Environment and sustainable development: contemporary challenges for ECLAC and Latin America and the Caribbean

Environmental sustainability is a key determinant of the viability of development. Latin America and the Caribbean is imitating a global pattern of unsustainable consumption and production, whose consequences, including environmental degradation, biodiversity and ecosystem loss, and climate disruption, affect the population’s standard of living and limit its potential for growth. This paper presents stylized facts concerning the region’s development model and the way in which sustainability has been addressed in ECLAC thinking, also briefly examining other economic schools of thought. It concludes with policy recommendations aimed at reconciling economic growth and environmental sustainability, taking into consideration the region’s wealth of ecological and natural resources, its position in the global economy, and the need for a commitment to productivity that can foster a big push for sustainability and just transitions in relation to the challenge of climate change.