Private sector involvement was one of the “hot topics” at the last COP26 climate summit. 

 

“If we are sincere in calling climate change a global problem, full inclusion must be the foundation on which this process is built [...] We all face the same climate emergency. We must all be part of the solution.”

Patricia Espinosa, Executive Secretary of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC)

As the Executive Secretary called for during the last COP26, the involvement in climate action must be considered by everyone. And coordination between the various actors and productive sectors is essential for advancing in the transformations required to achieve sustainable, low-emission development in line with climate objectives. 

In this regard, the European Union, through its EUROCLIMA+ programme, works together with its partner countries in facilitating and strengthening the various inter-sectoral, multi-level and multi-stakeholder coordination mechanisms, including all levels of government, civil society, academia and the private sector. 

For this reason, at the last climate summit, within its programme agenda, EUROCLIMA+ presented a series of events focused on addressing challenges, lessons learned and opportunities to advance in the coordination of the various actors and sectors. 

 

An ambition shared with the private sector

"It is important to bring together trade and sectoral organisations, as this allows us to involve and engage the private sector more broadly, which has great opportunities in this transformation." 

Elizabeth Venegas, Alianza Empresarial para el Desarrollo (AED), Costa Rica

The involvement of the private sector was one of the hot topics of the last climate summit. How to align this key actor with national climate plans, and how to make them participants and protagonists in the processes.

The event entitled: Accelerating private sector climate ambition in Latin America: Opportunities and challenges of sectoral decarbonisation roadmaps, sought to analyse the opportunities and challenges presented by the establishment and implementation of sectoral decarbonisation roadmaps as a tool to enhance cross-sectoral articulation, increase corporate climate ambition and improve the alignment of private sector climate action with national and international goals. It was led by the initiative ArticuLAC: Community of Practice on Public-Private Articulation for Climate Action, in collaboration with several institutional partners in Costa Rica and Brazil.

Through the exchange and reflection of the participants, the importance of making visible the opportunities that climate action opens up and how it makes the sector more competitive was highlighted; the importance of generating and training on the existing tools for sectoral coordination and the incorporation of the sector in these processes; and finally, the importance of involving the private sector, for which articulation mechanisms that allow for constant dialogue are required.

 

 

Involving all levels of governance in the transport sector

"The call to action for our sector is to move forward with the implementation of strategies and plans to provide a transport service that is accessible to people, but also aligned with the global goals of emissions reductions, resilience and adaptation to climate change".

Carolina Simonetti Ministry of Transport and Telecommunications of Chile

Climate action in transport requires coordination between different levels of government. On the one hand, cities are responsible for implementing measures to ensure the sustainability of their transport and mobility systems; on the other hand, national governments can provide technical capacities, financing mechanisms and a strategic framework for action aligned to Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) and other climate policies.

Therefore, the side event at the EU Pavilion focused on multi-level cooperation for the implementation of the transport aspects of the NDCs at all levels of government. In turn, through regional case studies, the role of the European Union - and its EUROCLIMA+ programme in the case of Latin America - in accelerating the implementation of NDCs through sustainable and low-emission transport was highlighted.

Carolina Simnetti, Head of Cabinet Advisors at the Ministry of Transport and Telecommunications of Chile, presented a publication of recommendations and best practices to increase climate ambition in transport in Latin America, in which Chile’s experience through the EUROCLIMA+ programme is mentioned, such as the National Urban Mobility Strategy and Programme for mitigation and adaptation to climate change. 

For the local context, Hugo Pizarro, from the Regional Government of Antofagasta, presented the experience of the Sustainable Urban Mobility Plan (SUMP) of Antofagasta, which is being developed in the framework of EUROCLIMA+, highlighting the importance of coordination to generate actions in medium-sized cities.

"We believe that the combined network of Latin American cities of medium or smaller population can generate great contributions, solutions that are faster and less costly compared to large metropolises", Hugo Pizarro, Regional Government of Antofagasta, Chile. 

