CAN announces Environmental Charter as WB calls to promote sustainable economies
30 septiembre 2020

SUSTAINABILITY

Climate change. On September 2, the Ministers of Foreign Affairs of the countries that make up the Andean Community of Nations (CAN) agreed to the preparation of an Andean Environmental Charter, with principles, central points, and goals to be fulfilled jointly. The objective is to strengthen the implementation of the 2030 Agenda and the Sustainable Development Goals. In addition, the World Bank (WB), via its Vice President for Latin America, Carlos Jaramillo, urged the region to promote “friendly” economies with the environment. The CAN document would be presented in the next 120 days, while the World Bank will continue working with the regional states to promote measures on the matter. 

The Andean Environmental Charter will seek a commitment to combat climate change and its effects in the context of the Andean region – which includes Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru – as well as to safeguard ecosystems and promote the rational use of the biodiversity of the region for the welfare of populations and the planet in general. The instrument will be in the form of a Declaration, for which a working group will be created made up of the Foreign Ministries and the Ministries of the Environment of the four countries, plus technical support from the General Secretariat of the organization. 

Likewise, the WB vice president for Latin America and the Caribbean, Carlos Jaramillo, called on the entire region to transform their economies based on a “sustainable, environmentally friendly” model, and urged to take advantage of the future economic recovery of the crisis derived from COVID-19 to change the growth model. In this reactivation process, Jaramillo considered that programs that prioritize productivity, inclusion and resilience will lead to greater competitiveness and rebuilding trust in institutions.

Next steps

The CAN began to work on an Environmental Charter that will collect principles, axes and goals to achieve the UN Sustainable Development Goals in climate matters. Thus, it is expected that this text will be known, at least in draft, in a period of no more than four months. In a complementary manner, the World Bank will seek to promote a “friendly and sustainable” economic reactivation on the part of the countries of the region, for which it is expected that cooperative work between the organization and national governments will deepen in the coming months.

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