Bananas, coffee, soya, wine, shrimps and flowers are some of the Latin American exports that are measuring their carbon footprint. Motivated by reaching new markets and ensuring their activities are sustainable, in recent years governments and businesses have begun to be concerned about the environmental impact of their export activities.
Many such experiences will be analysed at the 5th ECLAC International Seminar on carbon footprints - "Public and private practices to reduce the environmental footprint of international trade", organized by the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC), with the support of the French Embassy's Regional Delegation for Cooperation in the Southern Cone and Brazil.
The meeting will be held on 13 and 14 June 2013 at the ECLAC headquarters, and will be attended by authorities, experts and business owners from Latin American and European countries, who will analyse international requirements and business practices relating to the calculation and mitigation of the carbon footprint (with special emphasis on the agro-exports sector).
The meeting will also review the challenges of the ecological footprint, water footprint, impact of land use changes, as well as carbon emissions in exports and exports.
The opening session will involve Osvaldo Rosales, Director of the ECLAC Division of International Trade and Integration, Joseluis Samaniego, Director of the ECLAC Division of Sustainable Development and Human Settlements, and Pascal Delisle, Regional Advisor from the French Foreign Affairs Ministry's Regional Delegation for Cooperation in the Southern Cone and Brazil.
At the seminar, for the first time ECLAC will offset the greenhouse gas emissions of the international travel of meeting participants, as a way of reducing climate change. With this in mind, it has selected a geothermal electricity generation project in Guatemala.
The preliminary agenda for the seminar is available here.
The media are invited to attend the meeting.
Press contact:
ECLAC Public Information and Web Services Section.
ECLAC headquarters: Av. Dag Hammarskjöld 3477, Vitacura, Santiago.
E-mail: prensa@cepal.org, Telephone: (562) 2210 2040.
