Climate and Development Lab
Connect with the CDL on Twitter:
  • Home
  • About
    • Authors
    • Alumni
  • CDL in the News
  • Publications
    • Scholarly Articles & Chapters
    • Policy Briefings
    • Books & Special Issues
    • Submissions to the UNFCCC
  • Projects
  • Multimedia
  • Contact

A Canada-Latin America partnership: Four ways to address climate change

10/4/2017

 
​By Guy Edwards and Kenneth Frankel    
Picture
​This week Canada, Brazil, Mexico, Argentina and the U.S. will join other G20 countries for the leaders’ summit in Germany, where climate change will be one of the top issues. Following President Trump’s announcement to pull the U.S. out of the Paris Agreement, there is pressure on Canada to work more closely with Brazil, Mexico and Argentina to fill the leadership vacuum in the Western Hemisphere.
Canada doesn’t have the capacity to fill the entire void created by the U.S. retreat on global warming, but it can pick up some of the slack, especially given the importance of the issue to Prime Minister Trudeau and most hemispheric leaders.

​Latin America will suffer if the U.S’s withdrawal undermines the global fight against climate change. The region is already being pummeled by extreme climatic events, which are becoming more frequent and intense due to global warming.

Earlier this year, a costal El Niño caused heavy rains in Peru and Colombia, resulting in catastrophic floods and mudslides which killed more than 400 people and led to billions of dollars in damages to infrastructure and livelihoods. Thousands of Bolivians have already been made refugees due to climate change following the disappearance of Lake Poopó in 2016.

What can be done? Canada can take a leadership role in the hemisphere on climate change in several ways. First, Canada can boost its levels of climate finance to support the region in building low carbon and climate resilient infrastructure. Latin America requires hundreds of billions of dollars per year to meet the demand for infrastructure, including transport and sanitation systems that are low-carbon and climate-resilient.

The finance gap will likely widen in light of the U.S. government’s announcement that it will halt payments to the Green Climate Fund, which helps countries reduce their emissions and adapt to the impact of climate change. So far, the U.S. has contributed $1 billion out of a total pledge of $3 billion. The fate of the other U.S. climate finance contributions is yet to be decided, but the outlook is bleak.

Canada cannot make up the entire gap, but it could increase its support for multilateral development banks, which have strong experience in planning infrastructure projects. The Inter-American Development Bank Group, for example, is working to design projects in Latin America to support the implementation of countries’ national climate change plans.

Specifically, Canada could increase its contribution to the Canadian Climate Fund for the Private Sector in the Americas, which will soon need replenishing. The fund, which is administered by the Inter-American Investment Corporation, supports renewable energy and climate resilience projects.

Second, Canada could provide technical assistance to help countries design long-term low emission development strategies. In the Western Hemisphere, only the U.S., Canada and Mexico have published their plans, yet Brazil, Colombia, Costa Rica and Chile are keen to follow.

Countries are preparing these strategies as part of the Paris Agreement. They will need to chart a path towards achieving net zero emissions by 2050 if we are to achieve the 1.5 degrees Celsius warming limit set in Paris. These plans can help countries to better align short-term decisions with the benefits of low-emission growth now and in the years to come. According to the OECD, adopting appropriate measures on climate change could increase GDP by up to 2.8 percent on average across G20 countries by 2050. Designing these strategies also sends a strong signal to investors that governments are committed to the low carbon transition.

Third, Canada can work with Latin American and Caribbean countries at the United Nations climate negotiations to push for a robust transparency framework. This framework is set to be finalized next year and is essential for building trust by allowing countries to see what other nations are doing to implement their respective Paris commitments.

Progress on transparency could help nudge countries toward increasing the level of ambition of their national climate change plans through 2030. These pledges mostly fall far short of limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius and need to be scaled up before 2020.

Fourth, the Canadian government can help promote the activities of Canada’s clean tech companies in the region, which can play a useful role in supporting efforts to increase the deployment of renewable energy and measures to improve energy efficiency.

