sustainable development 20 years on from the ... - José Eli da Veiga

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Studies suggest that the amount of carbon stored in native forests (and released during land-use
conversion) is much greater than the amount sequestered in any plantation project. As a result, slowing
down deforestation is arguably a much more effective strategy to address global warming than
establishing new plantations (UNEP, <strong>20</strong>10a).
Many countries in the region already have or are developing emissions reduction strategies. All
have ratified both the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and the Kyoto Protocol
(see box II.3). Owing to the special vulnerability of small island developing States, the Barbados
Programme of Action (1994) considers climate change and sea level rise priority issues (see chapter IV).
Moreover, Latin American and Caribbean countries have been actively involved in the Ad Hoc Working
Group on Long-term Cooperative Action under the Convention, which encourages consideration of the
Hyogo Framework for Action and the strengthening of national climate change-related disaster riskreduction
strategies, as well as supporting implementation of the Cancun Adaptation Framework and
calling for increased multilateral funding for adaptation.
Box II.3
LATIN AMERICA AND THE CARIBBEAN AND THE CLEAN DEVELOPMENT MECHANISM
The Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) allows countries with a commitment to limit or reduce emissions under
the Kyoto Protocol (Parties listed in Annex B to the Protocol) to implement emissions reduction projects in
developing countries. Since early <strong>20</strong>06, the CDM has registered more than 1,650 projects that are expected to
produce saleable certified emission reduction (CER) credits for more than 2.9 billion tons of CO 2 equivalent during
the first commitment period of the Kyoto Protocol (from <strong>20</strong>08 to <strong>20</strong>12).
At the start of the carbon market, Latin America was the largest supplier of CDM projects. However, now the
region has only a 15% share of all projects, whereas Asia has 79% (chiefly in China, India and Korea). Five countries
(Brazil, Mexico, Chile, Colombia and Peru) account for almost 80% of the region’s CDM projects and emissions
reductions. In fact, Brazil, Mexico and Chile are among the largest issuers of certified emissions reductions.
At the fifteenth session of the Conference of the Parties (COP 15) in Copenhagen in <strong>20</strong>09, the Parties
agreed to promote the <strong>development</strong> of nationally appropriate mitigation actions (NAMAs) among developing
countries. By <strong>20</strong>10, Antigua and Barbuda, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Mexico and Peru had submitted
NAMAs. All these countries have pledged to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions over the coming <strong>years</strong>,
particularly through projects and programmes for energy efficiency, renewable energy, waste management and the
reduction of deforestation. Some countries have been more specific than others in their commitments.
Source: United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change [online] www.unfccc.int; and United Nations Environment
Programme (UNEP)/UNEP, Risoe Centre on Energy, Climate and Sustainable Development (URC), “CDM/JI Pipeline
Analysis and Database”, <strong>20</strong>11 [online] www.cdmpipeline.org.
2. Conservation of biological diversity
Latin America and the Caribbean is the most ecologically diverse area on the planet. It includes 6 of the
world’s 17 megadiverse countries (Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Mexico
and Peru), as well as the most megadiverse area on the planet: the Amazon. The region is home to
between 30% and 50% of the world’s species of mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians and fish, as well as
a large proportion of its plant and insect species (UNEP, <strong>20</strong>10a) (see table II.4).