Environmental Governance in the Euro

PolicyBrief07/2015
EnvironmentalGovernanceintheEuro-LatinAmericanSpace
AdaptedfromapaperpresentedbyProfessorRobertoDominguez*atGovernance
InnovationWeek,UniversityofPretoria,1-5June2015
*SuffolkUniversity(UnitedStatesofAmerica)
Introduction
This policy brief examines the European Union’s (EU) contributions to environmental
governance in Latin America over the past two decades. Two elements are salient in
characterisingenvironmentalgovernanceintheEU-LatinAmericanrelationship.Thefirstis
the weak economic relationship between the two regions. While there are deep cultural
roots between Latin America and individual EU countries, trade relations remain at a
modest level. This gives the EU a relatively low level of leverage over Latin American
countriescomparedto,forexample,Europeanneighbourhoodcountries.Inaddition,other
closer trading partners, such as the US, have much more opportunity to promote
environmental governance through instruments such as Free Trade Agreements. The
secondelementistheapparentlowpriorityoftheenvironmentonthebi-regionalagenda.
While the environment does appear in high-level speeches and strategies it is usually
mentioned only briefly and secondary to issues of trade and investment. From 2000
onwards, however, the environment has gradually increased in profile in EU development
programmesinLatinAmericabothataregionallevelandwithinindividualcountries.This
review of EU environmental programmes and projects in Latin America indicates that,
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through the EU’s development cooperation, the environment could play a significant and
increasingroleinEuro-LatinAmericanrelations.
ContextualisingtheLatinAmericanEnvironmentalAgenda
Latin America has only contributed 9 per cent of the world’s cumulative greenhouse gas
emissions.However,theregionremainshighlyvulnerabletotheeffectsofclimatechange.
Themainsourceofemissionsintheregionistheenergysector(42percent),followedby
agricultural (28 per cent), and changes in soil use and forestry (21 per cent). In terms of
natural resources, Latin American countries rely on the export of commodities as an
essentialdriverofgrowth.Theregion’scurrentdevelopmentpathisthereforevulnerableto
oscillationsintheinternationalpricesofcommodities.
The combination of low levels of greenhouse gas emissions, inequality and commodity
oriented economic structure has shaped the Latin American environmental agenda,
embracing environmental policies that prioritize the link between development, first, and
preservation of ecosystems, second. In the international debate on climate change, Latin
American countries tend to align with China and other countries in the global south
emphasising the need to reach an agreement at Paris 2015 that fully reflects different
responsibilities and development stages of developed and developing countries, with
developedcountriestakingthelead.Underthisrationale,BrazilandChina,twokeyplayers
inclimatechangenegotiations,havereiteratedthatthe2015agreementshould“addressin
a balanced manner mitigation, adaptation, finance, technology development and transfer,
capacity-building, and transparency of action and support, building upon the institutions
andtherulesdevelopedundertheConvention”.1
While the Latin American position falls under the umbrella of the global south, individual
countries have adopted some innovative climate policies. With regard to the Intended
Nationally Determined Contributions (INDCs), which will help define the post-2020 period
whenthenewagreemententersintoforce,Mexicobecamethefirstdevelopingcountryto
announceitsINDCinMarch2015.Mexicoplanstopeakitsemissionsby2026(fouryears
1Pashley,A.2015.‘InLatinAmerica,GrowthTrumpsClimate’.NewYorkTimes,9December.
2
aheadofChina)andtohaveanunconditional25percentreductiontargetforgreenhouse
gas.2Intheareaofcarbonmarkets,Chile,afterMexico,becamethesecondcountryinLatin
Americatoapproveacarbontax,whichroughlychargesaround$5pertonneof,around
$2 more than in Mexico.3Costa Rica has set itself the ambitious target of being carbon
neutral by 2021 and became the first country to negotiate the sale of forestry carbon
credits.4
EUEnvironmentalRegionalProgrammesinLatinAmerica
LatinAmericaonlyreceivesbetween4and6percentofthetotalEUexternalaidbudget.
