SUSTAINABILITY

Sustainable development. On February 11, the Board of Directors of the Latin American and Caribbean Parliament (PARLATINO, in Spanish) approved the Model Law on Climate Change and Food and Nutritional Security (FNS) and the Model Law on Community Water and Sanitation Systems. These instruments establish a legal framework of reference for national laws, which will allow each State to implement policies and strategies at the national level. Both laws have the support of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). The agency also approved model laws on energy efficiency and electric mobility. The texts could serve as a basis for the approval of similar laws in Parlatino member countries in the medium term.

With regard to climate change, the approved regulation identifies the key regulatory elements to facilitate the implementation of climate change mitigation and adaptation strategies and deals with the principles that should be considered when designing public policies, such as environmental responsibility, sustainability and progressiveness, among others. The text also mentions the minimum actions that the National Climate Change Programs must contain, such as raising awareness of civil society and disaster risk management linked to climate-related threats, among others. In addition, the law creates the National Fund for Climate Change, with the purpose of attracting and channeling public, private, alternative, local, national, and international financial resources to support the different measures contemplated.

Regarding FNS, according to FAO, there is an important interrelationship between agriculture, food and nutritional security, the right to adequate food and climate change. According to the authorities, the law will enable progress to be made in better reconstruction after the pandemic, with emphasis on more sustainable and resilient means of production, in addition to making progress in reducing poverty and food insecurity. As an objective, the promotion of adequate and sustainable management of agricultural activities, including family farming, livestock, and food security, among others, has been proposed.

Finally, according to PARLATINO, the Model Law on Community Water and Sanitation Systems provides communities with a tool to demand their human right to water and sanitation, with an emphasis on indigenous communities. The text also encourages the responsible, informed, and organized participation of society to ensure the availability and quality of water, now and for future generations. The regulation urges national governments to establish the necessary mechanisms and strategies to protect, facilitate and support water access and conservation, as well as to establish the authorities’ obligations in terms of emergency management, financing, and accountability.

Next Steps

Once approved by the Board of Directors, the model laws must follow their treatment in the General Assembly of PARLATINO. Once approved, the texts will be ready to be sent to each member state of the organization. In this instance, each Legislative Branch may decide how to include what is proposed in each text to its internal regulations. This could happen in the short term.