Mayors Forum 2022

Innovation and resilience for sustainable growth of cities

October 19 21, 2022 | Buenos Aires, Argentina

Welcome Message

Preliminary Agenda Extended Program Preamble

The IDB Cities Network Technical Documents

Introduction: Innovation and resilience for sustainable growth of cities

THEMATIC SESSION I: Innovative experiences for resilient growth (adaptation)

THEMATIC SESSION II: Innovative experiences for low-carbon growth (mitigation)

THEMATIC SESSION III: Financing climate action in cities

THEMATIC SESSION IV: Localizing NDCs in cities

Cities have become the protagonists of growth and development in Latin America and the Caribbean, but also the main ones affected by the impacts of climate change. In our region, nearly 80% of the losses caused by disasters occur in urban areas. Two years into the climate decade and as we emerge from a global pandemic, it is absolutely clear that we must take faster, fairer and more am bitious action. We know that addressing the climate crisis requires bold action and greater commitment from all actors in society. But how do we achieve sustainable growth of cities with innovation and resilience?

We will delve deeper into these issues during the IDB Mayors Meeting 2022 and the C40 World Mayors Summit, the first major gathering of city leaders on climate since the start of the pandemic. In Buenos Aires, as host city, we are looking for the region’s mayors to take stock of the progress their cities have made in addressing the climate crisis during the COVID-19 pandemic. This will be an opportunity to highlight the leadership of cities in accelerat ing climate action, helping to create a more equitable and sustainable world for all people, across the region, to thrive.

In this context, the IDB Cities Network Mayors’ Meeting 2022 becomes a propitious space to present the most effective solutions being carried out in Latin American and Caribbean cities and demonstrate what the region’s synergies can achieve if we work together on sustainable, adaptive and re silient climate action.

We invite you to actively participate in this event and enjoy Buenos Aires, a city characterized by creativity, openness and diversity, which has engaged a broad coalition of businesses and residents in innovative, mean ingful and equitable climate action to promote urban well-being. You are most welcome!

Horacio Rodríguez Larreta Head of Government of Buenos Aires Vice President of C40

The Mayors Forum 2022 of the IDB Cities Network, will take place in person in Buenos Aires, Argentina, from October 19th to 21th of this year. On this occasion, we will hold the meeting within the framework of the C40 World Mayors Summit, providing a valuable networking opportunity with mayors from around the world and business leaders committed to climate change.

LOCATION: CONVENTION CENTER, BUENOS AIRES, ARGENTINA.

Photo from Nicolás Flor Zyen, Unsplash

DAY 1: WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 19 TH

Location: Sauco Room, Buenos Aires Convention Center (CEC), Av. Figueroa Alcorta 2099, Buenos Aires City, Argentina Dress code: Office attire

OPENING AND GROUP PICTURE

THEMATIC SESSION I

Innovative experiences for resilient growth (adaptation)

10:15-10:30

8:00-8:30 8:30-10:15 13:00-14:00

10:30-12:15 14:00-15:30 15:30-16:15 16:15-19:00 19:00-21:00

COFFEE BREAK

THEMATIC SESSION II

Innovative experiences for low-carbon growth (mitigation)

NETWORKING LUNCH

THEMATIC SESSION III Financing climate action in cities

DAY SUMMARY AND EXHIBITION ADAPTING VULNERABLE AREAS TO THE EFFECTS OF CLIMATE CHANGE.

SUNSET ACTIVITY: WELCOME COCKTAIL BID

EVENING ACTIVITY: OFFICIAL WELCOME RECEPTION

DAY 2: THURSDAY, OCTOBER 20 TH

9:00-12:00 12:45–13:50 15:15-16:00

C40 WORLD MAYORS SUMMIT OPENING PLENARY

12:00–12:45 13:50–15:15

TRANSFER TO THE ENVIRONMENTAL INFORMATION AND TRAINING CENTER (CIFA)

NETWORKING LUNCH

TECHNICAL SITE VISIT I

Pick up point: Buenos Aires Convention Center (CEC), Av. Figue roa Alcorta 2100 (at the intersection of the peatonal Bridge and Dr. Alfredo Roque Vítolo Street) Dress code: comfortable shoes

TRANSFER TO BARRIO PADRE CARLOS MUGICA (FORMER “BARRIO 31-31 BIS”)

DAY 2: THURSDAY, OCTOBER 20 TH

16:00–17:00

TECHNICAL SITE VISIT II

New development: Barrio Padre Carlos Mugica (former “Barrio 3131 bis”)

17:00-17:30

19:00-21:00

TRANSFER TO SHERATON HOTEL

EVENING ACTIVITY C40 WORLD MAYORS SUMMIT GALA COCKTAIL

* Exclusive event for mayors.

DAY 3: FRIDAY, OCTOBER 21 ST

Location: Laurel Room, Buenos Aires Convention Center (CEC), Av. Figueroa Alcorta 2099, Buenos Aires City, Argentina.

