EUROCLIMA+ was present at the European Development Days event in which the study “Economic Perspectives for Latin America 2019” was launched
June 19, Brussels, Belgium. At the European days devoted to development - better known as EDD for its English name - the study “Economic perspectives for Latin America 2019” was launched, which presents a fresh approach to development of the region.
The document was prepared by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), the Development Bank of Latin America (CAF), the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (CEPAL) and the European Union. In a high-level panel, the role of international cooperation and inclusive growth were presented and debated.
While most Latin American and Caribbean countries are considered middle-income and upper-middle income countries –something that would exclude them from international cooperation programmes and funds-, this region is the most unequal in the world and its growth is not sustainable. Given this situation, the authors of the Report have coined the concept of “development in transition”.
“The lack of dedication to environmental sustainability and decarbonisation in the region is striking,” argued ECLAC executive secretary Alicia Bárcena at the conference.
Bárcena also recalled that progress has been made and results are still being generated thanks to the strong support of the European Union, which in programmes such as EUROCLIMA+ have managed to generate synergies among numerous actors in Latin America with Europe, and also within the Latin American region itself. She also stressed that it is necessary to continue strengthening processes in the same middle-income countries.
“Chile and Costa Rica have announced that they will have decarbonised their economies by 2050. I hope there is still a world by then”, she added.
In this regard, Andrea Vignolo, executive director of the Uruguayan Agency for International Cooperation and focal point for the EUROCLIMA+ programme also spoke. “If we are promoting a multidimensional development model, we want to collaborate with other countries. We do not think that we should be excluded from international cooperation funds because we have grown”, she said.
The study focuses on the environment as one of the pitfalls facing the development of societies: improving the management of global goods in regional and national agendas will be one of the great challenges and fields where the European Union and Latin America should continue to cooperate, said several panellists.
“The 2030 agenda with its sustainable development goals is a good platform for this. It is very important that climate change is emphasised in the new international cooperation paradigm and that adaptive social protection is included, for example, epidemiological events that are occurring in this highly interconnected and hot world”, said Margarita Cedeño de Fernández, Vice President of the Dominican Republic.
“It may be that we go faster, but together we can go further,” she concluded. In the good experiences that have been had with regional programmes, such as EUROsociAL, EUROCLIMA+, Al Invest, ADELANTE, LAIF, among others, the specialists see a good omen.
The EDDs took place this year for the thirteenth time, bringing together 8,000 participants from 149 countries. This year's slogan was “Focusing on inequalities: building a world that does not leave anyone behind”.
See the EUROCLIMA+ note on European Development Days
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), German Society for International Development Cooperation (GIZ), Expertise France (EF), International and Ibero-American Foundation for Administration and Public Policies (FIIAPP), and UN Environment.
Contacts
General press contact for the EUROCLIMA+ programme
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