Ministries of economy and finance of Latin America and the Caribbean launched a regional climate change platform to exchange best practices for strengthening their climate and sustainable development agenda.

The platform’s creation is a major step toward bolstering the ability of finance ministries to respond to climate change and leverage limited public resources to spur a transition to low-carbon economies and meet Paris Agreement goals. An IDB study on fiscal policy and climate change estimates that decarbonization could help create 15 million net new jobs in the region by 2030.

In addition to fostering coordination on managing economic and fiscal risks associated with climate events and the global energy transition, the platform will help ministries align public finances with national resilience and decarbonization goals.

The IDB’s Board of Governors identified the need for this platform at the Bank’s 2021 annual meeting in Barranquilla, Colombia. The platform was made possible with the support of a trust fund created by the Government of Germany and the IDB. The fund aims to increase the transparency, efficiency and efficacy of fiscal policies related to climate change in Latin America and the Caribbean.

Source: IDB