Dress code: Office attire

9:30-11:00 11:00-11:30 12:45-14:15 14:15-17:00 19:00-22:00

THEMATIC SESSION IV: Localizing NDCs in cities

EVENT CONCLUSIONS AND CLOSURE

NETWORKING LUNCH

C40 WORLD MAYORS SUMMIT CLOSING PLENARY

EVENING ACTIVITY

C40 World Mayors Summit Sustainable Festival “Feet in the Grass”

All hours in GMT-3 (Buenos Aires, Argentina)

Photo by Andrea Leopardi, Unsplash

Next, the extended program of the activities that will take place from Wednesday 19th to October 21st

Photo by Christian Von Koenig, Unsplash

DAY 1: WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 19 TH

8:00-8:30 OPENING

Location: Sauco Room, Buenos Aires Convention Center (CEC)

Languages: English, Spanish, Portuguese

Outline

Benigno López, IDB Vice President for Sectors and Knowledge, will sha re a welcome message for all attendees.

Opening speakers:

Benigno López, Vice President for Sectors and Knowledge of the IDB

Benigno López

Vice President for Sectors and Knowledge of the IDB

Benigno López served as Minister of Finance of Paraguay from Au gust 2018 to November 2020. From 2014 to 2018, he served as Chairman of the Social Security Institute, Paraguay’s employer-based health insur ance, and pensions system. In 2013, Benigno was appointed Executive Legal Director and member of the Board of Directors of Itaipu Binacional, the entity that manages the world’s largest hydroelectric dam, on the Par aguay-Brazil border. From 2012 to 2013, he served as Senior Advisor to the Executive Board of the International Monetary Fund in Washington, D.C. Previously, he worked for more than two decades at the Central Bank of Paraguay. Benigno López holds a Law degree from Paraguay’s Catho lic University and a Master of Law degree from Georgetown University.

8:30-10:15

THEMATIC

SESSION I: INNOVATIVE EXPERIENCES FOR RESILIENT GROWTH (ADAPTATION)

Location: Sauco Room, Buenos Aires Convention Center (CEC)

Languages: English, Spanish, Portuguese

Objective

This session aims to explore the challenges that climate change poses for urban development in Latin America and the Caribbean and to identify inno vative adaptation solutions that can be replicated and scalable. Topics to be highlighted include innovation, nature-based solutions, climate risk manage ment, sustainable infrastructure, local management, and territorial planning.

Outline

Discussion: The session will begin with a discussion between Juan Pablo Bonilla, manager of the IDB’s Climate Change and Sustainable Develop ment Sector, and the keynote speakers. Additionally, Horacio Rodríguez Larreta, Mayor of the city of Buenos Aires, will open the Mayors Forum 2022, will share a welcome message for all attendees.

Moderator:

Juan Pablo Bonilla, manager of the IDB’s Climate Change and Sustain able Development Sector of the IDB

Speakers: María Migliore, Minister of Human Development and Habitat of the city of Buenos Aires

Renzo Morosi, President of the Environmental Protection Agency

Welcome: Horacio Rodríguez Larreta, Maror of Buenos Aires will give a welcome message to all attendees.

Welcome speaker: Horacio Rodríguez Larreta, Mayor of Buenos Aires

Thematic Tables: The mayors will be the main actors in the conversa tion based on the work in thematic tables with guiding questions. To better address the solutions for adaptation, 4 thematic tables were de fined according to the type of cities.

Coastal Cities: moderates Juliana Salles Almeida

Andean/Mountainous Cities: moderates Federico Brusa. Large Metropolises: moderates Verónica Adler. River/Amazonian Cities: moderates Dalve Soria.

Thematic table moderators: Verónica Adler, Coordinator of the Housing and Urban Development Division of the IDB for the Southern Cone countries. Juliana Almeida, IDB Lead Climate Change Specialist. Federico Brusa, Senior Climate Change and Sustainability Sector Spe cialist at the IDB, in charge of Paraguay and Uruguay. Dalve Soria, Urban Development and Housing Specialist at IDB in Brazil.

Moderator

Juan Pablo Bonilla

Manager of the IDB’s Climate Change and Sustainable Development Sector

Juan Pablo Bonilla has worked on environmental sustainability, climate change, and energy for more than 20 years. Before being a chief advisor to the Bank’s Executive Vice President, he led the IDB’s Sustainable En ergy and Climate Change Initiative, establishing the integration between climate change and sustainability as a priority for the Bank. Juan Pablo worked as a Senior Specialist at the World Bank and was a member of the United Nation’s CDM Executive Board. In Colombia, Juan Pablo pro moted the National Climate Change Policy and the National Biotechnol ogy Policy as principal advisor to the country’s Vice President. He served as Deputy Minister of Environment, and acting Minister of Environment,

Housing, and Territorial Development. Juan Pablo Bonilla holds an M.Sc. in Engineering Management and Systems and a Ph.D. in Environmental and Energy Management from George Washington University.

