Loja takes measures to face climate change

The launching of the event took place at the end of May in the Municipality of Loja, and included the participation of the highest authorities of the city's local government and CAF delegate Mauricio Velásquez, Principal Executive of the Direction of the Environment and Climate Change. 

This initiative consolidates after four years of work carried out by CAF, Development Bank of Latin America, jointly with the Fundación Futuro Latinoamericano (Latin American Future Foundation) and CDKN. The objective is to calculate the carbon and water footprint of the municipal governments and cities; define action plans to reduce the footprints; implement pilot actions to reduce the footprints; and include the population and private sector in these processes in Quito,Lima, La Paz, Fortaleza, Santa Cruz, and Guayaquil.

In 2015, in its catalytic role as a development bank, CAF made a strategic alliance with the French Development Agency (AFD, for its acronym in French) to expand this initiative and take it to more cities in the region, such as Cali, Tarija, and Loja.

During the process, it is expected that Loja will be able to learn, in an objective manner and with a high participation of its inhabitants, the initial state of its carbon and water footprint, and its position with respect to other cities in the region; prioritize mitigation and adaptation to climate change projects; facilitate the communication of these results to non-specialists; report its emissions inventories to international platforms (Carbonn and CDP); invite different actors to participate (companies, industries, people), and support the citizen sensitization process regarding the emergency of the actions needed to address climate change. 

The implementation of this technical cooperation contributes to the identification of adaptation to climate change measures and increase resilience in Loja and its area of influence. The Decentralized Autonomous Government of Loja is in charge of promoting the sustainable development of the canton. 

In six months, the Municipality will have an action plan with at least 8 actions to promote the reduction of the water and carbon footprint.