Uruguayan Economy Minister Azucena Arbeleche provided details of the Climate and Nature Fund in Azerbaijan.
Uruguay presented some initiatives at COP29 that seek to obtain funding for the fight against climate change. The Uruguayan Minister of Economy, Azucena Arbeleche, presented details of the Climate and Nature Fund that will seek to finance environmental projects, and the Minister of Livestock, Fernando Mattos, stressed the commitment of agriculture to sustainability.
The objective of COP29, which is taking place in Baku (Azerbaijan), is to obtain resources of US$ 1 billion per year in aid so that developing countries can meet their environmental objectives.
Arbeleche participated in a meeting between economic ministers and expressed his concern about the appearance of unilateral environmental requirements that limit trade. He also highlighted the progress made by Uruguay in sovereign financing instruments that include reductions in interest rates if environmental objectives are met.
He argued that the same concept could be applied to international trade. In his view, countries that meet environmental objectives could gain preferential access to certain markets.
The minister - who was accompanied by the environmental advisor of the Ministry of Economy, Juan Labat - took the opportunity to provide details of the Fund for Climate and Nature, which aims to finance environmental and climate actions by local companies and producers with a focus on sustainable development.
The fund – which will be sent by the Executive Branch to Parliament for approval – will be funded by General Revenues and potential interest rate savings generated by financial instruments linked to environmental goals that the country has implemented: the Climate Change Indicator Indexed Bond (BIICC) and the loan from the World Bank (WB) tied to achieving the reduction in the intensity of methane gas emissions from the livestock sector.
The unique feature of this fund is that it will enable the possibility of receiving resources from abroad, mainly donations from developed countries, but also from multilateral organizations.
“We believe that this is a good opportunity for developed countries to allocate resources to specific projects for which we can be accountable. With this fund we close a virtuous circle of commitments, incentives and actions,” Arbeleche said in Baku, during the meeting of ministers.
The fund will be able to raise at least US$50 million, which it can then transfer to sustainable projects.
This Monday, it was Mattos' turn to defend agriculture with respect to the environment. “This is an opportunity for us to talk about our role. We are much more victims than generators of the problem. We have to be in these global arenas not to defend ourselves, but to transmit the importance and commitment of agriculture to sustainability,” he said.
The Minister of Livestock of Uruguay stated that work must be done to restore soil and protect water. He also stressed that the main culprits of climate change are other sectors.
“It is unfair to portray livestock farming as a villain for its methane emissions,” he said.
“There is a narrative from one part of the world that, without much foundation, tries to establish that livestock farming contributes significantly to climate change. This has no scientific basis,” he said.
