The European Union's (EU) EUROCLIMA climate change cooperation programme with Latin America has published four publications that aim to provide guidance to Latin American governments as they design mitigation and adaptation strategies and policies.
May 2014: The European Union’s (EU) EUROCLIMA climate change cooperation programme with Latin America has published four publications that aim to provide guidance to Latin American governments as they design mitigation and adaptation strategies and policies.
EUROCLIMA’s ‘Climate Change and Risk Management: Vulnerability Analysis of Coastal Marine Infrastructures in Latin America’ guide sets out a methodology for analyzing coastal marine infrastructure vulnerability at national, sub-national and local levels. The study recommends creating an observatory platform, hosted by an international or regional body, to compile, exchange and disseminate initiatives of interest and promote regional discussion and exchange between scientists and technicians. It also recommends creating national agencies for integrated coastal area management, as well as observatories for monitoring processes, performance levels and effects of actions.
The ‘Climate Change and Soil Degradation in Latin America: Scenarios, Policies and Responses’ guide: estimates soil degradation in Latin America; analyzes the region’s vulnerability to climate-induced soil degradation; and inventories country policies, plans and instruments to combat soil degradation linked to climate change. Under the A2 emission scenario, 20.8% of the region will become more arid, according to the study, which also states that 8% of the region has high vulnerability to climate change while 12.9-30.2% of the region has medium-high vulnerability. Paraguay, southern Bolivia, northwest Brazil, Guatemala, southern Mexico and Nicaragua’s east coast are the most vulnerable areas.
‘Best Practices for Adaptation to Climate Change in Rural Latin America: Options and Lessons from the Sustainable Livelihoods Approach’ synthesizes the expected impacts of climate change on agriculture, biodiversity and water resources in rural Latin America and inventories adaptation measures used by 55 projects among 18 countries. It highlights lessons learned, organized by spatial and institutional levels, community resources involved and region. The study also identifies development policies, plans and programmes that may interfere with adaptation efforts and cause undesirable socioeconomic impacts. The study recommends evaluating the costs and benefits of existing efforts in this area.
The ‘Nationally Appropriate Mitigation Actions in Urban Areas: Tools and Successful Experiences in Latin America’ guide presents tools for developing NAMAs and highlights lessons learned from successful mitigation experiences from across Latin America. It analyzes lessons leaned through three lenses: NAMA integration in national low-carbon development policy; identification, design and development of sectoral NAMAs; and Measurement, Reporting and Verification (MRV).
The EUROCLIMA programme is a partnership created in 2010 between the EU and the Latin American region that focuses on climate change policy dialogue, governance, legislation and public awareness. EUROCLIMA is implemented by the UN Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC), the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA), the Joint Research Centre of the European Commission (JRC), the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) and EuropeAid. [Publication: Climate Change and Risk Management: Vulnerability Analysis of Coastal Marine Infrastructures in Latin America (in Spanish) (English summary)] [Publication: Climate Change and Soil Degradation in Latin America: Scenarios, Policies and Responses (in Spanish) (English summary)] [Publication: Best Practices for Adaptation to Climate Change in Rural Latin America (in Spanish) (English summary)] [Publication: NAMAs in Urban Areas: Tools and Successful Experiences in Latin America (in Spanish) (English summary)]