18 November 2011: The UN Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) and the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) have signed an agreement to launch a two-year cooperation program on low-carbon economic growth and social cohesion in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC).

The agreement, which was signed on 18 November 2011, calls for the program to start in 2012 and to be in effect through 2014. It will build on existing ECLAC cooperation programs supported by Germany. A priority focus of the LAC program will be climate change and opportunities for achieving low-carbon development. Among other things, this segment will look at fiscal policy, innovation, renewable energy resources and energy efficiency. The second focus of the program, promoting a new state-market-society balance for equality and environmental sustainability in LAC, will promote fiscal and social covenants.

BMZ has supported ECLAC projects for 20 years, but in 2003 formed a strategic alliance with ECLAC to work more closely. Currently BMZ, through the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ), is supporting a cooperation program on “promoting sustainable development and social cohesion: investments in regional public goods” that focuses on helping LAC governments to broaden their action options in negotiations and reform processes regarding public goods, good governance, water, energy, and climate change mitigation. [ECLAC Press Release]