Long-term Climate Change Strategies (LT-LEDS) were the subject of discussion at a July 8 virtual workshop on developing low-emission development strategies. The event brought together over 100 participants from 15 countries for a first-of-its-kind workshop where a developed country and developing countries shared common experiences on long-term strategies.
Long-term strategies are crucial to achieve the goals laid out in the Paris Agreement. These LT-LEDS underpin the NDCs that each country submits under the agreement. The Paris Agreement gives flexibility for governments to define their national targets and LT-LEDS ensure that immediate actions and medium-term policies point towards net-zero by 2050. This is vital for limiting warming to 2°C and keeps the 1.5°C goal within reach.
The importance of LT-LEDS was underscored by the governments of Guatemala, Spain and Chile, as Latin American countries and regional collaboration partners met for the “Virtual workshops for Supporting development of Long-Term Climate Change Strategies in Latin America”. Organized by RCC Panama and the NDC Partnership, the workshop aimed to enhance technical capacity in Latin American countries to develop LT-LEDS through the exchange of experiences and collaboration with regional partners.
The workshop opening session put the effort towards LT-LEDS into the context of the multilateral climate change process. James Grabert, Director of the UN Climate Change Mitigation division, highlighted that LT-LEDS provide an opportunity to translate commitments into plans for low-emissions development that then guide the NDCs. Regional Manager of the NDC Partnership for the Latin American and Caribbean Cayetano Casado noted that decarbonization of the economy has multiple interconnected pieces and strategies should consider building resilience while pursuing net-zero emissions.
The UNEP Regional Climate Change Coordination for LAC region, Mr. Gustavo Máñez, followed with examples of how LT-LEDS are increasingly important in Latin America, where oil investments were recently put on hold due to lack of long-term climate change planning. LT-LEDS are needed to understand the impact of new investments for national mitigation and adaptation targets.
The first thematic section introduced the conceptual framework of LT-LEDS with a presentation by Mrs. Marta Torres, Senior Researcher Climate and Energy from IDDRI. She outlined concepts and pathways to define and develop LT-LEDS, with particular focus on the importance of modelling to define emission trajectories and inclusive dialogues between different domestic stakeholders. By developing a roadmap, countries can consider global circumstances and national capabilities while limiting risks of tradeoffs between mitigation and development.
A country exchange experience session followed, moderated by Ms. Patricia Campos, Climate Change Director at the Ministry of Environment of Costa Rica.
H.E. Mario Rojas, Minister of Environment and Natural Resources of Guatemala, introduced the recent National Low Carbon Development strategy, the Estrategia Nacional de Desarrollo con Baja Emisiones, which aims to reduce 59% of their GHG emissions by 2050. The strategy provides specific actions in energy, agriculture, waste, land use, forestry, industry and transport as part of a national climate change framework that includes a national climate change law, NDC, NAP and more.
Marta Hernandez, Technical Advisor of the Climate Change office of Spain followed with details on the Spanish Long Term Low GHG Emission Development Strategy, which aims to reduce GHG emissions by 90% by 2050 compared to 1990 levels. The Strategy covers electricity, transport, building, industry, agriculture, livestock and fishing sectors, which are all relevant to Latin America development. Ms. Hernandez highlighted the importance of carbon sinks in carbon neutrality and different modelling tools to assess, for example, the long-term role of energy technologies.
Climate Director at Ministry of Environment of Chile. Mrs. Carolina Urmeneta, followed with an excellent example of an LT-LEDS in development, as the first proposal of the Long-Term Climate Change Strategy of Chile will be presented at COP26. The Strategy will outline how all territories and economic sectors are expected to incorporate climate change in daily management and medium and long-term planning under their Framework Law on Climate Change. It has specific targets for 2025, 2030, 2040 and 2050, when 90% of the electricity should be produced from renewable resources.
Mrs. Fiona Clouder, COP26 Ambassador for Latin America and Caribbean then introduced the presidency programme for COP26 which will showcase momentum from the entire society. Ambassador Clouder stated that the COP26 presidency hopes that one of its legacies will be long-term strategies that establish a clear, credible and transparent path to climate neutrality. She then invited countries to submit their LT-LEDS during COP26.
The workshop ended with a session dedicated to regional collaboration partners. Presentations by UNDP, EUROCLIMA+, World Bank and WRI, offered technical support, knowledge creation and funding opportunities. A shared platform was launched to make these offers of support by international partners available and facilitate ongoing coordination on LT-LEDS in the region.
The virtual workshop that was moderated by Ms. Klara Berggren, Climate Change Specialist at RCC Panama.
Photo credit: Jordy Lambrezna, CC BY-SA 4.0,via Wikimedia Commons
