(16 February 2011) During a two days visit to Ecuador and Peru, which concluded yesterday night, the United Nations Secretary-General, Ban Ki-moon, called on both South American countries to further strengthen their democratic institutions and extend the benefits of development to the most disadvantaged populations, including indigenous peoples.
Officials accompanying Ban Ki-moon included the Executive Secretary of ECLAC, Alicia Bárcena, and United Nations Assistant Secretary-General for Political Affairs, Oscar Fernández-Taranco, as well as other senior UN representatives.
In Quito, the UN Se…
This guideline jointly published by The UN Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP), the UN Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC), and the UN Human Settlements Programme (UN-HABITAT), in partnership with the Urban Design Lab of the Earth Institute, Columbia University, provides practical tools for city planners and decision makers to reform urban planning and infrastructure design according to the principles of eco-efficiency and social inclusiveness. It includes case studies from the Republic of Korea, the Philippines, Japan and Sri Lanka.…
This paper focuses on the recent trends of private and unilateral efforts to account for the carbon emissions of traded goods, with the objective of identifying possible risks and opportunities for Latin American and Caribbean exporters. It presents a description of the ongoing initiatives, standards and proposed legislation that are relevant to the discussion. It follows this by identifying the shortfalls and challenges of carbon footprinting, and the implications for Latin American and Caribbean export competitiveness. Finally it provides policy suggestions for the region, assuming the growi…
The Barbados Programme of Action (BPoA) for Small Island Developing States (SIDS) identifies energy management as a critical issue in achieving sustainability. Like many of the small islands states, Jamaica is economically vulnerable to external factors such as fluctuations in energy prices, a consequence of an over dependence on imported oil. Securing supplies of affordable and reliable energy is an essential element of economic and social development. In Jamaica however, energy systems and energy use are inefficient and expensive and add to national economic vulnerability.Jamaica is endowed …