This cycle of CORECC Dialogues is part of the 'institutional strengthening and capacity building programme at the level of Chile's regions and districts',
in the context of the development of its Long-Term Climate Strategy (LTCS).
Santiago de Chile, 24 September 2021. With a meeting between the Regional Climate Change Committees (CORECC) of the 16 regions of Chile, on 31 August, the cycle of Regional, Macro-zonal and National Dialogues ended, with the participation of authorities and professional members of these Committees, to jointly reflect on their role, challenges, and opportunities for managing climate change in the territory. The design and future implementation of national climate change policies and instruments such as the Long-Term Climate Strategy (LTCS) and the Regional Action Plans on Climate Change (PARCC) were also addressed.
While the main focus of the 16 Regional Dialogues was the integration of the national, regional and municipal levels in the Long Term Climate Strategy through the PARCCs, and the identification of opportunities to strengthen the incorporation of climate change in territorial planning instruments, the three macro-zonal meetings, where the regions were united by northern, central and south-austral macro-zones, focused on identifying gaps, opportunities and priority issues in common, and exchanging experiences regarding the processes and perspectives for the development of the PARCCs.
At the national meeting, the CORECCs were able to discuss and exchange views on the link between the territorial management of climate change with the LTCS and the sectoral goals contained in this instrument, which is still being formulated. They reflected on challenges and opportunities, as well as on the need to continue strengthening regional institutions and technical capacities to promote climate action in the territory. Among the common challenges, the strengthening of the capacities of the CORECCs and the municipalities, and the number of professionals dedicated to climate change management, both at regional and communal level, stand out. The need to sensitise, educate and raise awareness among citizens and the productive sector about climate change and the challenges it entails was also identified, incorporating them as key actors. Another important challenge is access to climate finance and the lack of resources in the municipalities, which hinders the progress of instruments and actions to combat climate change.
From the CORECCs, the prompt approval of the Framework Law on Climate Change is expected, as it is currently being processed in Congress, given that it highlights the role of municipalities and regions within the framework of national climate change governance, which should promote and facilitate resilient and low-carbon development through policies, plans and actions on climate change at regional and district levels. The Climate Change Law will allow greater powers for the management of climate change in the territory, both in terms of adaptation and mitigation, and it also establishes the obligation for CORECCs to formulate Regional Climate Change Action Plans.
This cycle of CORECC Dialogues is part of the 'institutional strengthening and capacity building programme at the level of regions and districts of Chile', in the context of the development of its Long-Term Climate Strategy (LTCS), and it is being promoted by the EUROCLIMA+ Programme, through the German Society for International Cooperation (GIZ), in partnership with the Chilean Ministry of Environment (MMA) and with the support of the Centre for Climate Science and Resilience (CR2) of the University of Chile. Its main purpose is to promote a dialogue between the authorities that make up the CORECCs and to build capacities regarding the role and regional challenges in the development and implementation of public policy on climate change, in particular with respect to the 2050 LTCS.
The sub-national strengthening programme will continue in the following weeks, under its second line of work to develop 'Technical Capacities' in the CORECCs. Three training sessions will be held for interested members on 22 and 29 September and 5 October, in which around 140 people will participate. These sessions will cover adaptation issues, the Climate Risk Atlas, mitigation based on the regional greenhouse gas inventory and means of implementation.
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. It aims to reduce the impact of climate change and its effects in 18 countries in Latin America and the Caribbean by promoting climate change mitigation and adaptation, resilience, and investment.
The Programme is implemented 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), and the UN Environment Programme.