2021 CVF LAC REGIONAL COMMUNIQUE

2021 CVF LAC REGIONAL COMMUNIQUE 

Climate Vulnerable Forum Regional Dialogue for Latin America and the Caribbean   

24 June 2021  

Version: final as adopted 

We, Ministers and Senior Representatives, members, and observer nations, of the Climate Vulnerable Forum (CVF) from LAC, representing a significant number, and a representative group, of those countries most vulnerable to the adverse impacts of climate change in our region, have adopted 10 recommendations for improving the response to the climate crisis at our Regional Dialogue of the CVF for Latin America and Caribbean (LAC) held on 23-24 June 2021.   

The first in a series of regional to global cooperation activities of the CVF being held in 2021 in the lead up to the October-November 2021 United Nations Climate Change Conference (UNFCCC COP26) in Glasgow, the CVF LAC Regional Dialogue was co-hosted by Bangladesh, in its role as CVF Chair, and Costa Rica, which currently holds the presidency of the Central American Integration System (SICA), and organized in cooperation with the Global Center on Adaptation. 

The 12 participating governments from LAC included: Barbados, Belize, Costa Rica, Colombia, Dominican Republic, Dominica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, Nicaragua, and Panama.

The 10 recommendations aimed at stimulating national, regional and global advances stemmed from the Regional Dialogue’s review of shared challenges, gaps and success stories in the LAC region’s experiences in dealing with a mounting climate crisis, as follows:  

COP26 PRIORITIES 

We supported the CVF priorities for COP26, in the following areas: 

1. Delivery of the $100 Billion: Provision of the annual commitment of developed country parties to mobilize $ 100 USD billon climate finance annually to developing countries is critical to enabling action and sustaining trust in international cooperation. We are concerned that developed countries have not yet to meet their climate finance goal and call to those parties to scale-up climate finance both for adaptation and mitigation and enhance the quality and composition of it starting 2021, with a clear pre-2024 roadmap to the delivery by developed countries of at least 50% of public funds towards adaptation in order to correct the large-scale imbalance and gap of funding for  adaptation and resilience as our countries suffer on the front-line. Improved transparency on how much is being provided and reaching developing countries, as well as better predictability, accessibility, and adequately provided of finance is also vital. In particular, pledged mitigation and adaptation funds must reach all developing countries and vulnerability criteria for resource allocation, moving beyond GDP per capita criteria, should be included in the formal decision making within the Global Environment Facility, Green Climate Fund and regional and international multilateral development banks.

2. Greater Ambition from Major Emitters: The social, environmental and economic security of LAC requires safeguarding of the 1.5 degrees Celsius Paris Agreement goal to limiting warming. Even 1.5 degrees Celsius (1.5ºC) of warming poses catastrophic risks for the region. Action is especially needed by major emitters given the most recently upgraded NDCs concern less than half of all GHG emissions. Countries who have yet to upgrade NDCs in 2020-21 should do so prior to COP26. If a shortfall in ambition remains to safeguard 1.5ºC, new ambition-raising timeframes and platforms prior to the next, already mandated NDC submission deadline of 2025 should be set by COP26. Improved transparency, especially of NDCs and their implementation, is needed with countries presenting information in a consistent, robust and clear way via the common tabular formats, to assist understanding of what has been committed and delivered. 

 3. Imperative of New Financing: According to the Global Commission on Adaptation, financing needs for adaptation and resilience are $1.8 trillion this decade. As least developed, small islands and vulnerable middle-income nations with limited fiscal space, facing high costs of capital and states of debt distress, even a fair share of the $100 billion annual developed country climate finance support will be insufficient, with best national efforts, to mobilize the necessary finance for climate action. Furthermore, additional financing is needed for loss and damage. In addition, we call on all parties to the UNFCCC to start formal negotiations at COP26 on the New Collective Quantified Goal on Climate Finance from a floor of $100 USD billion with a view to effectively support climate action in developing countries in the transition to 1.5ºC and align finance flows with a pathway towards low greenhouse gases emissions and climate-resilient development. These negotiations must also include innovative ways to provide improved quality and accessibility of climate finance, including by making finance flows consistent with a pathway towards low greenhouse gas emissions and climate-resilient development, and acknowledge all the opportunities therein to source more resources towards more effective climate action, as well as the need to move from billions to trillions of financial support to close the mitigation and adaptation gaps in developing countries.