For Canada and Latin America, closer cooperation on implementing the Paris Agreement would achieve a vital common goal while defending a major recent success story of multilateralism.

Kenneth N. Frankel is president of the Canadian Council for the Americas. Guy Edwards (@GuyEdwards) is a Research Fellow at Brown University and co-author of A Fragmented Continent: Latin America and the Global Politics of Climate Change (MIT Press, 2015).

This article was originally published here.

Comments are closed.
    Tweets by @ClimateDevLab
    CDL in the News

    28 Dec 2018 - Edwards in the NYT on electric vehicles in Latin America

    24 Dec 2018 - The Public's Radio RI interviews Roberts on how the fossil fuel industry outspends environmental groups on campaign contributions & lobbying

    19 Dec 2018 - EcoRI News: New Report Claims RI Climate Council Falling Behind Targets

    17 Dec 2018 - 'We must move beyond business as usual,' says new report on Rhode Island's inadequate climate plan.

    12 Dec 2018 - 
    Isabel Cavelier, Guy Edwards and Lina Puerto “COP25 en 2019: reto y oportunidad para elevar la ambición climática en América Latina” El Espectador

    4 Dec 2018 - Whitehouse, Ciciline meet with climate lab

    28 Nov 2018 - Edwards quoted in New York Times story on Brazil backing out of hosting UN summit on climate change

    11 Oct 2018 - Brookings Institute Climate reality requires starting at home: Weaning from fossil fuels

    23 Sep 2018 - Edwards quoted in Financial Times on Argentina energy future

    13 Jul 2018 - Europe and Latin America can blaze a trail on implementing the Paris Agreement
    ​
    1 Jun 2018 - Brookings Institute One year since Trump's withdrawal from the Paris climate agreement

    21 May 2018 - Edwards article in World Politics Review: Is the G-20 Heading for a Showdown With Trump on Climate Change?

    11 May 2018 - Edwards Op-Ed in Washington Post 

    22 Jan 2018 - Roberts Op-Ed The climate solution no-one in Davos will be talking about

    ​15 Dec 2017 - Edwards' article on how Regional and domestic politics could sabotage Brazil's bid to host UN climate change talks in 2019 ​
    ​
    8 Nov 2017 - Roberts quoted in Reuters story on financing loss and damage

    9 Oct 2017 - EcoRI article describes Roberts' testimony against the natural gas power plant proposed for construction in Burrillville, Rhode Island

    17 Sep 2017 - BBC Radio 5 featured a live interview with Roberts about Trump's conditions for staying in Paris

    4 Sep 2017 - Roberts comments on the use of his work in a report by Rhode Island Department of Health on the proposed power plant in Burrillville, Rhode Island 

    17 Jul 2017 - Roberts mentioned in NPR's story on the US having a say in UN climate spending
    ​
    15 Jul 2017 - Roberts calls for solid climate policies in RI