Speakers María Migliore

Minister of Human Development and Habitat of the city of Buenos Aires María Migliore took office in 2019. Her goal is to promote equal oppor tunities, social inclusion and habitat improvement, working as a network and guaranteeing basic social rights. She was General Manager of the City Housing Institute (IVC), where she carried out the social and urban integration of popular neighborhoods in the City. Previously, and served as chief of staff in the Undersecretary of International and Institutional Relations of the City. She has a degree in Political Science from the Ar gentine Catholic University; She was a fellow of the Political Leadership program of the Center for Research and Social Action (CIAS); and was part of the Senior Management program at IAE Business School.

Renzo Morosi

President of the Environmental Protection Agency

Previously, he served as Undersecretary of Urban Hygiene, and prior to that, he was Coordinator of Waste Management at ACUMAR (Matanza Riachuelo Basin Authority) and responsible for the implementation of the Urban Solid Waste Master Plan (PMGIRSU). Renzo Morosi holds a degree in Environmental Management with a master’s degree in Waste Management.

Horacio Rodríguez Larreta

Mayor of Buenos Aires

Horacio Rodríguez Larreta has a degree in Economics from the Universidad de Buenos Aires and a Master’s Degree in Business Administration from Harvard University. He is the Mayor of the City of Buenos Aires since 2015. In 2019, he was reelected with 55.90% of the votes, becoming the first Mayor in the history of the city to win the election in the first round. At the beginning of a second term marked by the pandemic, he worked alongside with other Argentine subnational governments and cities from around the world to confront the coronavirus, respect individual freedoms and care for the com prehensive well-being of people, making of dialogue one of his main values. After the pandemic, the priorities of his administration are today focused on education, the creation of new jobs and the continuous improvement of security, achieving great results in all three areas. At the international arena, in 2018 together with the mayor of Paris, Anne Hidalgo, Rodríguez Larreta founded Urban 20, a forum that brings together the most important cities

of the G20 countries to debate and generate new commitments in terms of climate action and comprehensive well-being of people. He is recognized for his ability to plan and for the rigorous method with which he evaluates the progress of the different policies and projects on a daily basis.

Thematic Table Moderators

Verónica Adler

Coordinator of the Housing and Urban Development Division of the IDB for the Southern Cone countries.

She holds a degree in Economics from Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata and a Master in Public Policy from Universidad Torcuato Di Tella, in Buenos Aires, Argentina. She has worked at the Inter-American Develop ment Bank since 2003. Between 2003 and 2008 she worked from Was hington DC for projects in Colombia and Venezuela, working mainly with programs and projects of Urban and Rural Social Housing, Neighborhood Improvement, and Improvement of Degraded Areas. Since 2008 she has been assigned to the Bank’s Representation in Uruguay. From here she has worked mainly with Uruguay, Argentina, Chile, Paraguay, Bolivia and Brazil in projects related to neighborhood improvement, subnational pu blic infrastructure and revitalization of degraded urban areas.

Juliana Almeida

IDB Lead Climate Change Specialist.

She holds a PhD in International Law from Universidad de Chile, a Master’s degree from Universidad Federal de Minas Gerais, Brazil and completed her education at the Harvard Kennedy School of Government. She currently leads the strategy to mainstream climate change into IDB operations and strategies. Prior to the IDB, he worked for the United Nations-ECLAC in Chi le and the African Development Bank (AfDB) in Tunisia and Mozambique, leading complex portfolios, designing, and implementing projects on trade policy, regional integration, sustainable development and agricultural issues.

Federico Brusa

Senior Climate Change and Sustainability Sector Specialist at the IDB, in charge of Paraguay and Uruguay. He specializes in supporting ministries of economy and finance and plan ning, to help them realize the challenges and opportunities presented by the Paris Agreement and the Sustainable Development Goals in their mandates. He has worked on climate policy in New York, Washington, Colombia, Venezuela, as well as in Mali, Chad, DRC, CAR, and Niger. In the past, he has researched and worked for the Earth Institute and the UN. He holds a Masters in Public Administration from Columbia Univer sity, with a specialization in International Finance and Economic Policy.

DAY 1: WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 19 TH

Dalve Soria

Urban Development and Housing Specialist at IDB in Brazil. He works in Transport and Urban Development at IDB since 2008. He is an architect and urban planner graduated from the Universidad de Brasilia (UnB) Master in Urban Transport also from UnB and PhD in En gineering from the Nagoya Institute of Technology (NIT), Japan. Before working at the IDB, he developed several projects in the private sector, worked for a year as a researcher at the Center for Human Resources in Transport Ceftru-UnB, and for four years as Undersecretary of Trans port Planning in the Government of Brasilia.

10:15-10:30 COFFEE BREAK AND GROUP PICTURE

Outline

There will be a space for relaxation, networking, and exchange, and a group photograph of the event will be taken.

