9 April 2010: During a session of the World Economic Forum for Latin America 2010, which convened in Cartagena, Colombia, Alicia Bárcena, Executive Secretary of the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC), highlighted policies and strategies that may be adopted to promote low-carbon economies.

In her comments on the topic “Towards Low-Carbon Prosperity,” Bárcena set forth some of ECLAC’s proposals for advancing towards low-carbon economies, such as: supporting public-private partnerships in energy and infrastructure; fostering long-term fiscal strategies that consider the full cost of externalities caused by carbon emissions; and using public expenditure to promote a low-carbon economy under fiscal sustainability criteria. She also stressed the urgency to develop an energy and food security agreement as well as an international agreement on carbon emissions, warning against the consequences of extreme climatic events, and highlighted challenges for urban planning in the region. [ECLAC Press Release]