At ECLAC, studies were presented on the application of this instrument in Latin America.

Santiago de Chile, December 28.- With the objective of promoting the use of incentives in Latin America to guide investment towards environmentally sustainable development, the first meeting of the regional working group on social carbon prices was held at the headquarters of the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) in Santiago de Chile on December 20 and 21.

This activity is one of the actions contemplated by ECLAC in the context of the execution of the EUROCLIMA+ programme, which aims to contribute to the progress of the region’s countries in the implementation and fulfilment of their Nationally Determined Contributions (NDC). to the Paris Agreement before the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change.

The meeting was aimed at decision makers in matters of public investment and climate change of the ministries of finance, taxation, planning, social development and related matters, of Chile, Costa Rica, Honduras, Nicaragua and Panama. These countries requested technical studies from ECLAC to work on the incorporation of a social carbon price, whose preliminary progress was presented in this instance.

“At this stage of EUROCLIMA+, ECLAC is working on the monitoring and generation of tools for the fulfilment of the NDCs, which include the potential to incorporate adaptation metrics, support for a working group that is trying to align the monitoring, reporting and verification metrics for emission reductions in order to generate a carbon market in the Americas together with the United States and Canada, and the annual report on the flow of climate financing to the region," commented Joseluis Samaniego, Director of the Sustainable Development and Human Settlements Division of ECLAC.

For Alejandra Naser of the Latin American Economic and Social Planning Institute (ILPES) of ECLAC, the working group on social carbon pricing “contributes to an increase in the quality of public investment, taking into account the location of the projects, the incorporation of new technologies, and the reduction of the vulnerability of public infrastructure in Latin America”.

“This helps us to have up-to-date information that supports decision-making on public investment issues with scientific principles and hard data. It is a direct contribution to generating more modern, efficient, transparent and participatory states through the effective management of public investment,” added Francisco Tula, Director of the Public Investment Area of the Ministry of National Planning and Economic Policy of Costa Rica, and President of the Network of National Public Investment Systems.

During the meeting, the initial results of the studies requested by the regional working group were analysed. The group will continue its execution in 2019 with constant feedback from the countries, and it will address the determination of a methodology for estimating the social price of carbon, the review of the legal faculties of the national and subnational governments for its establishment, and simulations of its impacts on the infrastructure, transport and energy sectors.

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), German Society for International Cooperation (GIZ), and UN Environment.

Contacts

General press contact for the EUROCLIMA+ programme
Alexandra Cortés. EUROCLIMA+ Programme: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

ECLAC press contact for EUROCLIMA+
Nicole Tondreau. ECLAC: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.