After four 100% virtual sessions, Programme partners shared their experiences, lessons learned, and expectations on how to focus cooperation on the green recovery context. In addition, the support that EUROCLIMA+ is required to offer from its strategic lines and sectoral perspective was adjusted.
December 16, 2020. Brussels, Belgium. This year, the EUROCLIMA+ Annual Meeting brought together more than 200 participants, including representatives of the technical and governmental area of the 18 partner countries of the Programme, as well as officials from the European Union and the 7 implementing agencies that promote the work of EUROCLIMA+.
Due to the virtual modality, 4 sessions were held which had been structured since October and ended on December 10th with the forming of the Programme Steering Committee.
During the session of the Steering Committee, Jolita Butkeviciene, Director for Latin America and the Caribbean at the Directorate-General for Cooperation and Development of the European Union, stressed that although this 2020 has brought a very difficult time for the whole world, the increased ambition for continuing the fight against climate change cannot be overlooked. "These are very difficult times. But in the European Union we are firmly convinced that the recovery must be green (...) and we consider Latin America a natural partner in our efforts to define more ambitious policies in climate change," she said.
Butkeviciene, after expressing thanks for the participation and exchange that took place throughout all the virtual sessions, she emphasised that adjustments would be made at EUROCLIMA+ so that it could become a useful tool in facing this dramatic context that is being lived due to COVID-19.
It is worth noting that the four sessions were attended by several Latin American ministers and senior EU officials, who opened each event in order to contextualise and dimension the challenges that the region will have to face on the road to green recovery.
In each session, technical presentations were made and group and plenary work rooms were provided in order to encourage exchange, mainly among the Programme's National Focal Points (representatives of the governments of Latin America and Cuba), with a view toward strengthening the Programme in the current context.
Summary of sessions (all sessions were recorded and videos are available on the respective links):
Session 1. Exchange on sectors prioritised by EUROCLIMA+ (20 October). Rooms were set up for group work in the six thematic sectors of the Programme, in order to analyse how countries can be supported from each sector in the context of the green recovery.
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- Session 2. Exchange on programme lines of action (November 3). Following presentations during the plenary session, participants were distributed among working groups to discuss the six strategic lines of the Programme and to analyse how EUROCLIMA+ could - from climate policy – support efforts for recovery.
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- Session 3. Balance and perspectives in the context of green recovery (November 24). Based on the experience of some countries in the country dialogue process, an analysis was made of how the work methodology that responds to the priorities of the countries is being consolidated. There was also an exchange on how to introduce the regional dimension into the country dialogue process, and finally the integration of key ministries into the processes of this dialogue.
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- Session 4. Preparatory session and Steering Committee (December 10). The documents were fine-tuned and discussed with the possible offer from the Programme.
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Depending on health conditions, the possibility of the next EUROCLIMA+ Annual Meeting taking place in the European Union, whether in Brussels or Milano, has been discussed, considering that the latter will be the headquarters for PreCOP 26. Finally, it was indicated that the participation of the Programme with a EUROCLIMA+ Pavilion at COP26 in Glasgow is planned, if conditions permit.
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About EUROCLIMA+
EUROCLIMA+ is the European Union's flagship programme for cooperation with Latin America, funded by the European Union and co-financed by the Federal Government of Germany through the Federal Ministry of Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), as well as by the governments of France and Spain. It aims to reduce the impact of climate change and its effects on the region, promoting climate change mitigation and adaptation, resilience, and climate finance.
It is implemented in 18 countries in Latin America and the Caribbean under the synergistic work of seven agencies: Spanish Agency for International Cooperation for Development (AECID), French Development Agency (AFD), Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC), the German Society for International Cooperation (GIZ), Expertise France (EF), International and Ibero-American Foundation for Administration and Public Policy (FIIAPP) and the UN Environment Programme.