Working group led by ECLAC and the ministries of finance under the framework of the EUROCLIMA+ programme

Guatemala City, May 28, 2019. - Delegates from the finance, treasury and planning ministries of the countries of Latin America and the Caribbean met in Guatemala City on May 28 and 29 to share experiences, analyse the current status and propose future strategies for the incorporation of green fiscal instruments and the development of public investment projects that address the challenges of climate change.

The event was organised by the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) and the Council of Ministers of Treasuries or Finance of Central America, Panama and the Dominican Republic (Spanish acronym COSEFIN) as part of the activities of a regional working group supported by the EUROCLIMA+ programme of the European Union.

“Our mission is to incorporate the impacts of climate change into institutional management, as these have important effects on economic activity and social development, and we must take them into account in order to generate strategies that will allow us to adapt the countries' budgets,” said. Kildare Stanley Enríquez, Vice Minister of Financial Administration of the Ministry of Public Finance of Guatemala.

Jimy Ferrer, Economic Affairs Officer of ECLAC’s Sustainable Development and Human Settlements Division, highlighted the vulnerability of the region to climate change. “Central America and the Caribbean has been strongly affected by the increase in extreme events in the last three decades. Therefore, addressing this challenge means that the ministries of treasury or finance, planning and the environment, must work in a coordinated way, both regionally and nationally, to include the issue in public policy,” he said.

Fiscal policies and public investment are key to transforming the patterns of consumption and production required to confront climate change. “It is necessary to strengthen investment policies in clean, resilient and inclusive energy sectors that consider the integration of climate risks and objectives in public policies and the private financial sector, and the sustainable development agenda in cities,” said Julie Lennox, Chief of the Agricultural Development Unit and Climate Change Focal Point of ECLAC’s Subregional Headquarters in Mexico.

For his part, Martín Portillo, Executive Secretary of COSEFIN, said that “the treasury or finance ministries play a fundamental role in the design of fiscal sustainability policies that would reduce climate risks and incentivise infrastructure resilient to the impacts of climate change, through subsidies, taxes and exemptions, among other instruments.”

It should be noted that within the EUROCLIMA+ programme framework, ECLAC is working with the governments of the region on the use of the fiscal policy and public investment to face the challenges of climate change. The work areas are aligned with the Fiscal Interest Matrix (MIF) of COSEFIN, which channels foreign technical assistance and cooperation and facilitates the execution of regional actions with national impact.

At the meeting, experiences were presented regarding the national public investment systems in the different countries of the region, to learn about progress made on inclusion in risk management and response to climate change. In addition, a preliminary capacity-building programme for government officials developed within the framework of the working group was analysed.

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.

Press contacts

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