What's at stake for Latin America and the Caribbean at COP28 in Dubai?

COP28 in Dubai, UAE, is creating increasing buzz. Beyond gathering global experts and country representatives during two weeks (from November 30 to December 12) to assess mitigation commitments and new emission reduction pledges, COP28 aims to set a new roadmap for decarbonizing modern economies. The goal remains as set in Paris' COP21 in 2015: keeping the planet's temperature rise below 1.5 degrees from pre-industrial levels.

For Latin America and the Caribbean, a region that has contributed least to climate change but will suffer its impacts most, COP28 is a unique opportunity to take global leadership on issues like fair energy transition, adaptation, loss and damage mechanisms, natural disaster risk management, nature-based solutions, comprehensive work in strategic ecosystems, biodiversity protection, and sustainable food production.

The region heads to Dubai with four key points agreed upon at the CAF Climate Week in Panama in October 2023:

• Drive the adaptation agenda in a 1.5-degree world.
• Promote recognition of the continent's ecosystem functions and services, vital for climate stability.
• Achieve a reform in global climate financial architecture, including operationalizing the loss and damage fund agreed at COP27 in Egypt last year.
• Encourage climate solutions developed by indigenous peoples based on their ancestral knowledge

"COP28 will be a great platform to ensure that Latin America and the Caribbean’s voice, ideas, and solutions are more present in global climate negotiations. The region needs to shift towards sustainable production models for progressive decarbonization and resilience. It must also demonstrate that global climate action won’t be effective without considering Latin America and the Caribbean. The pavilion sponsored by CAF will be a dynamic and constructive platform to address all these issues, contributing to the success of the Summit", says Alicia Montalvo, CAF's Manager of Climate Action and Positive Biodiversity.

CAF at COP28

CAF - the development bank of Latin America and the Caribbean - will bring to COP28 in Dubai an unprecedented pavilion dedicated to the challenges and opportunities climate change presents for the region and to promote the region's climate interests in global negotiations. Under the motto 'We are the Solution', the pavilion will showcase Latin America and the Caribbean as a global solutions region to tackle climate change and ensure the sustainability of the planet.

This will be an exclusive space at COP28 in Dubai where the voices of the region's countries will be heard, presenting concrete experiences related to strategic ecosystems, energy transition, renewable energy deployment, and sustainable agri-food production.

The LAC pavilion, designed, managed, and funded by CAF, will be a hub for meeting, debate, and analysis of the hottest climate action issues in the region, open to Latin American and Caribbean delegations, media, NGOs, community leaders, indigenous communities, Afro-descendant peoples, and civil society.

Check out the LAC special at COP28