BOGOTA, Colombia, Sept 28 – Leading fiscal experts, economists and environmentalists kick off a two-day workshop in Bogota today to look at how finance ministries in Latin America can better use and design fiscal instruments that mitigate the impact of climate change.
Called “Environmental Fiscal Reforms for Low-Carbon Growth”, the workshop is jointly organized by the Ministry of Finance and Public Credit of Colombia and an initiative called the Climate Action Peer Exchange (CAPE).
CAPE, which was created by the World Bank and the Morocco COP22 Presidency in November 2016, brings together finance ministers, technical staff and others to design climate-smart macroeconomic policies and to develop financing strategies to implement the Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) established under the 2015 Paris Agreement.
The workshop will be officially opened by Colombia’s Finance Minister Mauricio Cardenas and World Bank Senior Director of Environment and Natural Resources, Karin Kemper. Government representatives and international speakers from the region and around the world are expected to attend, including Mexico, Chile, Peru, Brazil, Canada, the United States and Norway.
“Colombia is committed to fiscal policies and reforms that help us to successfully implement the Paris Agreement, as shown in the tax reform approved last year where we included a carbon tax, among other climate related provisions that are part of our sustainable development agenda. From instituting carbon taxes to strengthening social and economic resilience, finance ministers have access to a wide range of public policy instruments which could help their countries to manage the effects of climate change” said Cardenas.
Commented the World Bank’s Karin Kemper: “When it comes to climate action and green development, Colombia has been a strong voice both in the region and worldwide. We are pleased to partner with Colombia on important initiatives such as CAPE that advance international dialogue on low carbon development and highlight the vital role of finance ministers and private finance in these efforts.”
The workshop is part of a series of international exchanges promoted by CAPE that aim to provide a platform for finance ministers to identify challenges and share best practices for the successful implementation of the NDCs. The first CAPE workshop was held earlier this month in Shanghai, China.
The workshop agenda includes presentations and panel discussions on:
- Policy and fiscal instruments to unlock private finance for green investments;
- Challenges to access international climate-related finance;
- Lessons learned both regionally and internationally from the implementation of carbon pricing mechanisms;
- Policies to halt deforestation and achieve forest conservation efforts.
