Latin America and the Caribbean, a region of solutions

In 2024, Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) established itself as a leading region in the energy transition and climate resilience, as well as in the recovery and conservation of universal biodiversity.

The scenarios for this achievement were the three major global environmental summits, Conferences of the Parties (COP), held in the last part of the year: COP16 on Biodiversity, which was held in Cali (Colombia) at the end of October 2024 and gave a new dimension to the region at these meetings; COP29 on climate change, which was held shortly afterwards in Baku (Azerbaijan), where, among other things, it was agreed to triple funding for the protection of the lives and livelihoods of developing countries; and the COP16 against desertification and the indiscriminate use of soils, held in Riyadh (Saudi Arabia) at the beginning of last December, where CAF -development bank of Latin America and the Caribbean-, as one of the most influential voices of the region at a global level, became an observer member in the dialogues of this convention, traditionally focused on the problems of the African continent.

In particular, the countries of the region celebrate having achieved at COP16 in Cali that the eyes of the planet turned to the 33 countries of the continent and their ecosystems, 14 of them strategic, and that it was seen as a compact region, but at the same time multicultural and diverse in its natural capital. The summit marked a milestone by involving ordinary people in the conversation around biodiversity issues.
Likewise, with the main scenarios being the discussion spaces provided by CAF, the message was left planted that, as a region, LAC can offer not only the necessary resources to contain climate change and the energy transition, but can also be integrated into the industrial value chain as a productive actor and as "a region of solutions".

The Cali conference made new news last February in Rome, where member countries agreed, among other things, on the first global plan for financing nature conservation that will mobilize at least US$200 billion per year until 2030, including US$20 billion per year in international flows this year, rising to US$30 billion in 2030. In addition, a monitoring framework was defined to assess progress in implementing the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework. The countries agreed on a monitoring system to be applied at COP17 in Armenia in 2026.

The Rome meeting also served to launch the Cali Fund, which will receive contributions from companies that commercialize digital data on nature's genetic resources, marking an important step towards broader funding for biodiversity conservation. Sectors such as pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, agricultural biotechnology, industrial biotechnology and artificial intelligence, among others, are expected to give 1% of their profits or 0.1% of their revenues to this fund to be operated by the United Nations. It is estimated that at least 50% of the resources will go to indigenous peoples and local communities, who are the caretakers of biodiversity.

Road to the Belém COP

The work done at the 2024 summits opened a path for the climate COP30 to be held at the end of 2025 in Belém (Brazil). For CAF, this will be a new scenario to harvest the sense of unity of the region that was sown and work on several issues that are still pending. Among them, the following:

1. Fair transitions for the region. It is clear that the issue of transition in LAC is not limited only to the energy field. Other types of transitions are indispensable, such as that of agriculture and livestock, one of the productive sectors that are contributing most to greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and deforestation. As has been the case up to now, agricultural activity is not sustainable and there is an urgent need for a major transformation in this field, in parallel with the energy transition. We must start with a full understanding of the role of the agricultural sector in food security and poverty eradication, the first of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of the Paris Agreement. This, of course, implies a new vision of job creation and access to the basic food basket to improve the quality of life.

2. Strengthen the positioning of LAC as a region of solutions. The inclusion of the continent in global debates on transition should not be limited to the level of being a resource provider, but actions should lead to the generation of a macro-industrial era for the region, based on the creation of clean fuels and planet-friendly technologies.

3. Adaptation and resilience in the face of disaster risk. In this aspect, it is also necessary to work with a unified and sustainable approach. The most urgent issue is that of adaptation, since between 2% and 3% of the regional GDP is being invested in natural disasters. CAF is currently working on an initiative called the Brasilia Consensus, which seeks to set up early warning systems through transnational cooperation, in order to know how to mobilize resources and specialized institutions beyond borders. At the Dubai climate COP (28), CAF announced a portfolio of US$15 billion between 2023 and 2030 dedicated to the vast field of adaptation and resilience. To date, it has invested $2 billion.

4. How to involve the private sector much more. Once the Baku commitment was made to triple funding for developing countries, i.e. from $100 billion to $300 billion, it is urgent to integrate private enterprise and philanthropy in these causes. And this is when the region must further strengthen its ties with large companies in countries such as China and Russia, in order to generate inclusive and equitable growth for the countries on this side of the planet.

5. Promote the development of indicators that reflect the realities of the region. Particularly for adaptation issues, indicators tailored to LAC situations and conditions are indispensable. The region does not have its own indicators that adequately measure it and the analysis of data based on reality is indispensable for, for example, attracting foreign investment. So is taxonomy based on natural capital. As CAF rightly points out in one of its declarations, it is also necessary to put a human face on global problems.

Another key meeting

Belém will not be the only important environmental meeting for the region in 2025. The Fourth Conference on Financing for Development, considered the second most important forum of all those organized by the United Nations, will be held in Seville (Spain) between the last day of June and July 3.

The main objective of the meeting will be to advance in the implementation of policies and the mobilization of the financial resources needed to achieve the 2030 Agenda and its Sustainable Development Goals at the global level. In this scenario, Spain, the host country, hopes to "create a sense of urgency" about the need to carry out reforms in the international system for financing development, in order to address, among others, the challenges of climate change in a more efficient and fairer way.

The first three versions of the summit were held in Monterrey (Mexico) in 2002, in Doha (Qatar) in 2008 and in Addis Ababa (Ethiopia) in 2015. The last one adopted the Addis Ababa Action Agenda to provide a new global framework for financing sustainable development by aligning all financing flows and policies with economic, social and environmental priorities. However, there has not been as much progress as expected.

In Seville, developing countries are expected to insist on solutions to the debt problem. Today, more than 3 billion people in the world live in countries that have to spend more money on debt payments than on education. They will also emphasize the contradiction that the financial system does not favor nations with ambitious plans to mitigate climate change, in order to confront a crisis that is mainly the responsibility of the nations of the North. And they will call for a new financial model based on principles of climate justice.

Another point of debate on financing for development has already been raised by the United States and refers to the need to mobilize more private capital, given the fact that public aid for development will never be sufficient for the existing challenges. It has also asked to establish priorities based on the Ethiopian agenda, among which it highlighted the need for the countries of the southern hemisphere to become more efficient in the collection of internal resources, with better taxation.