The Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) has released a new report highlighting the “Financing needs and policy tools for the transition to low-carbon and climate-resilient economies” in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) in 2023 in its fight against global warming, at the COP28 being held in the city of Dubai.

This document presents some basic data on the signs of climate change and overall economic impacts, emission trends and regional commitments to reduce emissions. According to the study, fulfilling climate action commitments necessitates an investment of between 3.7% and 4.9% of regional GDP per year until 2030. It also outlines climate investment needs by sector in the LAC region (including energy, public transportation, deforestation, and infrastructure sectors) and estimations on the cost of biodiversity conservation, extreme events and the cost of inaction in poverty.

The final chapter of the document recommends key policies and transformative sectors for climate action, highlighting: i) the importance of climate-related financial risk analysis and taxonomies for climate financing; ii) public policy instruments such as carbon pricing and command and control instruments; and iii) the environmental democracy as a catalyst for informed and inclusive climate action.