The Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC), together with the Undersecretariat for Social Evaluation of Investments of Chile’s Ministry of Social Development and Family, held the training course “Guide for the Implementation of the Social Price of Carbon in the Waste Sector” on 4 and 5 August. The initiative aimed to strengthen the technical capacities of teams responsible for formulating and evaluating public investment projects, promoting the incorporation of climate criteria into investment decision-making.

The activity, held with the support of the European Union’s Euroclima programme, is part of a regional initiative led by ECLAC to strengthen National Public Investment Systems in Latin America and the Caribbean by incorporating climate change criteria that can help steer public investment towards more resilient, sustainable and low-carbon development, in line with countries’ commitments under the Paris Agreement.

The training brought together project formulators, analysts and professionals from the Ministry of Social Development and Family, the Ministry of the Environment, the Ministry of Health, the Undersecretariat for Regional and Administrative Development (SUBDERE), regional governments and other public institutions, including participants from various regions of the country. Over the two-day training, participants explored the methodological foundations of the social price of carbon, its application in the social appraisal of projects in the waste sector, and the use of practical tools to support its implementation.

The opening session was led by Gabriel Ugarte, Undersecretary for Social Evaluation of Investments of the Ministry of Social Development and Family, and Santiago Lorenzo, Chief of the Climate Change Economics Unit of ECLAC’s Sustainable Development and Human Settlements Division. In their welcoming remarks, they highlighted the importance of strengthening the technical capacities of public institutions to incorporate climate change into public investment appraisal, given the high vulnerability of Latin America and the Caribbean to phenomena such as El Niño and the increasing frequency of extreme climate events. These challenges make it increasingly necessary to steer public investment towards resilient and low-carbon projects.

The technical sessions covered the methodological guide, available tools and practical applications to facilitate the incorporation of the social price of carbon into the formulation and appraisal of projects in the waste sector. They also provided opportunities to analyse the implications of using the social price of carbon for the social profitability of investment projects. The closing session was led by Jimy Ferrer, Economic Affairs Officer at ECLAC, who highlighted the importance of continuing to strengthen technical, operational, policy and foresight capacities to incorporate climate change criteria into national public investment systems. He also emphasized the contribution that economic instruments such as the social price of carbon can make to ensuring that public investment priorities are aligned with the achievement of the country’s climate targets.

The sessions fostered continuous exchange among the technical teams, who shared experiences, raised questions and analysed specific challenges related to implementing the social price of carbon in their respective regions and institutions. At the conclusion of the activity, participants expressed strong interest in continuing to deepen their knowledge and in developing further training opportunities to strengthen the application of this tool across different public investment sectors.

The training is part of the regional initiative led by ECLAC together with countries in Latin America and the Caribbean to support the incorporation of the social price of carbon into public investment project appraisal, thereby helping to steer investment towards more sustainable alternatives, strengthen climate action and advance the implementation of commitments undertaken under the Paris Agreement.