Aboutonethirdofthisaidisallocatedasresourcestoenvironmentalprogrammescovering
activities in the field of climate change, renewable energy, disaster preparedness, natural
resourcemanagement,forestandbiodiversitypreservationanddesertification.
Fortheperiod2007-2010,theEUprovided€100millionforprojectsintheareasofforest
management,deforestation,governance,andclimatechangeadaptationandtheEuropean
InvestmentBankmadeavailableapproximately€2.8billioninloansforprojectsfocusingon
environmental sustainability, climate change mitigation, greenhouse gas reduction,
renewable energy and energy efficiency, and carbon capture and storage. For the period
2014-2020,theDevelopmentCooperationInstrument(DCI)budgeted€925milliontoLatin
America,outofwhich€300millionwillbedirectlyallocatedtoenvironmentalsustainability
andclimatechange,whilesomeothersectorssuchasgoodgovernance,securityorhigher
educationalsoincludeenvironmentalcooperationactions.
Since 2008, the EU has focused on five main areas: climate change (EUROCLIMA and
CLIMACAP); renewable energy (EUROSOLAR); water (RALCEA and WATERCLIMA);
deforestation(FLEGTSouthAmerica)andinvestmentsupportprogrammes(LAIF).Outofsix
programs implemented since 2008, four are active or are about to expire (EUROCLIMA,
WATERCLIMA, RALCEA, TAIEF), and two concluded already their cycle and it is unclear
2Ayra, M. and Edwards, G. 2015. ‘Can Latin America blaze a trail towards a Paris climate deal?’ RTCC
News,15May.
3Yeo,S.2014.‘ChilesettopassLatinAmerica’ssecondcarbontax’.RTCCNews.
4WorldBank.2013.‘LatinAmerica;Facingoffclimatechangewithgreeninnovation’.25September,15
January2015.
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whether they will be renewed or replaced by an alternative one (EURO-SOLAR and FLEGT
SouthAmerica).
The Lima Declaration (2008) established EUROCLIMA to encourage cooperation between
LatinAmericaandtheEUonclimatechangeissues,withabudgetfor€5million.From2010
to2013,morethan700LatinAmericangovernmentofficialsandscientistsattendedtraining
in innovative techniques for research on climate change scenarios. EUROCLIMA has
supportedthepreparationofguidelinesonadaptationandmitigationpoliciesandplansof
action,aswellastheelaborationofstudiesonthesocialandeconomicimpactsofclimate
change, including fiscal policies and public finance. For instance, after the 2008 Lima
summit, the European Commission co-financed the study ‘Review of the Economics of
ClimateChangeinSouthAmerica’inordertoexaminethecostofmitigationandadaptation
inselectedsectorsaswellastheelaborationofthestudy‘ClimateChangeinLatinAmerica,’
publishedinDecember2009.DuringtheEU-CELACSummitinJanuary2013,theEuropean
CommissionextendedEUROCLIMAuntil2016andthebudgetallocatedfortheperiod201416was€11.4milliontocontinueworkingin18countries.5
WATERCLIMA LAC, approved by Commission decision of in July 2013, aims to improve
watershedsandcoastalmanagementinthecontextofclimatechange.Startingin2014with
an anticipated durations of four years, this program is being implementedin theLatin
AmericanandCaribbeanregionwithatotalforeseenbudgetof€8.7million.
The Latin American Network of Centers of Excellence in Water (RALCEA) project supports
theestablishmentofanetworkofknowledgecentersinthewatersector.RALCEAaimsto
foster capacity development in the water sector by supporting the development of a
network of knowledge centers. From 2010 to 2015, this project had a budget of €2.5
million.6
5 EUROCLIMA.
2014. ‘What is EUROCLIMA?’ Available at: http://www.euroclima.org/en/euroclima
(Accessed15June2014).
6 EuropeAid.
2014. ‘Latin America Regional Cooperation. 17 October. Available at:
http://ec.europa.eu/europeaid/regions/latin-america/latin-america-regional-programmes-eufunding_en(Accessed18October2014).