10:30-12:15

THEMATIC SESSION II: INNOVATIVE EXPERIENCES FOR LOW-CARBON GROWTH (MITIGATION)

Location: Sauco Room, Buenos Aires Convention Center (CEC) Languages: English, Spanish, Portuguese

Objective

This session aims to explore the urban sectors and activities that generate the most greenhouse gas emissions and identify innovative mitigation solutions in the cities of Latin America and the Caribbean. Topics to be highlighted include innovation, data and information, de carbonization and electromobility, air quality, eco-efficiency in build ings and built environments, tree planting, territorial planning, and lo cal economic development.

Outline

Discussion: Tatiana Gallego Lizón, Division Chief for Housing and Urban Development of the IDB will open the session with a brief introduction. The session will continue with the keynote speaker’s presentation fol lowed by a discussion between the speakers and the moderator.

Moderator:

Tatiana Gallego Lizón, Chief of the Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Division of the IDB’s Climate Change and Sustainable Develop ment (CSD) Sector.

1: WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 19 TH

Objective

This session aims to explore the urban sectors and activities that gener ate the most greenhouse gas emissions and identify innovative mitigation solutions in the cities of Latin America and the Caribbean. Topics to be highlighted include innovation, data and information, decarbonization and electromobility, air quality, eco-efficiency in buildings and built environ ments, tree planting, territorial planning, and local economic development.

Outline

Discussion: Tatiana Gallego Lizón, Division Chief for Housing and Urban Development of the IDB will open the session with a brief introduction. The session will continue with the keynote speaker’s presentation fol lowed by a discussion between the speakers and the moderator.

Moderator:

Tatiana Gallego Lizon, Chief of the Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Division of the IDB’s Climate Change and Sustainable Develop ment (CSD) Sector.

Speakers:

Hélène Chartier, Director of Urban Planning and Design at C40. Carlos Moreno, Associate Professor at the University Paris 1 Panthéon-Sor bonne/IAE Sorbonne Business School and the Scientific Director and co-founder of the ETI Chair ‘Entrepreneurship, Territory, Innovation’.

Thematic tables: The mayors will be the main actors in the conversation based on the work in thematic tables with guiding questions. To better address the solutions for adaptation, 4 thematic tables were defined: Waste and circular economy: moderates Jorge Oyamada. Sustainable mobility: moderates Julieta Abad. Clean, efficient energy and green buildings: moderates Virginia Snyder. Sustainable urban growth: moderates Luis Felipe Vera.

Table moderators:

Julieta Abad, Lead Specialist in the IDB’s Transportation Division. Be fore joining the IDB

Jorge Oyamada, IDB Water and Sanitation Specialist. Virginia Snyder, IDB Senior Energy Specialist.

Felipe Vera, Specialist in the Housing and Urban Development Division of the IDB.

Virginia Snyder, Especialista Senior en Energía del BID.

Felipe Vera, Especialista de la División de Vivienda y Desarrollo Urbano del BID.

1: WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 19 TH

Moderator

Tatiana Gallego Lizón

Chief of the Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Division of the IDB’s Climate Change and Sustainable Development (CSD) Sector. Between February 2002 and May 2017, Tatiana Gallego Lizon headed the Urban Development and Water Division of the Southeast Asia Depart ment of the Asian Development Bank (ADB). Between 2002 and 2014, she led business development and the identification, formulation, pro cessing, and implementation of urban loans and non-credit assistance to several countries in Asia. Tatiana was also responsible for the conceptua lization and development of the sector’s special work on topics such as competitive cities, group city development and metropolitan planning, PPP and urban infrastructure, resilience to climate change in cities, e-go vernment and smart cities, and other local government reform initiatives.

Tatiana Gallego Lizon holds a Ph.D. and an M.Eng. in Environmental En gineering from Imperial College, London, and a PGD in Political Studies from the School of African and Oriental Studies.

Speakers

Hélène Chartier

Director of Urban Planning and Design at C40.

Hélène Chartier is the Director of Urban Planning and Design at C40. The team she leads develops various programs to support cities across the world to accelerate sustainable and resilient urban planning policies and design practices, and to bring together cities and progressive players in the built environment industry. She especially oversees the C40 Land Use Planning network which supports city practitioners to institutionalize cli mate action through urban planning regulations; the Reinventing Cities competition that delivers decarbonized and resilient urban regeneration projects across the world; as well as the Green and Thriving Neighborhoods program that delivers proof of concept of the 15-minute City. In the past, Hélène was a senior advisor to the Mayor of Paris, Anne Hidalgo. She also worked for Paris’ urbanism agency and the global consulting firm, Arup.

Carlos Moreno

Associate Professor at the University Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne / IAE Sorbonne Business School and the Scientific Director and co-founder of the ETI Chair ‘Entrepreneurship, Territory, Innovation’.

