SUSTAINABILITY

Climate change. The United Nations Climate Change Conference, known as COP26, took place in Glasgow, Scotland, from October 31 to November 13. After the discussions lasted one day longer than expected, the almost 200 countries gathered there adopted a final document that reflects the interests, commitments and political will of the States in the area of climate change and the environment, in a context of strong social pressure to achieve substantial changes towards a more sustainable future. Specifically in the case of Latin America, the discussion proposed by the countries of the region focused on financing to address the losses and damages caused by climate change. Although the document is not binding, it is expected to form the basis of the global agenda going forward.

Regarding the aforementioned Latin American ambitions for the event, progress was not as expected. In this regard, Colombia’s Vice Minister of the Environment, Nicolás Galarza, regretted “not having been able to secure a financial assistance program”. However, the official highlighted specific donations, such as those aimed at supporting low-emission public transportation systems, renewable energy generation and sustainable waste management, among others.

In this context, the MERCOSUR environment ministers (Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay) announced the creation of a new negotiating group on climate change. The objective of the group will be to strengthen the commitment to climate action and coordinate regional interests with the international community. During the meeting, emphasis was placed on “common but differentiated responsibilities and the need for financing to implement climate action”.

Next steps

Although the document is not binding, it is expected that countries will demonstrate greater political will to meet the objectives in the face of the pressing global situation. In addition, Latin American and low-income countries will continue to push for a significant increase in support from developed countries, while the United Nations estimated that adaptation costs for low-income countries will reach between USD 140 billion and USD 300 billion per year by 2030.

Engagement opportunity: Against this backdrop, private companies have the opportunity to show greater commitment to climate change by deepening their social responsibility actions, whether through renewable energy projects or more sustainable waste and food waste management. In this sense, the rapprochement with groups such as MERCOSUR could be an opportunity for the private sector to work together and promote the needs of Latin America as a vulnerable region.