4
EURO-SOLARwasaEuropeanCommissionprogramaimedtoreducepovertybyprovidinga
sourceofrenewableenergytoisolatedruralcommunitieswithlimitedtonoaccesstothe
country's electricity grid in the eight least developed countries of Latin America (Bolivia,
Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Paraguay and Peru). The
implementation period ran from 2007 to 2013 and the total budget invested was €36.4
million.7
The Forest Law Enforcement, Governance and Trade (FLEGT) South America programme
(2011-14) aimed to increase the capacity in South America for developing initiatives that
reduce illegal logging and bring timber trade in line with EU FLEGT objectives, with a
particularfocusontradefromBrazil,Colombia,EcuadorandPerutotheEuropeanUnion.It
hadatotalbudgetof€1.6millionofwhichamaximumof€1.2millionisEUcontribution.
In addition, the European Commission recently launched the Environmental Technical
Assistance and Information Exchange Facility (TAIEF) offers short-term, peer-to-peer
assistancetosupportenvironmentalpolicydevelopmentandimplementationinAsia,Africa,
andLatinAmerica.TheeligiblecountriesinLatinAmericaareBrazil,Chile,Colombia,Peru,
Bolivia, Guatemala and Mexico. Using an approach successfully applied in countries
borderingtheEU,thisprogrammewillrununtilDecember2016.
EU-EnvironmentalProgramsandIndividualLatinAmericanCountries
Inadditiontotheseregionalprogrammes,theEUhasnumerousenvironmentalprojectsin
individual Latin American countries and in particular, Brazil and Mexico, which are both
‘StrategicPartners’oftheEU.
BrazilisaverysignificantactorintheareaofsustainabledevelopmentinLatinAmerica.The
EUallocated€50.8millionforbilateralaidtoBrazilfortheperiod2007-2013andfocusedon
two main areas: 1) enhancing bilateral relations (70 per cent), and 2) promoting the
7EURO-SOLAR. 2013. ‘The Programmme’. Available at: http://programaeuro-solar.eu/en/ (Accessed 15
March2014).
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environmentaldimensionofsustainabledevelopment(30percent).Forthe2014-20period,
Brazil is not eligible for bilateral cooperation, but still will have access to EU funding
allocated to regional development cooperation for Latin America. Environmental
cooperation with Brazil is of the upmost relevance because Brazil is the fourth largest
contributortoclimateandattheCopenhagenclimatesummitmeetingin2009,itmadethe
commitmenttodeepcutstoCO2and,untilrecently,itwaswellontracktodeliver.8TheEU
and Brazil also hold an Environmental Dialogue which reviews the state of bilateral
cooperationinthearea.ThesixthHighLevelDialoguetookplaceinBrasiliaon29January
2014 and focused on UN Forest administration, biodiversity, wildlife trafficking, the
preparations for the UN Environment Administration meeting and the state of play and
prioritiesforbilateralprogramsandprojects.
TheEUhassoughttosupportMexicotocompletethetransitiontowardsahigherlevelof
sustainable development and a more equal society. The EU allocated €40 million of
development aid to Mexico for the period 2007-13 focusing on three main areas: social
cohesion and dialogue (55 per cent); sustainable economy and competitiveness (25 per
cent); and education and culture (20 per cent). While Mexico has not been eligible for
bilateral cooperation since 2014, the EU is still financing activities in Mexico through
thematic or regional programmes in the areas of human rights, environment, gender
equality,andco-financesprojectswithnon-governmentalorganizations.TheEUandMexico
alsoholdaHighLevelDialogueonEnvironment.ThefifthdialoguetookplaceinApril2014
in Brussels and focused on the environmental dimension of the post-2015 agenda, illegal
wildlife trafficking, forest management, biodiversity, chemicals and waste, as well as
bilateralandregionalco-operation.
ThispolicybriefisbasedonapresentationgivenattheGovernanceInnovationWeek20151-5Juneforthe
workshop‘ExternalDimensionsofEuropeanUnionEnvironmentalPolicy’fundedbytheErasmus+Programme.
ProjectNo.553076-EPP-1-2014-ZA-EPPJMO-Project
8Porter,E.2014.‘InLatinAmerica,GrowthTrumpsClimate’.NewYorkTimes,9December.
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