Carlos Moreno is a multidisciplinary researcher with roots in intelligent control of complex systems. Personality of international reputation, recognized for his pioneering commitment to cities and the search of better quality of life. He is one of the creators of a vast international

DAY 1: WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 19 TH

movement that promotes human, sustainable, and inclusive cities, with an original vision of “happy proximity”, the “15-Minutes city” and the “1/2 Hour Territory”.

Thematic Table Moderators

Julieta Abad

Lead Specialist in the IDB’s Transportation Division. She worked as a transport consultant at the World Bank, CAF and ECLAC, and in several public agencies in Argentina. Based in Buenos Aires, she leads multiple transportation investment projects in the road and rail sec tor. Julieta was a fellow at MIT’s Special Program for Urban and Region al Studies (SPURS), where she focused on transportation, and holds an MBA from the Instituto Argentino de la Empresa (IAE).

Jorge Oyamada

IDB Water and Sanitation Specialist.

Jorge Oyamada has been an IDB Water and Sanitation Specialist since 2010. He currently works at the Bank’s Country Office in Argentina, where he participates in the sectoral dialogue with the country’s au thorities and in the preparation, execution and supervision of programs, projects and studies in the water and sanitation sector.

Virginia Snyder

IDB Senior Energy Specialist.

Virginia is the focal point for the implementation of innovation, digiti zation, and cybersecurity in IDB investment loans, technical operations and pilot projects, to include the use of data science, artificial intelligen ce and satellite imagery. Additionally, she leads the Energy Division’s strategies and technical support to incorporate gender and diversity actions in IDB operations and programs. She previously worked at the California Center for Sustainable Energy, where she was Associate Pro gram Manager of the California State Solar Initiative (the largest in the United States). She also worked at the U.S. Department of Energy. Vir ginia studied her MBA at University of San Diego, California.

Felipe Vera

Specialist in the Housing and Urban Development Division of the IDB. From the Bank’s headquarters in Chile and Argentina he works on slum upgrading, urban revitalization of central areas, sustainable infrastruc ture, metropolitan governance and sustainable housing programs. Pre viously, he was a Research Associate and Visiting Professor at the Har vard Graduate School of Design and Director of the Research Center

DAY 1: WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 19 TH

for Ecology, Landscape and Urbanism at the UAI in Chile. He studied as an Architecture and Urban Planning at Universidad de Chile (2009) and holds an MDeS in Urbanism, Landscape and Ecology from the Har vard Graduate School of Design (2013) and a Master in Real Estate Project Management from Universidad de Chile (2010). He has recei ved the Adolfo Ibañez Award for Outstanding Research Achievement (2016), the Academic Committee Award at the Shenzhen Biennale of Architecture and Urbanism (2015), as well as research grants.

13:00-14:00

NETWORKING

Outline

LUNCH

This lunch break will provide a space for exchange, knowledge sha ring, and strengthening of networks and alliances. Place: Buenos Aires Convention Center (CEC)

14:00-15:30 THEMATIC SESSION III: FINANCING CLIMATE ACTION IN CITIES

Location: Sauco Room, Buenos Aires Convention Center (CEC) Languages: English, Spanish, Portuguese

Objective

City climate action plans, with their respective implementation roadmaps and financing strategies, are a useful tool for directing existing investment flows towards climate goals, as well as for mobilizing additional resources needed to achieve resilient and low-carbon growth. This session aims to dis close existing sources of climate finance (public and private, international, national, as well as local government budgets and investments) and explore the enabling environment and innovative mechanisms to finance climate action in cities. The role of the private sector will be discussed from different perspectives: as a source to finance climate action, as a demander of cli mate financial resources, and as a potential consumer of climate solutions.

Outline

The session will begin with a discussion between Diego Glaiban, lea der of the Financial Institutions Team for the Southern Cone at IDB Invest and the keynote speakers. Then, the audience will participate in a questions and answers session to identify existing elements, challen ges, and opportunities for financing climate action in LAC cities.

Moderator:

Diego Flaiban, leader of the Financial Institutions Team for the Southern Cone at IDB Invest

Speakers:

Tito Baeza, Director of the International Public Finance team of Fitch Ratings

Pilar Carvajo Lucena, Investment Management Officer in the Blended Finance Team at IDB Invest

Susan Goeransson, Director, Head of Infrastructure Europe European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD).

Simone Utermarck Director, Head of Infrastructure Europe, Sustainable Infrastructure Group, EBRD.