For her part, Emiliy Hosek of SLOCAT presented resources to support cities and countries in the implementation of transport-oriented NDCs, developed by organisations such as EUROCLIMA+, GIZ and SLOCAT. 

 

MoveToZero: Latin America and the Caribbean, the best untold story in electric mobility

Latin America and the Caribbean has achieved many milestones in electric mobility. Latin America has generated the solutions to the problems of electrification, you have to look at the region to find the how. Latin America and the Caribbean is the best untold story of electric mobility, Jone Orbea, leader of the United Nations Environment Programme's MOVE platform.

MoveToZero is an initiative that seeks to highlight the progress made in electric mobility and identify the elements necessary for its definitive deployment in Latin America and the Caribbean. To this end, actors from the public, private and financial sectors are making commitments to the development of electric mobility. MoveToZero highlights the importance of cross-sectoral work to accelerate the transition to zero-emission transport in the region.

In the framework of COP26, UNEP, thanks to the support of EUROCLIMA+, held a discussion between actors from different sectors that are part of the electric mobility ecosystem and are signatories of MoveToZero commitments. At the event, the vision of each sector and their contribution to the deployment of this technology were presented. The progress made in the region in all aspects of the transition to sustainable mobility was also highlighted.

 

 

 

Energy efficiency in LAC for climate change mitigation and adaptation

 "The need to develop regulatory frameworks that tend to break down barriers and create mechanisms for a market for energy efficiency goods and services [...] Planning for the medium and long term, including inter-institutional links not only with other institutions, but also with private actors and civil society". 

Alfonso Blanco, Executive Secretary of OLADE

Among the targets of SDG 7 "Affordable and clean energy" for 2030, two relate to energy efficiency, doubling the global rate of improvement in energy efficiency and increasing International Cooperation to facilitate access to energy efficiency research and technologies.

Being energy efficient means using less energy and economic resources to obtain the same or a higher level of services; it helps inclusion and economic development by allowing production costs to decrease and products and services to become more competitive, opening markets and generating more jobs, as well as contributing to the reduction of emissions.

For this reason, the event “Energy Efficiency in LAC for climate change adaptation and mitigation” ,was presented at COP26. which constitutes an effort to maintain Energy Efficiency as a key issue for reducing greenhouse gas emissions and the fulfilment of the Nationally Determined Commitments under the Paris Agreement. 

 

 

At the event Climate ambition: new national commitments in Latin America and the Caribbean,, organised by ECLAC with the participation of GIZ, UNDP, LEDS LAC and the IDB, it became clear that the Latin American and Caribbean region is showing more ambitious climate commitments. However, countries have underinvested in green investments in net terms, presenting two priority issues to advance with climate ambition: climate finance gaps and the territorialisation of NDCs, which are important to advancing towards action.

José Eduardo Alatorre, ECLAC official, commented that " this is the time to implement the NDCs, changing the rules of the game in order to trigger financial resources to go to the key sectors proposed by ECLAC".

In addition, the progress of the NDC LAC Platform, a dynamic and interactive digital tool that allows the visualisation of information on progress in the implementation and updating of the NDCs in Latin America and the Caribbean, was presented.

 

About EUROCLIMA+

EUROCLIMA+ is a programme funded by the European Union and co-financed by the German federal government through the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), as well as by the governments of France and Spain through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, European Union and Cooperation.

The Programme's mission is to reduce the impact of climate change and its effects in 18 countries of Latin America and the Caribbean, promoting mitigation, adaptation, resilience and climate investment. It is implemented according to the "Spirit of Team Europe" under the synergistic work of seven agencies: the Spanish Agency for International Development Cooperation (AECID), the French Development Agency (AFD), the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC), Expertise France (EF), the International and Ibero-America Foundation for Administration and Public Policy (FIIAPP), the German Society for International Cooperation (GIZ) GmbH, and the UN Environment Programme (UNEP).

More information:

Macarena Castillo, GIZ: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Guiby Vargas, AECID: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Sofia Arocha, UNEP: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Alexandra Cortés, EUROCLIMA+ Secretariat +: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.