4. Carbon Markets: On the other hand, at COP26 we need to finalize robust carbon markets and a rulebook that ensures environmental integrity consistent with 1.5ºC to unlock new finance streams while the carbon markets regime should raise at least 5% proceeds to support the adaptation actions of developing countries particularly vulnerable to climate change. We believe that an integral approach to long-lasting sustainable development should take climate change and climate-related risk into account in macroeconomic policy, fiscal planning, budgeting, public investment management, and procurement practices. 

We also called for the following actions in relation to COP26:  

5. Loss & Damage: In addition to the need for financing of loss and damage, COP26 needs to place a higher level of prioritization on loss and damage and the work of the Warsaw International Mechanism. We support the call of the CVF Chair to ensure that loss and damage is devoted the necessary discussion space as part of the COP/CMA agenda. All arrangements for the Santiago Network on Loss and Damage should be made operational at COP26 so as to commence catalyzing technical assistance for implementing approaches to avert, minimize and address loss and damage. 

FURTHER PRIORITIES 

We, moreover, highlighted a number of other headline priorities for the LAC region, as follows: 

6. Adaptation Agenda 2030: We called for donors and international and regional collaboration to prioritize efforts to deliver on the Adaptation Action Agenda 2030 for a Decade of Action with the promotion of practical adaptation solutions to ensure regional development progress stays on track for the 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda, and that nobody will be left behind come 2030. 

7. Worker Protection & Jobs: We call upon partners to consider the need for urgent capacity, finance, technology and technical assistance to help protect workers in the LAC region exposed dangerous effects due to climate change, including extreme heat and other impacts. We also call for a prioritization of support for re-skilling and up-skilling of workers and social safety net support to enable a just transition as we pursue low-carbon and carbon neutral development under the Paris Agreement. 

8. Displacement & Migration: We call upon increased support to the LAC region to help most vulnerable communities to increase their resilience to disasters and slow-onset erosion due to climate change. We need to help communities to avoid disaster displacement, and to safeguard and promote local jobs and livelihoods. Where displacement and migration driven by climate change is unavoidable, we call on international support to assist the growing number of climate displaced persons and migrants in our region. 

9. Human Rights: We acknowledge the importance of human rights in the climate crisis and support the strengthening of the mandates and procedures within the UN for that purpose, amid the planetary emergency that is already and increasingly threatening and undermining the rights of all our people. As we suffer ever more extreme climate disasters, we are faced with the international community’s most alarming human rights challenge, which requires stronger responses aimed at promoting climate justice.  

10. Parliaments: We encourage the active engagement of parliamentarians of LAC in the CVF Parliamentary Forum to benefit from the exchange of legislative good practices for effective national and locally-led efforts on climate change and to enhance international engagement and cooperation with the legislative bodies of major economies on climate action. We call on those LAC Parliaments who have not yet done so, to ratify the Regional Agreement on Access to Information, Public Participation and Justice in Environmental Matters in Latin America and the Caribbean. 

CHALLENGES & CONCERNS 

The CVF LAC Regional Dialogue also highlighted the devastating impacts that climate change has historically caused in Central America and the Caribbean regions, causing significant damages to vulnerable populations, impacting their populations and the economy. In particular, consideration was given to the destructive impacts that the tropical storm Eta and Hurricane Iota caused for more than seven million people in less than 15 days. As part of the main impacts of climate change, the region recognizes the concerns that include sea level rise and coastal erosion, flooding damages, severe drought, food insecurity, and climate impacts on agriculture or forestry, including damage to crops and livestock and soil degradation. Climate change has also impacted the lives and livelihoods of those most vulnerable to climate change, especially marginalized groups such as women and girls which remain under-represented in the decision-making process in climate-vulnerable sectors, from the local to the national level, facing additional barriers to participation. As gender inequalities remain deeply entrenched in society, women continue to face barriers, leaving them voiceless in advocating for climate change solutions. Other highlighted concerns include agricultural and environmental challenges such as ecosystem degradation, climate variability and change, the use of unsustainable production methods, and limited technical and financial resources, all threatening agricultural production and food security. 

