The CAF-Development Bank of Latin America and the Caribbean warned about the challenges facing the region and specified that extreme climate events, such as the drought, floods and tropical cyclones, increased more than 89% during the last 20 years, affecting 60% more people and also putting the spotlight on greenhouse gas emissions. agricultural sector.
In it Economy and Development Report (RED) of the CAF, to which he agreed Ámbito.com, The organization presented proposals to “prioritize adaptation, contribute to global mitigation and preserve the natural wealth” of Latin America and the Caribbean, as well as initiatives to “strengthen regional coordination and take advantage of the opportunities that the decarbonization of the global economy can generate”, a path that already travels Uruguay, by the hand of green hydrogen.
Specifically, in the report titled “Global challenges, regional solutions”, the CAF sought to answer how Latin America and the Caribbean can provide solutions to the climate and biodiversity crisis,” considering that “they threaten the well-being of humanity and the continuity of all forms of life on the planet.”
In this sense, climate projections indicate that the average temperature during the period 2021-2040 will be around 1°C higher than during 1985-2014. Thus, “rainfall is expected to decrease in northern South America, the Caribbean, Central America, part of the Amazon, northeastern Brazil, the center and south of Chili and the south of Argentina”. Furthermore, in the report they highlighted that they expect “aridity to increase in almost the entire region, with the exception of the coasts of Peru and Ecuador.”
Climate events such as drought affect more and more people
In the survey, it was shown that the number of extreme climate events in the region went from an average of 28 per year during the period 1980-1999 to 53 per year between 2000 and 2021.
In turn, the affected population increased by 60%, going from 4.5 to 7.2 million people per year in the same periods, with floods and tropical cyclones as phenomena that affect the most population, not counting the drought, the phenomenon that hit Uruguay in recent months.
Given this panorama, the executive president of the CAF, Sergio Diaz-Granados He called for “international coordination in climate and biodiversity policy,” noting that “it is necessary to integrate these policies with those that promote economic growth and social inclusion,” something that he considers “must be a priority in all areas.”
The agricultural sector, one of the main GHG emitters
According to 2019 data, Latin America and the Caribbean contributes 10% of current carbon emissions. Greenhouse gases (GHG). The particularity is that they come to a greater extent from agricultural activity, which in the country reaches almost 60%, just above the general average of 58%, mainly due to the change in land use and, to a lesser extent, sectors linked to fossil energy.
“The change in land use, through deforestation, drainage of wetlands and the replacement of natural grasslands, is also the main direct channel through which human activity degrades ecosystems and biodiversity in Latin America and the Caribbean,” the CAF specified in its report.
And they considered that the modification is “strongly linked to the agricultural sector”. In justifying this situation, they indicated that 35% of the region’s surface is dedicated to grazing and 16% to crops, while human settlements occupy 4% of the territory and 45% is preserved in a semi-natural or natural state.
Costs and benefits
“Climate adaptation has costs, but also economic benefits due to reduced risks,” he stated. Ernesto Schargrodsky, co-author of RED23 and director of Socioeconomic Research at CAF.
Along these lines, he exemplified that “building infrastructure to prevent floods increases the value of floodable land” or it can also occur through technological innovation, such as the introduction of drip irrigation to address water scarcity, which at the same time improves agricultural productivity.
With respect to financing, the CAF committed to “increase green financing to 40% of its approvals by 2026 and to be one of the most active institutions in the region in mobilizing resources from the main green funds and international allies.”
Source: Ambito
