A Blue Path for the Caribbean: Ocean Sustainability for Prosperity and Resilience

Assessment of the effects and impacts of the Hurricane Matthew: the Bahamas

The passage of Hurricane Matthew through The Bahamas in October 2016 marks the second time in just over a year that the country was affected by a Category 4 hurricane. However, unlike 2015’s Hurricane Joaquin, which affected islands having a relatively low population, Hurricane Matthew’s greatest impact was felt on the country’s population centres of New Providence and Grand Bahama, as well as in the district of North Andros. Damage in these areas was caused by high winds and storm surge associated with the hurricane, and was exacerbated by construction practices and the siting of communities …

Assessment of the effects and impacts caused by Hurricane Irma: the Bahamas 2017

Hurricane Irma was the ninth named hurricane of the 2017 Atlantic Hurricane Season. Being an Archipelago in the Caribbean, a great portion of The Bahamas infrastructure is in proximity to the coast, making it particularly vulnerable to tropical storms. Irma directly and primarily affected the southern islands of Inagua, Acklins, Ragged Island and Southern Andros, and affected Bimini and Grand Bahama to the north, while it also caused moderate effects across the country. The effects of hurricane Irma on the population of The Bahamas were moderate. According to the reports prepared by the govern…

Assessment of the effects and impacts of Hurricane Dorian in the Bahamas

In September 2019 , the world watched as the category 5 Hurricane Dorian rained havoc down on The Bahamas islands of Grand Bahama and Abaco and their communities, erasing any evidence of life in some neighborhoods and leaving behind a trail of heartbreak, sorrow and death. The catastrophic damage to livelihoods and billions of dollars of infrastructure on this archipelago present significant challenges to the preparedness of its tourism -dependent economy and its rescue and recovery capacity. The Interamerican Development Bank (IDB) committed itself to a restoration effort that would be far -r…

Performance indicators associated with low-carbon energy technologies in Brazil: Evidence for an energy big push

Today, Brazil and many countries around the world are seeking to stimulate economic recovery and improve people’s quality of life. In this context, the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) of the United Nations has been developing the Big Push for Sustainability, a renewed approach to support the efforts of the countries of the region to design more sustainable development models, by coordinating policies to promote investments that will transform existing models. The ECLAC office in Brasilia and the Center for Strategic Studies and Management (CGEE), in conjunction …

Indicadores de desempenho associados a tecnologias energéticas de baixo carbono no Brasil: evidências para um grande impulso energético

A conjuntura atual do Brasil e dos países no mundo todo é marcada pela busca da recuperação do dinamismo econômico e da qualidade de vida das pessoas. Nesse contexto, a Comissão Econômica para a América Latina e o Caribe (CEPAL) das Nações Unidas vem desenvolvendo o Big Push para a Sustentabilidade, uma abordagem renovada para apoiar os países da região na construção de estilos de desenvolvimento mais sustentáveis, por meio da coordenação de políticas para promover investimentos transformadores desses estilos. O Escritório da CEPAL em Brasília e o Centro de Gestão e Estudos Estratégicos (CGEE)…

Intercambio entre bancas de desarrollo en América Latina y el Caribe para un gran impulso ambiental

Este documento identifica acciones de coordinación y sinergia entre los bancos de desarrollo, la banca multilateral y la banca regional de América Latina y el Caribe, así como instrumentos para aumentar el flujo de recursos hacia proyectos verdes ligados a un gran impulso ambiental. Por otra parte, analiza y propone de qué manera las entidades de financiamiento para el desarrollo regional y nacional pueden explorar la articulación de acciones conjuntas o coordinadas examinando y formulando propuestas de instrumentos financieros para orientar recursos financieros hacia inversiones en proyectos …

Historia, aplicación y análisis de la Ley núm. 20.551 que Regula el Cierre de Faenas e Instalaciones Mineras en Chile

En este documento, se analiza la experiencia de Chile relacionada con la ley núm. 20.551 que Regula el Cierre de Faenas e Instalaciones Mineras. Hasta 2011, el cierre de faenas era una de las etapas del proceso minero que no disponía de una regulación integral en el país. Asimismo, no existía una garantía financiera que proporcionara una certeza legal y técnica a los inversionistas y a los organismos reguladores del efectivo cumplimiento de la implementación de medidas de cierre adecuadas a lo largo del tiempo. Con la entrada en vigor de la Ley, en 2012, se reconoce que la etapa de cierre es p…

Incentive mechanisms for clean energy innovation in Brazil: Paths for an energy big push

Today, Brazil and many countries around the world are seeking to stimulate economic recovery and improve people’s quality of life. In this context, the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) of the United Nations has been developing the Big Push for Sustainability, a renewed approach to support the efforts of the countries of the region to design more sustainable development models, by coordinating policies to promote investments that will transform existing models. The ECLAC office in Brasilia and the Center for Strategic Studies and Management (CGEE), in conjunction …

Overview of energy innovation investments in Brazil: data for an energy big push

A conjuntura atual do Brasil e dos países no mundo todo é marcada pela busca da recuperação do dinamismo econômico e da qualidade de vida das pessoas. Nesse contexto, a Comissão Econômica para a América Latina e o Caribe (CEPAL) das Nações Unidas vem desenvolvendo o Big Push para a Sustentabilidade, uma abordagem renovada para apoiar os países da região na construção de estilos de desenvolvimento mais sustentáveis, por meio da coordenação de políticas para promover investimentos transformadores desses estilos. O Escritório da CEPAL em Brasília e o Centro de Gestão e Estudos Estratégicos (CGEE)…

