5 September 2014: The eighth Latin American and Caribbean Carbon Forum (LACCF) brought together businesses, governments and other stakeholders to exchange information on the latest developments in emissions trading schemes (ETS), low-emission development and the future of the carbon markets. Participants addressed, inter alia: climate change adaptation and mitigation opportunities at multiple levels; and climate finance and policy options, including carbon pricing and the role of the public and private sectors in concerted climate action.

Organized shortly before the UN Secretary-General’s Climate Summit, taking place on 23 September 2014, in New York, US, and with an eye on the 2014 and 2015 UN Climate Change Conferences, LACCF examined developments relating to carbon markets and other carbon pricing measures, and identified measures needed to boost their uptake.

Plenary and parallel sessions on climate finance and market instruments, and low-carbon development policies and regulation covered issues such as: carbon pricing options for Latin America and the Caribbean; the catalytic role of national development banks in scaling up private-sector investments; results-based finance; carbon taxing; cities and climate change; transport sector mitigation; and harnessing the potential of the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) for closing the pre-2020 gap.

Speaking on the topic of climate finance and the role of banks as catalysts, Luis Victor Traverso, CAF’s Director Representative in Colombia, explained that CAF sees “green” financing as an opportunity for sustainable development in the region, and that, in 2013, 23% (US$2.8 billion) of its approval included this component.

In an opening video statement, Christiana Figueres, UNFCCC Executive Secretary, lauded recent reforms implemented by the CDM and its Executive Board, and stressed that: “offsetting is a reality that will be with us for many years to come as economies address climate change.” She also called for taking advantage of “the emissions market we have built and implemented in the last decade” and knowledge and capacity acquired on emissions monitoring. She concluded by emphasizing the importance of facilitating private-sector participation in mitigation efforts.

The 2014 LACCF, which took place from 3-5 September 2014, in Bogotá, Colombia, was jointly organized by the UNFCCC Secretariat, the UN Environment Programme (UNEP), the UNEP DTU Partnership, the Latin American Energy Organization (OLADE), the International Emissions Trading Association (IETA), the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), the UN Development Programme (UNDP), the World Bank Group, and the Development Bank of Latin America (CAF). It was hosted by CAF and the Colombian Ministry of the Environment and Sustainable Development. [IDB Press Release] [LACCF Website] [LACCF on the World Bank Website] [Christiana Figueres Video Statement Script]