Latin America and the Caribbean work on the definition of sustainable consumption and production indicators

In the framework of a technical cooperation agreement, the United Nations Environmental Programme (UNEP) and CAF, Development Bank of Latin America brought together experts from Latin America and the Caribbean for two days in Panama City, with the objective of advancing in the definition of indicators to monitor achievements related to sustainable consumption and production. 

Some of the topics covered by the region's representatives were the importance of sustainable consumption and production indicators in the region, advances of the work regarding CPS indicators at a global and regional level, CPS indicators to promote private investment and growth and dicussions about the creation of capacities, and cooperation opportunities. 

The Assistant Director of the UNEP Regional Office for Latin America and the Caribbean, Mara Murillo, indicated that "we must have a systemic approach to help all the agents in a production chain participate, from the primary producer to the final consumer, so that we can advance in the area of consumption and production patterns". 

Since 2015, CAF started working with the regional banking system, both in first and second tier banking, in each country where they operate promoting sustainable financing initiatives. 

For the sustainable development of communities, a productive transformation that changes biodiversity and eco-systemic services into a competitive advantage is required. Ligia Castro, CAF's Director of the Environment and Climate Change, stated, "For this reason, CAF promotes a flexible system for the promotion, financing, and support of green business in the region". 

During the meeting, experts agreed that there is still the idea that a large amount of money has to be invested to make productive processes sustainable; however, this is not about adding tasks, but rather achieving a transformation of the processes. 

Latin America and the Caribbean lead the efforts for the promotion of sustainable consumption and production, thanks to the valuable support of diverse international organizations such as UNPE, financial institutions such as CAF, and the increasing interest of governments which have enabled an agreement on the mechanisms and road map for the implementation of the indicators.