Turning Potentialities into Reality: The Importance of the Legislative Branch in Driving Decarbonization and Technological Advancement in the Productive Sector in Latin America and the Caribbean.

The OPCC event in partnership with the Brazilian Government at the Brazilian Pavilion will be dedicated to expressing the common voice of Latin American and Caribbean parliamentarians at COP29. Through a Joint Statement, the event will highlight the commitments and the fundamental role that the legislature plays in green and inclusive productive development. This is a strategic moment for the OPCC and for the parliaments present at the twenty-ninth Conference of the Parties, aiming to increase the visibility of Brazil and the region concerning best legislative practices in climate governance and effective legal frameworks, on the eve of COP30 to be held in Brazil in 2025.

This event will represent an opportunity to advance dialogue on the challenges and opportunities of inclusive green productive development from the perspectives of Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC). The Joint Statement, which will be presented at the event, will address proposals for the development of productive, technological, and innovative capacities in the region, recognizing that both Brazil and other LAC countries have vast natural resources and technical skills that can not only generate sustainable and low-carbon solutions but also trigger a major push for a productive, inclusive and sustainable future in the region. To translate this potential into reality, it is essential to implement innovative legislation that promotes technological advancement and the development of capacities in sustainable production chains, enabling, on the one hand, the decarbonization and sustainability of the productive sector, and, on the other hand, promoting competitiveness, productivity, job creation, among other socioeconomic co-benefits associated with a greener, more prosperous and more inclusive development model.

Building this new development model requires a legislative framework that encourages investment in strategic areas. This will maximize positive social, economic, and environmental impacts while minimizing risks and adverse impacts. Investments in strategic sectors such as renewable energy, bioeconomy and sustainable agriculture, resilient infrastructure, and biodiversity protection, as well as science, technology, and innovation, are crucial to ensuring the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions, creating jobs, generating income, and increasing competitiveness through the expansion of national production of sustainable solutions.

The OPCC side event at the Brazilian Pavilion will be key to advancing COP29 discussions on opportunities for inclusive green productive development in Latin America and the Caribbean with a focus on opportunities for regional integration as a strategy to strengthen local production chains and adopt new technologies in the region.

The event will feature presentations by renowned experts in green productive development, who will discuss the implications of this model based on the adoption of clean technologies, efficient use of natural resources, and minimization of waste, which also implies changes in consumption and production patterns and labor markets. After the technical presentations, the parliamentarians participating in the OPCC will express, based on their experiences in Brazil, perspectives on the opportunities and challenges related to technological advancement in the region and the role of the legislators in this regard. It is expected that the discussions at the event will support the construction of common visions and proposals from a Latin American and Caribbean perspective on green productive development, aligned with the agendas that will later be discussed at COP30, which will take place in Brazil in 2025.

For more details of the event, access to the OPCC Joint Statament and the event’s Concept Note, please visit: https://linktr.ee/opcc.cepal