Metodologías para el uso de factores de emisión: material particulado en depósitos de relaves abandonados

Este documento fue elaborado para apoyar las políticas de sustentabilidad del Plan Nacional de Relaves liderado por el Ministerio de Minería del Gobierno de Chile (2019), que busca, entre otras cosas, disminuir y minimizar el impacto de tranques y depósitos de relaves en situación de abandono, así como contribuir a una minería más sostenible en América Latina y el Caribe. El informe técnico se focaliza en estudiar y presentar el estado del arte en el uso de Factores de Emisión (FE) para la estimación de material particulado generado desde fuentes fijas. Se abordan aspectos técnicos, así como l…

Effects of the quarantines and activity restrictions related to the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) on air quality in Latin America's cities

Air pollution represents a major environmental health hazard. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), it is responsible for 300,000 deaths every year in the Americas, and 9 in every 10 people are breathing polluted air at this very moment. The air pollutants that are most harmful to human and environmental health are coarse particulate matter (PM10) and fine particulate matter (PM2.5), nitrogen dioxide (NO2) and sulfur dioxide (SO2). The concentrations of these pollutants in city air are then determined by the environmental conditions prevailing in each case. As multiple factors are …

United Nations Secretary-General highlights the Escazú Agreement in his policy brief on the impact of COVID-19 on Latin America and the Caribbean

In his July 2020 brief analyzing the impact of COVID-19 in Latin America and the Caribbean and containing policy options and recommendations to face this situation, the United Nations Secretary-General indicates that the Escazú Agreement is “a valuable tool to seek people-centred solutions grounded in nature.”…

El Secretario General de las Naciones Unidas destaca el Acuerdo de Escazú en su Informe sobre el Impacto del COVID-19 en América Latina y el Caribe

En su informe de julio de 2020 en el que analiza el impacto del COVID-19 en América Latina y el Caribe y propone opciones y recomendaciones de política para paliar esta situación, el Secretario General de las Naciones Unidas, António Guterres, señala que el Acuerdo de Escazú es “un valioso instrumento para buscar soluciones centradas en las personas y basadas en la naturaleza.”…

Efectos de las cuarentenas y restricciones de actividad relacionadas con el COVID-19 sobre la calidad del aire en las ciudades de América Latina

La contaminación del aire representa un importante riesgo ambiental para la salud. Según la Organización Mundial de la Salud (OMS), es responsable de 300.000 muertes al año en el continente americano, y nueve de cada diez personas respiran ahora mismo aire contaminado. Los contaminantes del aire claves en relación con la salud humana y ambiental son el material particulado grueso (PM10) y el fino (PM2,5), el dióxido de nitrógeno (NO2) y el dióxido de azufre (SO2). Su nivel de concentración en el aire de las ciudades viene determinado por las propias condiciones ambientales de cada ciudad. Por …

Amid this Harsh Pandemic and During the Recovery, We Cannot Lose Sight of the Enormous Environmental Challenge: Alicia Bárcena

Presentation by Alicia Bárcena, Executive Secretary of ECLAC “In these difficult times, we must be careful because environmental standards are being relaxed. We cannot afford this. We are facing a global public ‘bad’ – the COVID-19 pandemic – but the next one will be the climate crisis. We must build back better and that means doing so with equality and sustainability,” Alicia Bárcena, Executive Secretary of the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC), said today during a high-level virtual event organized by the Organization for Economic Cooperation…

En medio de esta dura pandemia y en su recuperación no podemos perder de vista el enorme desafío ambiental: Alicia Bárcena

Presentación de Alicia Bárcena, Secretaria Ejecutiva de la CEPAL (en inglés) “En estos tiempos difíciles, debemos tener cuidado porque los estándares ambientales se están relajando. No podemos permitirlo. Estamos enfrentando un mal público global -la pandemia del COVID-19, pero el próximo es la crisis climática. Debemos reconstruir mejor y eso significa hacerlo con igualdad y sostenibilidad”, declaró hoy Alicia Bárcena, Secretaria Ejecutiva de la Comisión Económica para América Latina y el Caribe (CEPAL), durante un evento virtual de alto nivel organizado por la Organización para la C…

The climate emergency in Latin America and the Caribbean. The path ahead – resignation or action?

Los motores de la degradación ambiental: el modelo macroeconómico y la explotación de los recursos naturales en América Latina

En este trabajo se propone un enfoque sobre las causas del deterioro ambiental que integra el análisis en distintos niveles de organización económica, con especial atención en el nivel de las políticas macroeconómicas y sectoriales. En la segunda sección, aplicando este enfoque en una primera aproximación, se examina el proceso de reprimarización de las economías de América Latina. Se analiza el papel que desempeñan el comportamiento estratégico de las empresas, la integración de sectores primarios a los circuitos financieros globales, las políticas de desarrollo sectorial y las prioridades de…

Policy Brief: Planning for resilience: an integrated approach to tackle climate change in the Caribbean

The Caribbean subregion is exceptionally vulnerable to the impacts of climate change and extreme weather events. Vulnerability is a key multidimensional concept at the heart of resilience building, relating to each country’s multiple spatial and socioeconomic risks and conditions. In fact, due to its geographical location and concentration of population and activities in low-lying coastal areas, the Caribbean is the second most hazard-prone region in the world...Moreover, impacts of extreme weather events on Caribbean small economies are of national proportions. For example, in the hurricane s…