Constanza Drey, Assistant Relationship Marketing Manager, Banco De Córdoba

Moderator

Diego Flaiban

Leader of the Financial Institutions Team for the Southern Cone at IDB Invest

Responsible for IDB Invest’s operations with Financial Intermediaries (FIs) in the Southern Cone, overseeing projects with FIs in Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Paraguay and Uruguay. Diego joined IDB Invest in 2016 and has worked at IDB Group since 2004. As an expert in financial markets and sustainable finance, Diego has supported more than 70 FIs (regulated and non-regulated) in LAC, being responsible for more than USD 4 billion in sustainable finance and technical assistance to promote access to finance for projects related to climate change, women-led SMEs, financial inclu sion, and foreign trade among others. Prior to joining the IDB Group, Die go has worked for 5 years as Senior Consultant and FI Auditor for Arthur Andersen and Deloitte. Previously he has also worked as a Loan Officer and Financial Specialist in two leading financial institutions in Argentina. Diego holds a degree in Public Accounting from Universidad de Buenos Aires, Argentina. He also has graduate studies at Georgetown University and is a Certified Public Accountant (CPA) in the State of Virginia, USA.

Speakers

Tito Baeza

Director of the International Public Finance team of Fitch Ratings

Tito Baeza joined the entity in 2013. In addition to serving as Director, he serves as Analytical Head for ESG/ASG issues in the Latin American region for the IPF sector. Previously, he worked for five years in Standard & Poor’s sovereign risk and international public finance team in the Asia Pacific region (based in Singapore). His professional experience focuses on the analysis of macroeconomic issues, public finances, and political risk for emerging countries from a credit risk perspective with extensive

experience in emerging countries, mainly for the Asian and Latin Ameri can region. Tito Baeza holds a master’s degree in Public Policy from the

Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy (National University of Singapore) and a bachelor’s degree in International Relations from ITAM.

Pilar Carvajo Lucena

Investment Management Officer in the Blended Finance Team at IDB Invest Pilar Carvajo Lucena joined the group in 2017. She originates and struc tures the concessional tranche of investments across sectors in the re gion to accelerate the adoption of technologies and business models that contribute to climate change mitigation and adaptation. Pilar is also responsible for managing the relationship with donors, including fun draising and project portfolio monitoring. Before joining the IDB Group, she worked at Acción Global Investments, where she participated in the origination and structuring of equity investments in financial institutions in Asia and Latin America. She previously worked at Deloitte providing advice to infrastructure and renewable energy clients, among other sec tors, and managing their financial risks. She has more than five years of experience in the management of financial and equity investment risks in emerging markets. Pilar holds a Master’s degree in Business Adminis tration (MBA) from MIT and a professional degree in Law and Business Administration from Universidad Pablo de Olavide in Seville (Spain).

Susan Goeransson

Director, Head of Infrastructure Europe, Sustainable Infrastructure Group, EBRD.

Susan Goeransson is the Director for the Infrastructure Europe team in the Sustainable Infrastructure Group at the EBRD. In this capacity, she is responsible for delivering EBRD’s municipal and transport projects in Central Europe, the Baltics, Western Balkans and Ukraine. Before joi ning the EBRD in 1993, Susan worked at the Overseas Private Invest ment Corporation as a senior banker and the Securities and Exchange Commission as a financial analyst. She holds a Master’s degree in public policy from Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government and is a chartered financial analyst. She also has a joint Bachelor’s degree in urban studies and history from Northwestern University

Simone Utermarck

Director, Sustainable Finance at the International Capital Market Asso ciation (ICMA)

Simone Utermarck is part of the secretariat that manages the Princi ples, co-ordinator of the ICMA Sustainable Finance Committee (SFC)

15:30-16:15

and the Global Sustainable Finance Council (GSFC), and is otherwi se involved in all of ICMA’s sustainable finance activities. She is also a member of the EU Platform on Sustainable Finance. She is a trained banker with extensive international experience having lived and worked in Europe, the United States, Asia, and the GCC. Her previous roles were with Thomson Reuters, S&P Global Ratings, Bloomberg, PwC, Ernst & Young, and DaimlerChrysler Global Capital Services. Simone holds a double degree in International Business from Dublin City University (DCU), and the ESB Business School, Reutlingen, Germany. She has also completed the International Certificate in Investor Relations and the CFA Level 1. Simone is a co-trainer in the following course: Introduc tion to green, social and sustainability bonds (GSS).

Constanza Drey

Assistant Relationship Marketing Manager, Banco De Córdoba She is responsible for the development and management of the assisted customer service channels and the content of direct marketing actions and website, internal commercial communication, commercial and pro motional material at points of sale and face-to-face customer service. His mission is to improve the customer experience in every contact.

DAY SUMMARY AND EXHIBITION ADAPTING VULNERABLE AREAS TO THE EFFECTS OF CLIMATE CHANGE

Location: Sauco Room, Buenos Aires Convention Center (CEC) Languages: English, Spanish, Portuguese

Outline Day Summary: Day Summary: José Agustín Aguerre, IDB Group Repre sentative in Argentina will close the day’s activities with a message of thanks to all attendees, highlighting the main conclusions of the day and the Bank’s work on climate change issues. Afterward, the exhibition Adap ting Vulnerable Areas to the Effects of Climate Change will be presented.

