The Latin American Platform on Climate (known by its Spanish acronym PCL) has published a report on the state and quality of public policies on climate change and development in Latin America, particularly those focused on agriculture and forestry. This report is the product of an initiative by the PCL based on 10 national reports for countries in the region (Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Chile, Ecuador, El Salvador, Paraguay, Peru and Uruguay). All the reports, both national and regional, are available here to download.
Carried out under the auspices of the Oak Foundation, CDKN and the AVINA Foundation, PCL’s work, the first of its kind in the region, attempts to identify the principal existing governmental actions and initiatives that address climate change and development in each country and the quality of those policies, the level of implementation and execution, the resources and capabilities of the organizations responsible for carrying them out, as well as the level and nature of the existing political and social support that surrounds these agendas and governmental actions.
The first report, which will be produced every two years, focuses on the public policies that address climate change and its effect on the agricultural sector and forests (AFLOU: Agriculture, Forestry, and Other Land Uses). This initial approach reflects the importance of the agricultural and forestry sectors for Latin American countries’ economies; due to the sources of emissions in the region (agriculture and changes in the use of land – deforestation – produce 63% of greenhouse gas emissions in the region); and, because in general studies tend to focus on the energy sector.
On the basis of a comparative analysis of the countries studied, the Regional Report highlights that one of the most important challenges to the climate agenda in agriculture and forestry is the lack of integration and coordination with development policies, land use legislation, and agricultural and forestry policies. This is also apparent from the peripheral nature that climate change issues occupy in the domestic political agenda and in the institutions of most countries in the region. This suggests the need to interact energetically with, and involve the participants in, the political, economic, and social structures in the debate on climate change issues, and to construct political and social coalitions that will promote and sustain development agendas that can effectively address the challenges presented by climate change in the countries of the region.
The reports address various political and institutional aspects of the policies on climate change, including the quality of its design, the level of execution, institutional strength, and the political and social support they command. The reports’ findings evaluate how these various aspects influence the specific actions that emerge from public policies on climate change and development. In addition the reports identify standards with respect to the development of these policies and generate recommendations for each of the 10 countries, and at the regional level to strengthen the domestic climate agenda.
The primary objective of the reports is to contribute to the strengthening of the capabilities of those formulating public policies, negotiating teams, decision makers, and civil society in general, in the design and execution of public policies on climate change and development.
The reports propose the integration of climate change in various areas of development, with an emphasis on the AFOLU sector, to respond to, and address more effectively the risks and challenges of climate change in the region. Although the reports concentrate their analysis on the agricultural sector, they also include information on the public policies dealing with climate change in general across the 10 countries, and are designed to be flexible in order to reflect the differing conditions of the Latin American countries.
Click here to download the 10 country and regional reports.
Carried out under the auspices of the Oak Foundation, CDKN and the AVINA Foundation, PCL’s work, the first of its kind in the region, attempts to identify the principal existing governmental actions and initiatives that address climate change and development in each country and the quality of those policies, the level of implementation and execution, the resources and capabilities of the organizations responsible for carrying them out, as well as the level and nature of the existing political and social support that surrounds these agendas and governmental actions.
The first report, which will be produced every two years, focuses on the public policies that address climate change and its effect on the agricultural sector and forests (AFLOU: Agriculture, Forestry, and Other Land Uses). This initial approach reflects the importance of the agricultural and forestry sectors for Latin American countries’ economies; due to the sources of emissions in the region (agriculture and changes in the use of land – deforestation – produce 63% of greenhouse gas emissions in the region); and, because in general studies tend to focus on the energy sector.
On the basis of a comparative analysis of the countries studied, the Regional Report highlights that one of the most important challenges to the climate agenda in agriculture and forestry is the lack of integration and coordination with development policies, land use legislation, and agricultural and forestry policies. This is also apparent from the peripheral nature that climate change issues occupy in the domestic political agenda and in the institutions of most countries in the region. This suggests the need to interact energetically with, and involve the participants in, the political, economic, and social structures in the debate on climate change issues, and to construct political and social coalitions that will promote and sustain development agendas that can effectively address the challenges presented by climate change in the countries of the region.
The reports address various political and institutional aspects of the policies on climate change, including the quality of its design, the level of execution, institutional strength, and the political and social support they command. The reports’ findings evaluate how these various aspects influence the specific actions that emerge from public policies on climate change and development. In addition the reports identify standards with respect to the development of these policies and generate recommendations for each of the 10 countries, and at the regional level to strengthen the domestic climate agenda.
The primary objective of the reports is to contribute to the strengthening of the capabilities of those formulating public policies, negotiating teams, decision makers, and civil society in general, in the design and execution of public policies on climate change and development.
The reports propose the integration of climate change in various areas of development, with an emphasis on the AFOLU sector, to respond to, and address more effectively the risks and challenges of climate change in the region. Although the reports concentrate their analysis on the agricultural sector, they also include information on the public policies dealing with climate change in general across the 10 countries, and are designed to be flexible in order to reflect the differing conditions of the Latin American countries.
Click here to download the 10 country and regional reports.