A historic opportunity to lead a

Sustainable Economic Recovery

In Latin America and the Caribbean

Is the COVID-19 economic recovery building a sustainable future?

State of play in Latin America and the Caribbean: May – September 2024

Brazil has made the largest environmentally sustainable investment from May – September 2024 in LAC: USD370 million in public parks and green spaces
The Dominican Republic committed USD130 million to fossil fuel price control during May – September 2024

Recovery Tracker for Latin America and the Caribbean

TOTAL SPENDING (POST COVID-19)

RECOVERY SPENDING

Green recovery spending

Where are countries heading in their post-COVID19 recovery?

The COVID-19 Recovery Tracker provides a live snapshot on COVID-19 spending in the LAC region. This tool weekly tracks COVID-19 related fiscal spending policies announced by the 33 LAC countries.

Learn more about where the funds are going and their potential impact on the economy, the environment, and people’s well-being.

Seizing the opportunities of a Green Recovery for Latin America and the Caribbean

Why investing in a Green Recovery?

The recovery packages announced in LAC will define the future of the region. LAC governments can link today´s recovery efforts to guide sustainable development that stimulates economic growth, creates employment opportunities, ensures competitiveness, and promotes innovation.

Learn more about how countries in LAC are investing in green economic sectors while experiencing higher economic growth, delivering more quality jobs, generating a cleaner living environment, and improving social well-being in the short, medium, and long term.

Latin America and the Caribbean: A historic opportunity to lead a sustainable recovery

Is the COVID-19 Economic Recovery Building a Sustainable Future?

During the high-level dialogue “Latin America and the Caribbean: a historic opportunity to lead a sustainable recovery”, UNEP, Ministers of Environment, Ministers of Finance discussed how countries in the region can re-orient recovery investments towards the transition to a sustainable and inclusive economic model.

Learn more about which measures should be taken for the region’s recovery in line with the Paris Agreement objectives, and centred around a climate-neutral transformation.

Bridgetown Declaration: A Regional Commitment for a Sustainable Economic Recovery post COVID-19

The Ministers of Environment from Latin America and the Caribbean commit to a sustainable and inclusive recovery.

The XXII Forum of Ministers of the Environment of Latin America and the Caribbean (Barbados, February 2024) urged that beyond the immediate response to the health and social situation of the region, COVID-19 economic and social recovery plans serve to enable long-term sustainable growth and employment aiming at reaching climate neutrality by 2050 and decoupling economic growth from resource use.

Learn more about how the 33 LAC countries have called for the integration of environmental dimension to be placed at the heart of the region’s COVID-19 recovery strategies. This would include an economic reactivation based on social inclusion, low carbon and resilient economies, and the conservation and sustainable use of natural resources.

During the XXII Meeting of the Forum of Ministers of Environment of Latin America and the Caribbean (Barbados, February 2024), the Ministers stressed the need to integrate ambitious climate mitigation and adaptation measures at the heart of the region’s COVID-19 economic recovery strategies.

An economic recovery aligned with the Paris Agreement on climate change would enable countries to build back better, with low-emissions and climate-resilience investments driving economic growth, job creation, and significant environmental and social benefits. Therefore, the Ministers requested UNEP, as Secretariat of the Forum, to support LAC countries in developing COVID-19 recovery response measures aligned with low-emission climate-resilience and economies that leave no one behind.

To support this request, UNEP has launched the LAC Green Recovery Platform to track and measure how countries are allocating COVID-19 economic recovery spending, and showcase the benefits from sound green recovery packages. The two flagship products are:

A weekly updated database that provides a snapshot of COVID-19 spending in the region. The tool tracks COVID-19 related fiscal spending policies announced by the 33 LAC countries, both highlighting where funds are going and their potential economic, environmental, and social impacts.

A series of assessments that analyze the opportunities of integrating low-emission climate-resilient strategies into recovery packages. These analysis prove that economic recovery plans aligned to the Paris Agreement are a forward-looking investment for the governments of the LAC countries.