4 December 2014: The Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) convened the event ‘Climate Change in Latin America and the Caribbean: Successes and Challenges’ on the sidelines of the Lima Climate Change Conference. The side event highlighted successful adaptation and mitigation investment initiatives undertaken by IDB in Latin American countries.

UNFCCC Executive Secretary Christiana Figueres said there are many opportunities to develop green transport and renewable energy systems in Latin America, while also noting the region’s high number of middle-income citizens and challenges related to rapid urbanization patterns. She said that, although the region does not have the political and economic weight of other “bigger players,” it has the resources and institutional strength to determine a sustainable future development path.

Luis Alberto Moreno, IDB President, shared the Bank’s experiences in investing in sustainable development projects, noting that 25% of its portfolio is allocated to sustainable development. He cautioned against addressing climate change in isolation, saying it will require a comprehensive set of actions across all sectors and regions. Moreno said success should be measured in terms of transformation over decades and declared that many of IDB’s investments will only yield results over 15 to 20 years.

Thomas Lovejoy, George Mason University, applauded IDB’s position as the first bank to have an environmental policy. He highlighted new initiatives in the region that promote sustainable development without compromising biodiversity, including the Camisea Gas Project and Peru’s intention to curb deforestation by 2020.

Amal-Lee Amin, Third Generation Environmentalism (E3G), said IDB’s greatest value lies in the expertise acquired over decades. She stressed that the Green Climate Fund (GCF) needs to be at the heart of climate-fund developments and recommended financing small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to facilitate a green economy transition.

Manuel Pulgar-Vidal, Minister of the Environment, Peru, and President of the 20th session of the Conference of the Parties (COP 20) to the UNFCCC, warned that although Latin America supports the greatest diversity of ecosystems, it is also the most vulnerable to climate change. He urged addressing all sources that contribute to climate change, including land use change, deforestation, destructive mining and transport. Pulgar-Vidal stressed the role development banks can play in changing the current development paradigm. [IISD RS ENBOTS Coverage] [IISD RS Coverage of Lima Climate Change Conference] [IDB Event Announcement]