Change, former Chilean President Ricardo Lagos; former Costa Rican President and CEO of the Concordia 21 Group, José María Figueres; and the Chief Economist for Latin America and the Caribbean of the World Bank, Augusto de la Torre.
During the seminar, ECLAC announced it would prepare a series of studies on economy and climate change in eight South American nations: Argentina, Bolivia, Colombia, Chile, Ecuador, Paraguay, Peru and Uruguay. These studies will examine costs of climate change adaptation, trends in greenhouse gas emissions and the potential to mitigate their effects. This initiative complements similar studies already underway in Central America, the Caribbean and Mexico.
These studies will be the basis for future subregional analyses directed by ECLAC, along with the governments of countries involved, their research institutions, the government of the United Kingdom, and the Inter American Development Bank. Results will be released in July 2009.
The Director of ECLAC's Sustainable Development and Human Settlements Division, Joseluis Samaniego, noted that in order to avoid a 2º C rise in temperature, developed countries must stabilize the concentration of greenhouse gas emissions by reducing them 60% to 80% by 2050.
"In this context, the participation of developed nations in mitigation efforts is inevitable, whether voluntary or obligatory. Decisions made today on infrastructure will shape the future that countries in the region will have to address, in the framework of an international regime that we assume will continue to evolve beyond 2010," he said.
Five studies on the evolution and mitigation of greenhouse gas emissions in Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia and Peru, financed by Endesa, were presented during the seminar. The reports were prepared by independent research institutions, such as the Bariloche Foundation, the private consulting firm PSR, the University of Chile, the University of Los Andes, in Colombia, and the Catholic University of Peru.
In his presentation, Ricardo Lagos valued the ECLAC seminar as an instance that contributes to defining the role of Latin America and the Caribbean in the global fight against climate change. "Is it possible to think about an intermediate stage between 2012-2020 in which middle-income countries may have a menu of options that could contribute to reducing contaminating emissions? That is up for debate," he asserted.
Among possible options, Lagos mentioned monetary contributions to activities that avoid deforestation; sharing national plans to combat climate change with the international community; and reaching agreements among industries of similar productivity and technology on maximum emission levels, regardless of where these industries are located.
For more information, contact ECLAC's Information Services. Email: dpisantiago cepal.org; telephones: (56-2) 210-2380/2149. |