Delegates expressed significant concern that the impacts of climate change have worsened and are compounded with the immense challenges of the global COVID-19 pandemic. In addition, developing countries face USD 70 billion in adaptation costs, likely to rise to USD 140 billion – 300 billion by 2030, according to the UN Environment Programme’s (UNEP) Adaptation Gap Report. The Dialogue recognized that the developing nations particularly vulnerable to climate change remain increasingly exposed to significant, worsening and irreversible loss and damage, which undermine the human rights to a healthy environment, threatens livelihoods, human security and even the future of communities living in low-lying territories.  

The Dialogue recognizes that one of the main challenges that the region is facing is technology access and the lack of access or availability of financial resources. Some other challenges that were highlighted in the Dialogue were the need of transparent climate data and to identify, quantify and promote the sustainable use of ecosystem services, as well as the need to increase climate finance for adaptation to climate change and loss and damage in the region. 

OUR REGIONAL INITIATIVES 

Countries of the region have developed capacities and information systems for decision making, the inclusion of adaptation criteria in financing instruments and planning, as well as the adaptation of public services, productive systems and infrastructure, and the implementation on the basis of nature-based solutions transforming the region into a more resilient place to the effects of climate change. 

CLIMATE PROSPERITY PLANS 

Emphasizing the importance of mobilizing resources and investment, and of securing robust economic development, as well as safeguarding swift regional progress towards fulfillment of the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals, we welcome the new program of Climate Prosperity Plans launched by the Bangladesh CVF presidency. The following LAC CVF members and observers expressed interest in developing a national Climate Prosperity Plan as a strategic investment pathway for delivering robust socio-economic development optimized with maximum ambition for climate adaptation and low- or carbon neutral- development: Belize, Costa Rica, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Nicaragua and Haiti.  

V20 ACTIVITIES 

We encouraged the ongoing work of the V20 Ministers of Finance to champion the cause of the vulnerable nations in the economic and multilateral finance domains, particularly the progress and initiatives undertaken in the context of the Joint Technical Committee with the Accelerated Financing Mechanism to help overcome cost of capital challenges facing vulnerable economies, the new CVF and V20 Joint Multi-Donor Fund to support CVF and V20 work, and the Sustainable Insurance Facility towards promoting the development of members’ domestic industries to market climate and disaster risk financial protection products and solutions. 

OBSERVERS 

We welcomed the following observer countries that joined the CVF LAC Regional Dialogue: Belize, Dominica, El Salvador, Nicaragua and Panama. 

We expressly support the strengthening of LAC participation in the CVF and encouraged the following observer developing countries expressing to further pursue their interest to petition joining the CVF in 2021: Dominica and Nicaragua. 

PARTNERSHIPS 

We would like to especially recognize and express appreciation for the support provided to LAC countries by the following institutions and organizations with whom we look forward to continuing to strengthen our engagements: 

• Caribbean Bank Development 
• CELAC 

• Conservation International 
• European Union  
• Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) 
• GIZ 
• Global Center on Adaptation (GCA) 

• International Energy Agency (IEA) 
• International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) 
• NDC Partnership (NDCP) 
• The Caribbean Community Climate Change Centre (CCCCC) 
• The secretariat of the Central American Integration System (SICA) 

• The Platform on Disaster Displacement (PDD) 
• United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) 
• United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) 
• World Bank Group (WBG) 
• World Health Organization (WHO) 

• World Wildlife Foundation (WWF)
  

The Regional Dialogue also included a range of observer partners and international organizations.  Presentations and inputs to the Dialogue were given by: the Global Center on Adaptation (GCA), the International Organization for Migration (IOM), the Global Renewable Congress (GRC), the Platform on Disaster Displacement (PDD), the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), and by the Central American Integration System (SICA). 

PRESIDENCY & THEMATIC AMBASSADORS 

We express sincere appreciation for the leadership of Bangladesh as president of the CVF and to HE Sheikh Hasina, Honorable Prime Minister of Bangladesh, the CVF chair. We also welcome and express thanks for all the work of the five CVF Thematic Ambassadors for Ambition (Mohamed Nasheed), Culture (Kathy Jetnil-Kijiner), Parliaments (Loren Legarda), Renewable Energy (Tosi Mpanu Mpanu), and Vulnerability (Saima Wazed) to advance the causes and initiatives of the CVF. 

 

Done the 24 June 2021