COP 26 side event - Protagonist Latin American and Caribbean Parliaments: Announcement of the Parliamentary Observatory for Climate Change and Just Transition

The Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC), the Presidency of the Environment Commission of the Federal Senate of Brazil and the Presidency of the Commission of Environment and Sustainable Development of the National Senate of Argentina, with the support of the European Union through the Euroclima+ Program, carry out the parallel event " Protagonist Latin American and Caribbean Parliaments: Announcement of the Parliamentary Observatory on Climate Change and Just Transition", to be held on November 9 from 5:30 p.m. to 6:45 p.m. (Glasgow time).

The event takes place within the framework of the 26th Conference of the Parties of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP 26) and aims to announce the creation of a Parliamentary Observatory on Climate Change and Just Transition (OPCC), aimed at parliamentary leaders in Latin America and the Caribbean and other regions, to promote the constitution of a shared information tool on the state of parliamentary procedures related to environmental initiatives and environmental legislation in the Latin America and the Caribbean region and beyond.

The Parliamentary Observatory on Climate Change and Just Transition (OPCC) is an initiative carried out jointly by parliamentary leaders from various countries in Latin America and the Caribbean and from other regions of the world. The initiative originated from the identification of the need to strengthen inter-parliamentary cooperation so that policy makers can review and pass legislation relevant to the just transition to low-carbon economies.

Since then, Parliamentary Dialogues on Just Transition were held, an initiative coordinated by the Environment Commission of the Federal Senate of Brazil, the Environment and Sustainable Development Commission of the National Senate of Argentina and the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC), to mobilize actors and map topics of interest for the construction of the Parliamentary Observatory. These dialogues included two high-level international seminars with political leaders from the region and the world, as well as a series of technical meetings to coordinate and agree on the structure, objectives, and activities of the observatory's construction work. Parliamentary representatives from Argentina, Brazil, Bolivia, the British Virgin Islands, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Curaçao, the European Union, Germany, Guyana, Montserrat, Nicaragua, the Turks and Caicos Islands, the United States and Uruguay participated in the dialogues.

Parliamentary leaders from more than ten Latin American and Caribbean countries are expected to participate in the event, including Gladys González (National Senator of Argentina), Brenda Austin (National Deputy of Argentina), Jaques Wagner (Senator of Brazil), Rodrigo Agostinho (Federal Deputy of Brazil), Cecilia Requena Zárate (Senator of Bolivia), Ximena Órdenes Neira (Senator of Chile), Guido Girardi (Senator of Chile), Juan Carlos Losada (Representative to the Chamber of the Congress of Colombia), Paola Vega (Congresswoman of the Legislative Assembly of Costa Rica), Mr. Gwendell Mercelina (Member of Parliament, Curaçao), Samuel Andrés Pérez Álvarez (Deputy of the Congress of the Republic of Guatemala), Vincent Wheatley (Parliamentary Representative and Minister of Natural Resources, Labour and Immigration, of the British Virgin Islands) The Hon. Otis Morris (Minister of Home Affairs, Transportation, Broadcasting, Energy and Utilities and Telecommunications Commission, Turks and Caicos), Veronica Dorsette-Hector (Parliamentary Secretary, Montserrat) and Juan Federico Ruiz (Congressman of Uruguay). Juan Antonio López de Uralde Garmendia (Deputy and President of the Ecological Transition Commission, Spanish Congress of Deputies) and Alex Sobel (Member of the United Kingdom Parliament) will also participate, as well as Joseluis Samaniego (Director of the Sustainable Development Division and Human Settlements of ECLAC).