Closing Speaker: José Agustín Aguerre, IDB Group Representative in Argentina

Exhibition Ecological Design:

Adapting the Vulnerable City of Latin America and the Caribbean to the Climate Crisis.

The climate crisis accentuates inequality in cities. People living in pre carious areas have access to fewer ecosystem services and are more exposed to natural hazards. This exhibition explores the potential of a

16:15-19:00

renewed urban imagination by assigning a central role to nature and ecological tools, with the conviction that we can generate a significant change in the lives of the most vulnerable.

Closing Speaker

José Agustín Aguerre

IDB Group Representative in Argentina

José Agustín Aguerre took office in 2021. Prior to his current appoint ment, he served as manager of the IDB’s Infrastructure and Energy Sec tor, as manager of the Haiti Country Department, as interim manager of the Infrastructure and Environment Sector, and as chief of the Transport Division. José joined the IDB in 2003 as a transportation and infrastruc ture specialist, focusing on Central America, the Dominican Republic, and Haiti. Before his appointment at the IDB, he worked in both the pri vate and public sectors in Uruguay, where he was chairman of the Natio nal Ports Administration, undersecretary of state in the Ministry of Trans portation and Public Works, director of the National Roads Agency, and chairman of the Institute of Transportation and Infrastructure Planning.

José Agustín Aguerre holds a Civil Engineering degree from Uruguay’s Universidad de la República and a Master of Science in Construction Management from the University of Reading (England).

SUNSET EVENT WELCOME RECEPTION IDB

Location: To be defined

Summary

A welcome cocktail will be offered for all the Mayors Forum 2022 aten dees.

19:00-21:00

EVENING EVENT: C40 WORLD MAYORS SUMMIT OPENING CEREMONY AND WELCOME RECEPTION

Location: Colón Fabrica

Summary

The welcome reception will officially commence the 2022 C40 World Mayors Summit.

DAY 2: THURSDAY, OCTOBER 20 TH

C40 WORLD MAYORS SUMMIT OPENING PLENARY

Location: Buenos Aires Convention Center (CEC)

Outline

The opening session of the C40 World Mayors Summit will take place.

12:00-12:45

TRANSFER TO ENVIRONMENTAL INFORMATION AND TRAINING CENTER (CIFA)

Pick Up Point: Buenos Aires Convention Center (Cec) Parking Lot: Julio V González Y Eduardo J Couture

Outline

We will meet at 12:00 in the Buenos Aires Convention Center (CEC) parking lot named Julio V González and Eduardo J Couture, to travel toward the Environmental Information and Training Center (CIFA).

12:45-13:50

9:00-12:00 13:50-15:15

NETWORKING LUNCH

Outline

Renzo Morosi will welcome all attendees and explain the dynamics of the visit. The lunch will take place in the “playón de hydroponias” of CIFA in conjunction with the mayors attending the Federal Urban Forum. During lunch, a practical demonstration will be given on a solar stove.

Welcome Speakers: Renzo Morosi, President of the Environmental Protection Agency.

Welcome Speakers

Renzo Morosi

President of the Environmental Protection Agency

Previously, Renzo Morosi served as Undersecretary of Urban Hygiene, and prior to that, he was Coordinator of Waste Management at ACU MAR (Matanza Riachuelo Basin Authority) and responsible for the im plementation of the Urban Solid Waste Master Plan (PMGIRSU). Renzo Morosi holds a degree in Environmental Management with a master’s degree in Waste Management.

TECHNICAL SITE VISIT I

ENVIRONMENTAL INFORMATION AND TRAINING CENTER (CIFA)

Location: Environmental Information And Training Center (CIFA)

Language: English and Spanish

DAY 2: THURSDAY, OCTOBER 20 TH

Itinerary

An informative, technical, and dynamic visit is proposed, which will allow us to know about different topics, such as renewable energies, urban agriculture, native plants, and the work carried out by the Envi ronmental Protection Agency in terms of environmental awareness.

The place will be divided into five thematic stations. Each station will have a guide and exhibitor from the Environmental Protection Agency who will make an exhibition and demonstration.

Garden: the ground vegetable gardens, raised bed gardens, and hydro ponic vegetable gardens will be visited, in order to show the different seasonal crops and a brief explanation will be given on how they work. There will be an activity of harvesting vegetables and aromatic plants.

Renewable Energy Sector: the operation of solar panels will be shown and there will be a demonstration of the use of solar stoves and solar thermos.

Native Flora Nursery: a tour of the nursery will be given, starting in the planting sector. The work done from the harvesting of the seeds to the planting of the different specimens will be explained. Those who wish to do so will be able to make their own seedlings. Once the activity is finished, attendees may take the seedlings with them.

Pedagogical Plant Nursery: the educational program will be explained, and the didactic and pedagogical material implemented in the different activities of the PAS Educational Program will be exhibited. The operation, age range, didactic material, among others, will be explained.

Green point: The management of Universal Generation Special Waste in the City of Buenos Aires will be explained.

