CAF Reaffirms Commitment to Becoming Latin America’s Green Bank at COP26

November 12, 2021

During COP26 in Glasgow, CAF presented the main lines of action to become Latin America’s green bank and support the countries of the region in their commitments to environmental conservation, preservation of natural ecosystems and energy transition. During the summit, the agency announced that it will mobilize USD 25 billion over the next five years to promote green growth in the region.

More than 40,000 international climate experts met in Glasgow for COP26, a global summit that was set to revise expectations of GHG reduction, to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050. For Latin America, the challenges were to expand financing to adaptation and mitigation initiatives; position itself as a key player in the still incipient carbon market; and to aim for nature-based solutions.

During COP26, CAF announced that it will allocate USD 25 billion over the next five years to promote green growth in the region. The multilateral organization proposes a green strategy that promotes climate action, biodiversity conservation, energy transition and nature-based solutions. To this end, it will mobilize its own financial resources and align the interests of public and private players around environmental and social responsibility and the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions. The institution’s green financing is set to increase from 24% in 2020 to 40% in 2026, and all its operations will be aligned with the objectives of the Paris Agreement.

As part of this new green agenda, CAF also announced that it will contribute USD 1 million to preserve biodiversity and the use of marine and coastal resources of the Eastern Tropical Pacific Seascape, a region shared by Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador and Panama, which generates USD 3 billion annually mainly from fishing, tourism and maritime transport.

CAF also carried out the following activities during COP26:

CAF protects 710,000 hectares of tropical forest in Colombia, offsetting its greenhouse gas emissions. The project will protect 70 endangered species, prevent the emission of 434,387 tons of CO2 each year and provide sustenance for a total of 1,497 families from 15 Afro-Colombian communities.

CAF and the MIT create project to protect Colombia’s tropical forests. This project will help monitor landslides through drones, data management and innovative technologies, launching a novel early warning mechanism to reduce the climate vulnerability that has traditionally impacted the local communities of the Mocoa municipality in the Colombian Department of Putumayo.

CAF and the government of the City of Buenos Aires promote good governance and climate action agendas of local governments. Both institutions held an online eventto present the new platform “BA Climate Change”, which aims to link the good governance and climate action agendas, as well as promote cooperation mechanisms between international organizations and local governments and foster a community of practices that enables the exchange of experiences and lessons learned.

CAF presents the climate change vulnerability index of nine cities in Latin America at the COP. Also during the COP in Glasgow, CAF presented the climate change vulnerability index of 9 cities in Latin America: La Paz and Tarija (Bolivia), Fortaleza and Recife (Brazil), Loja, Portoviejo and Santa Cruz de Galapagos (Ecuador), Trujillo and Piura (Peru).

Carbon Market: Climate Solution for Latin America? Among all the proposals, the carbon market looks most promising, especially for developing regions such as Latin America. These markets operate by countries making transfers of emission reductions between them on a voluntary or binding basis. Although they are not yet regulated, the agreement between the countries is essential to activate the necessary mechanisms for market operation.

CAF Dinner, where more than 50 representatives of the public and private sectors gathered to strengthen collaboration ties to boost climate action in Latin America and the Caribbean. During the event, a video was played with the main proposals of CAF’s green agenda.

During COP26, CAF also organized the following events:

Climate Change: An Umbrella for Livelihoods in Coastal Marine Areas and Island Territories

Catalyzing Green Recovery

Catalyzing Climate Action in Cities

BA Climate Change: Open Government for Climate Action

EMOTION: Electric, low-carbon mobility