Government representatives, international organizations, the private sector, civil society and academia today shared experiences, good practices and challenges regarding compliance with SDGs 6 (Clean water and sanitation), 7 (Affordable and clean energy), 9 ( Industry, innovation and infrastructure) and 11 (Sustainable cities and communities) of the 2030 Agenda, during the second day of the Sixth Meeting of the Forum of the Countries of Latin America and the Caribbean on Sustainable Development.
The Forum, which brings together more than 1,000 participants, was officially inaugurated on Wednesday and concludes this Friday at the headquarters of the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) in Santiago, Chile.
Halfway through the period established to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the countries of Latin America and the Caribbean show great commitment to the 2030 Agenda as a roadmap to build a better future that leaves no one behind. However, so far only a quarter of the targets have been met or are expected to be met, according to the document. Latin America and the Caribbean in the middle of the road to 2030: advances and proposals for acceleration presented by ECLAC.
The panels highlighted the comprehensiveness of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, and its 17 SDGs, and the need to redouble efforts to achieve the established goals. The representatives recognized numerous social and territorial gaps and challenges in institutional matters, financing, public-private coordination, social participation, mainstreaming of gender, intersectional and human rights perspectives, as well as the generation of statistics and regional cooperation.
The participants in the Table 1: SDG 6 – Clean water and sanitation they valued the importance of water both as a human right and as a natural and economic resource. There have been advances, they stated, but there are still challenges to guarantee universal access to drinking water and sanitation, and to improve the management and treatment of wastewater and the integrated management of water resources.
The need to implement policies that address the growing impacts of drought, water stress, pollution and climate change was addressed. Comprehensive, inter-institutional and inter-state interventions are required, with the participation of all stakeholders, to strengthen water institutions and move towards a sustainable and inclusive water transition, they pointed out.
The panel was made up of Freddy Mamani, Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Plurinational State of Bolivia (by video); Pável Isa Contreras, Minister of Economy, Planning and Development of the Dominican Republic; Mario Lubetkin, Regional Representative for Latin America and the Caribbean of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO); Daniel Tugues, Deputy General Manager of Aguas Andinas; and Ruth Spencer, from the Yale International Alliance of Antigua and Barbuda; Moderated by Carolina González, Head of the Special Temporary Executing Unit “International Affairs and Federal Cooperation” of the Ministry of Social Development of Argentina.
In the Table 2: SDG 7 – Affordable and clean energy The advances and challenges around the so-called “energy trilemma” were analyzed, that is, the capacity of countries to provide safe, clean and affordable energy.
Latin America and the Caribbean has made significant progress in access to electricity and stands out in terms of energy generation from renewable sources compared to the rest of the world, the representatives indicated. However, gaps remain in access to energy for cooking and heating and there is a lag in terms of energy efficiency.
The speakers urged promoting regulation and local developments in electromobility and stated that, without a substantive change in the production and consumption model, the emission reduction proposals maintain the status quo while the impact of climate change continues to hit countries Developing.
The panel was attended by Walter Verri, Vice Minister of Industry, Energy and Mining of Uruguay; Andrés Rebolledo, Executive Secretary of the Latin American Energy Organization (OLADE); Germán Carmona, Academic of the Engineering Institute of the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM); and Kaira Reece, Secretary of Sustainable Development, Union Confederation of Workers of the Americas (CSA).
The participants in the Table 3: SDG 9 – Industry, innovation and infrastructure They underlined the close relationship between productive, industrial, scientific and technological development and people’s quality of life. Despite improvements in terms of infrastructure, in recent decades Latin America and the Caribbean has undergone a significant deindustrialization process and investment in research and development is still insufficient and concentrated in a few countries, they said.
In this context, representatives of various countries in the region, such as Chile and Colombia, shared their current reindustrialization, digitization, and innovation strategies with a view to advancing towards knowledge economies, productive diversification, decarbonization, and a green and fair transition.
Similarly, the need to mainstream the gender perspective in the industry was highlighted, to promote the participation of women in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) careers and to invest in comprehensive care systems, as a new industry, due to its multiplying effects on the economy and society. Likewise, attention was drawn to the importance of territorial development and the recognition of the traditional contributions and systems of indigenous peoples.
Speakers were Nicolás Grau, Minister of Economy, Development and Tourism of Chile; Clelia Hernández, General Director of the Nuevo León 4.0 Initiative of Mexico; Perpétua Almeida, Director of the Brazilian Agency for Industrial Development (ABDI) of Brazil; Manuel Albaladejo, Regional Representative for Argentina, Chile, Paraguay and Uruguay of the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO); Brígida Fernández Rubio, General Director of the Planning Committee for the Development of the State of Baja California (Mexico); Hernán Ceballos, Manager of iNNpulsa Colombia; Fernando Saiz, Director of Public Affairs and Regulation of Telefónica Chile; María-Noel Vaeza, Regional Director for the Americas and the Caribbean of the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN-Women); and Dulce Patricia Torres Sandoval, Member of the General Coordination of the National Coordinator of Indigenous Women (CONAMI), Focal Point of the Continental Link of Indigenous Women of the Americas (ECMIA), Mexico, moderated by Michelle Muschett, Regional Director for Latin America and the Caribbean of the United Nations Development Program (UNDP)
Finally, in the Table 4: SDG 11 – Sustainable cities and communities It was recalled that Latin America and the Caribbean is the most urbanized region: 8 out of 10 people live in cities and, according to ECLAC data, 1 out of 5 families live in informal settlements.
For this reason, the need to improve territorial planning, increase investment, reverse segregation and strengthen the institutional framework to build accessible, friendly, humanized, fair, intelligent, sustainable and safe cities was raised so that all people -including the elderly and with disabilities – can exercise not only their right to the city but also all their human rights.
Wendy Molina Varela, Vice Minister of Planning of the Ministry of Housing and Human Settlements of Costa Rica; Elkin Velásquez, Regional Director for Latin America and the Caribbean of the United Nations Human Settlements Program (UN-Habitat); María Soledad Cisternas Reyes, Special Envoy of the Secretary General on Disability and Accessibility; Armando Enrique Navarrete, Chief Economist of the Central American Bank for Economic Integration (CABEI); Augusto Du Bois Goitia, Second Vice President of the Inter-American Housing Union (UNIAPRAVI); Augusto Barrera Guarderas, Director of the Center for the Transfer of Knowledge and Social Innovation (CETCIS) of the Pontifical Catholic University of Ecuador; and Arturo Noel Noyola Muñoz, from the National Network of Afro-Mexican Youth of Mexico, with the moderation of Santiago Maggiotti, Minister of Territorial Development and Habitat of Argentina and President of the Forum of Ministers and Highest Authorities of Housing and Urban Planning of Latin America and the Caribbean (MINURVI).
