Chile has already announced that 30% of the additional resources for public investment under its COVID-19 Recovery plan (Paso a Paso, Chile se Recupera) will be used for sustainable and green projects. Colombia has included clean growth (“Producir conservando y conservar produciendo”) and support for its bioeconomy. That’s why several countries in the region have put climate change and inclusive, resilient development at the center of their COVID-19 recovery plans. Redirection of the estimated $240 billion in annual fuel subsidies in the region could open the space for investments in clean energy and clean transport to move the region to a low carbon future. While the difficult fiscal situation in the region could pose a challenge to climate action, instead it could be an incentive to redirect programs that support unsustainable use of natural resource or carbon intensive pathways that lock countries into low-productivity and reduce competitiveness. Low-carbon pathways don’t have to mean compromising development outcomes, macroeconomic stability or debt sustainability. According to a recent World Resource Institute and New Climate Economy report, moving to a low-carbon and sustainable economy could add $535 billion to Brazil’s GDP by 2030 compared with business as usual. For every US$ 1 million invested in the construction sector, close to 200 jobs are expected to be created in Bolivia, 130 jobs in Nicaragua, and 120 in Honduras. For example, investment in adaptation infrastructure such as weatherproof roads and climate resilient housing can have immediate positive effects on employment from construction related jobs even as they build longer term resilience for households. When done well, adapting and building resilience to climate change can generate significant economic, social, and environmental benefits, unlocking growth and jobs while building up natural capital. Designing cities to avoid sprawl and encouraging urban development around transit hubs, like metro and bus stops, will help reduce demand for motorized transit and should go hand-in-hand with affordable bus rapid transit and subway systems that increasingly integrate electric vehicles. On the transport side, a renewed focus on public transit should be a high priority. Energy efficiency investments in buildings could reduce carbon footprints while generating many low-skill jobs during building retrofits. Non-traditional renewable energies, wind and solar in particular, are now cost-competitive in many countries if regulatory and contractual barriers to their integration into the energy matrix can be overcome. Though Latin America already produces most of its electricity from renewable sources, the most important, hydro generation, is increasingly vulnerable to climate change-induced variability and will be increasingly hard to scale to keep pace with increased demand expected once the COVID crisis abates. This will position Latin America and the Caribbean to combat COVID-19 and climate change and help rebuild the social contract so important to accelerate poverty alleviation and shared prosperity.Ĭlean energy and clean transport are key sectors in the region’s agenda to rebuild better. COVID-19 recovery programs that prioritize productivity, inclusion and resilience will lead to more competitiveness and innovation, and will build confidence in government and institutions. Right now, most economies in the region are facing two major challenges: recovering from a severe economic recession while addressing the needed transformations required for inclusive growth and sustainable development that delivers a path out of poverty for everyone. As we look to recovery from COVID-19, we must rebuild better to take the coming climate crisis into account. Both the pandemic and climate crises are magnifying underlying inequities and poor economic performance. In terms of migration alone, there could be as many as 17 million climate refugees across the region by 2050 from areas where livelihood systems are increasingly compromised by climate change. Climate, like the COVID-19 crisis, takes the greatest toll on the most vulnerable people in the region. The climate crisis in our region is not going away.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |