Speech prepared for delivery at the 22nd Latin America and Caribbean Forum of Ministers of Environment
Thank you for the invitation to address the 22nd Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) Forum of Ministers of Environment, and to Prime Minister Mia Mottley of Barbados for convening this important gathering.
During this forum, you will drive the agenda on solving your region’s environmental challenges – a process that is central to eradicating poverty and hitting the ambitious targets outlined in the sustainable development goals.
As we remain deep in the throes of the COVID-19 pandemic, achieving these goals seems further away than ever. Many countries are rightfully focused on exiting the pandemic as quickly as possible. Doing so is essential to save lives and keep families, businesses and economies afloat. But we also have to ensure that our exit takes us in a different direction, rather than circling back round to “normal”.
This “normal” brought us the three planetary crises that threaten our collective future. The warming climate – to which Caribbean Small Island Developing States and ocean economies are particularly vulnerable. It is “normal” that brought us rapid nature and biodiversity loss, which is destroying the foundations of human well-being. It is “normal” that brought us pollution and waste, which is causing millions of premature deaths each year. You have all seen and felt the impacts of these crises.
Now the world must turn the promises it has made on addressing these crises into action. This is why you are here today, at the beginning of a year in which opportunities for accelerated action are abundant. You are here to deliver solutions. Now, let me turn to some of the solutions that you have placed on the agenda of this meeting.
The first solution is a pandemic recovery that takes us forward, not backwards, backed by international solidarity.
A sustainable pandemic recovery offers a huge opportunity to get policies in place that support the Paris Agreement, the Sustainable Development Goals, the biodiversity agenda and so much more, while creating employment and reducing inequalities. The UNEP Emissions Gap Report, for example, found that a global green recovery could cut 25 per cent off 2030 emissions.
We can stop subsidizing fossil fuels and back renewable energy, energy efficiency and clean transport – such as electrification of Bus Rapid Transit systems, common in LAC. Here, I congratulate Barbados for adding 33 electric buses to its fleet late last year. We can back climate-resilient infrastructure – which can create hundreds of jobs for every million invested, according to the World Bank. We can prioritize nature-based solutions, including large-scale landscape restoration and reforestation under the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration. Such policies will bring gains. For example, the Global Commission on the Economy and Climate found that transitioning to low-carbon growth could generate USD 26 trillion and create over 65 million jobs by 2030.
So far in LAC, the majority of spending has gone on health and social responses. A UNEP rapid analysis of twelve LAC countries shows that the region has invested USD 51 billion in economic recovery, around one fifth of total COVID-19 related spending. There are some examples of green policies: financing for wind farms in Brazil, loans for renewable energy projects in Chile, and incorporating renewable energy into the fishing industry in Argentina. But overall, under one per cent of investments meet sustainable recovery criteria.
Look, I know that many nations are operating in a limited fiscal space. So I am not talking about throwing money at green add-ons to stimulus packages. I am talking about domestic policy responses – backed by international solidarity – that take the long view and address the three planetary crises while building an economic and social recovery.
The Inter-American Development Bank has warned that average debt levels in Latin America could rise as high as 75 per cent of GDP by 2022. We cannot afford to saddle future generations with this debt and a broken planet. So I ask you to invest in places that ensure long-term planetary health and human prosperity.
The second solution is stepping up action on the circular economy and sustainable consumption and production.
Two-thirds of global greenhouse gas emissions are linked to private households. Right now, we would need 1.6 Earths to maintain current population and living standards, both of which are rising. So, policies that promote sustainable consumption and production and the circular economy are essential.
The International Resource Panel has shown, for example, that efficiency strategies can slash greenhouse gas emissions in the housing sector. Meanwhile, the International Labour Organization finds that the circular economy could generate 4.8 million green jobs in the LAC region by 2030.
This is why it is so encouraging to hear of the launch of the LAC Circular Economy Coalition, which UNEP will continue to support. Just as important is the roadmap for the progressive closure of dumpsites in LAC, submitted at this forum. I call on you to adopt it.
The third solution is stronger action to protect biodiversity in this megadiverse region.
Nature can be an engine for pandemic-recovery, long-term prosperity and sustainable development in LAC. But only if economies stop consuming faster than nature can regenerate. LAC has made some progress in this regard. The proportion of land and marine areas protected from destructive use is above the global average. There are over 150 restoration projects contributing to the Bonn Challenge. I am also encouraged by the Action Plan for the Implementation of the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration.
But nations need to do more to tackle deforestation. This means protecting environmental defenders, who are regularly threatened and killed. This means stronger enforcement and legislation on illegal land conversion, particularly through clearance fires. This means handing more control of ecosystems to indigenous peoples, who have been shown to manage protected areas better. And it means committing to a strong, ambitious and comprehensive post-2020 biodiversity framework.
The fourth solution is tapping into the power of women.
Participation of women remains low, despite changes in attitudes. At the moment, only 8 per cent of agricultural holdings are run by women in Belize and Guatemala. This figure is 30 per cent in Chile, Jamaica and Saint Lucia. Women represent less than 12 per cent of the beneficiary population in agrarian reform processes in the region.
Failure to address these gaps would set back one of the core commitments of the Sustainable Development Goals – that of “leaving no one behind”. It would also be a missed opportunity to use the skills, ingenuity and determination of half of the population.
An expert group on gender and environment has prepared a regional workplan on gender and the environment, which will be put before this forum for approval. I urge you to back it and get to work immediately.
Dear friends,
As I said earlier, 2021 is a pivotal year. It is when much of the work to set our post-pandemic course will take place. It is the year of the delayed climate COP. It is the year of the post-2020 biodiversity framework. The beyond 2020 chemicals framework. The beginning of the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration.
These are all key tools. But in Ministers hands, we have the solutions… This must be the year when we use these tools to put the planet on a sustainable path that protects the natural world, ends poverty and insulates humanity from further pandemics.
2021 must mark the beginning of the era of action.
Thank you.
Executive Director