    5 Jul 2017 - Roberts demands swifter action on CO2 release

    5 Jul 2017 - Roberts demands RI Governor Raimondo to take climate action

    30 Jun 2017 - Roberts gives advice on owning and using electric cars

    23 Jun 2017 - Roberts comments on how voters are persuaded by the terms 'climate change' and 'global warming'

    20 Jun 2017 - Roberts' involvement in local climate group is helping to fight fossil fuel development

    3 Jun 2017 - WPRO Radio's Steve Klamkin interviews Roberts on the Paris Agreement

    2 Jun 2017 - Roberts comments on US involvement in the Green Climate Fund

    2 Jun 2017 - BBC Radio 5's Faye Rusco interviews Roberts on Trump's withdrawal from Paris

    2 Jun 2017 - Roberts discusses the role of mayors and private sector companies post US pull-out of Paris

    1 Jun 2017 - Roberts gives more details about the US withdrawal from the Paris Agreement

    1 Jun 2017 - Roberts organizes emergency protest in RI

    1 Jun 2017 - Roberts comments on the implications of US withdrawal from the Paris Agreement

    1 Jun 20117 - Roberts share his views on the US exit from the Paris Accord

    31 May 2017 - Roberts cited on the far-reaching implications of US withdrawal from the Paris Agreement

    31 May 2017 - RI left vulnerable if US pulls out of Paris Accord, says Roberts

    24 May 2017 - Roberts chimes in on Trump's proposed EPA budget

    30 Apr 2017 - Roberts helps to 'fact check' Trump's first 100 days in office

    25 Apr 2017 - Roberts lobbies for people's march in RI to mark Trump's first 100 days in office

    23 Apr 2017 - Roberts cautions against threats to science at march for science in Rhode Island

    7 Apr 2017 - White House Chronicle's Llewelyn King interviews Roberts on Trump’s executive order and climate policy directions

    10 Mar 2017 - Roberts quoted in Providence Business News about new proposed fossil fuel infrastructure in Rhode Island

    6 Feb 2017 - Devex article on climate finance under the new administration quotes Roberts

    18 Jan 2017 - Roberts featured in NPR Marketplace segment on Obama's $500m donation to the Green Climate Fund

    29 Dec 2016 - Roberts quoted in Common Dreams article about the state of environmental justice in 2016

    19 Nov 2016 - EcoRI profiles Roberts and the new Civic Alliance for a Cooler Rhode Island

    14 Nov 2016 - Roberts featured in Rhode Island Public Radio segment on Trump and the Paris Agreement 

    12 Nov 2016 - Roberts quoted in Climate Home article on Republican plans to defund climate change programs

    10 Nov 2016 - Roberts quote appears in EcoRI article about Trump and the environment 

    9 Nov 2016 - Roberts quoted in InsideClimate News article on COP22 reaction to Trump's election

    9 Nov 2016 - Science Daily discusses new CDL article on paying for loss and damage

    9 Nov 2016 - Roberts quoted in Climate Home article on COP22 reaction to Trump's election

    8 Nov 2016 - Roberts' paper on paying for loss and damage discussed and quoted in Phys.Org

    7 Nov 2016 - Roberts' paper on paying for loss and damage discussed and quoted in Futurity article

    21 Sep 2016 - Roberts quoted in a Breitbart News article about Clinton's support following shift in climate change language

    20 Sep 2016 - Roberts quoted in a Climate Home article on Clinton's language around climate change after Sanders' endorsement

    5 May 2016 – Climate Home quotes Edwards on the announcement that Patricia Espinosa will lead the UNFCCC from this July 

    5 May 2016 - Dialogo Chino quotes Edwards following announcement that Patricia Espinosa will replace Christiana Figueres as head of the UNFCCC

    24 Apr 2016 - Deutsche Welle quotes Edwards on how ratifying Paris Agreement can boost prosperity in Latin America

    23 Mar 2016 – Edwards provides extended quote to Dialogo Chino on Obama’s trip to Cuba and Argentina
     
    25 Dec 2015 -  ConexiónCOP conversó con Guy Edwards sobre el nuevo acuerdo climático y America Latina

    14 Dec 2015 - Rhode Island Public Radio quotes Roberts on how Paris Climate Pact should steer New England toward clean energy

    11 Dec 2015 - Associated Press quotes Romain Weikmans on “Wild West” account on climate finance

    10 Dec 2015 -  Climate Home talks to Roberts about the lack of an independent system on climate finance

    Read more...

    Archives

    January 2021
    December 2019
    December 2018
    October 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    August 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    April 2012
    December 2011
    February 2009
    December 2008

    Authors

    The pieces featured in the blog are authored by CDL members and a diverse group of partners from around the world. The opinions expressed in these articles are the sole responsibility of the authors and do not reflect those of Brown University. 

    Categories

    All
    Civil Society
    Climate Finance
    Conference
    COP17
    COP19
    COP20
    COP21
    Energy
    Equity
    Latin America
    LDCs
    Legislation
    Loss And Damage
    Mitigation
    Policy Brief
    Publications
    Rhode Island
    Small Island Developing States
    UNFCCC
    United States

    RSS Feed

Proudly powered by Weebly