16:00-17:00

General Background

The Environmental Information and Training Center (CIFA) was inaugu rated in 2010. The environmental laboratory first opened in August 2011 and the Paseo Ambiental del Sur (PAS) in 2018, all intending to promote the generation and archive of environmental information and provide a space for environmental training.

The environmental laboratory measures physical, chemical, and biological pollutants in the air, water, and soil of the city. In 2017, we be gan to produce native flora in greenhouses and shade houses for subse quent incorporation in the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires, producing more than 60,000 native specimens and delivering more than 17,447 trees to different areas of the city to date. In the agroecological garden, together with volunteer neighbors, approximately 120 kg per week are harvested and donated to canteens in the area.

The PAS is a demonstrative and awareness-raising space that ad dresses environmental issues, and technological and design proposals that will allow for improving urban environments and learning how wild elements interact with those that are typical of a city as large as ours.

There is a renewable energy demonstration facility, which integrates 5 different clean technologies in one place. The 39KW solar installation supplies between 15% and 20% of the building’s consumption and in jects surplus energy into the grid. The clean energy generated is equi valent to the consumption of 25 typical homes in the city.

TECHNICAL SITE VISIT II

NEW DEVELOPMENT: BARRIO PADRE CARLOS MUGICA (FORMER “BARRIO 31-31 BIS”)

Location: Barrio Padre Carlos Mugica (Former Barrio 31–31 Bis)

Language: English and Spanish

Itinerary

A walking tour of approximately one hour is planned through the Padre Carlos Mugica neighborhood. The visit starts from the Ministry of Edu cation located at 750 Carlos H. Perette Street and includes a tour of the first companies installed as one of the most important policies within economic integration, the new plant of the A Todo Reciclaje Program, the Ministry of Education of the city, the new sustainable housing built in 2018, and the New Public Space located under the Illia Highway.

General Background

Barrio Padre Carlos Mugica is a historic informal settlement that has been transformed through a comprehensive action plan that prioritizes

17:00-17:30 19:00-21:00

its urban, social, and economic integration. The neighborhood originated in 1930, spontaneously populated in an “unplanned” manner by immi grants and workers. Despite its privileged location, close to the financial center, the main bus terminal, and exclusive neighborhoods, it presents several barriers of exclusion and segregation: road infrastructure, train branch lines, and highways. In addition to the scarcity of green and public spaces before starting the project.

The Social and Urban Integration Project of the Barrio Padre Carlos Mugica – former “Barrio 31-31 bis” is being carried out by the Government of the city of Buenos Aires to improve the quality of life and reduce the existing gaps. The main axes of the project are urban integration, impro vement of housing, and economic development of the neighborhood. To achieve this, a comprehensive infrastructure and new public spaces plan was developed, as well as housing improvement projects and new hou sing, in addition to the enhancement of local services and resources, and the creation of new educational and health centers and new institutions.

TRANSFER TO SHERATON HOTEL

Pick-up point: Ministry Of Education, 750 Carlos H. Perette Street, Barrio Padre Carlos Mugica

Outline: We will meet at 17:00 in the Ministry of Education, 750 Carlos H. Prerette Street, to travel toward the Sheraton Hotel.

EVENING EVENT C40 WORLD MAYORS SUMMIT GALA COCKTAIL

*Exclusive event for mayors.

Location: Teatro Colón

A gala cocktail will be held within the framework of the C40 World Mayors Summit.

DAY 3: FRIDAY, OCTOBER 21 ST

9:30-11:00 THEMATIC SESSION IV: LOCALIZING NDCS IN CITIES

Location: Laurel Room, Buenos Aires Convention Center (CEC) Languages: English, Spanish, Portuguese

Objective

This session aims to contextualize the climate action of cities within the framework of the Paris Agreement and the climate commitments of the countries in their NDCs and long-term climate strategies. Based on the di alogue, it will seek to identify the specific needs and priority areas to im prove coherence between subnational climate action and the NDCs, as well as potential tools to accelerate alignment. In this context, good practices for strengthening city climate governance and citizen engagement will be highlighted. The session will be an occasion to identify opportunities for alliances and synergistic work in the region to address the challenges of climate change and achieve sustainable growth in LAC cities.

Outline

The session will begin with a brief introduction made by María Camila Uribe, Coordinator of the IDB Cities Network, then Philipp Rode, Exe cutive Director of LSE Cities, will share a presentation regarding the complexities of localizing the NDC’s in cities. Afterwards, a conversation between the speakers and María Camila Uribe will take place, to finally have a round of questions and answers with the audience.

Moderator:

Maria Camila Uribe, Coordinator of the IDB Cities Network.

Speakers:

Ricardo Bertolino, Executive Director of the Argentine Network of Mu nicipalities Against Climate Change.

Andy Deacon, Acting Managing Director, Global Covenant of Mayors for Climate and Energy (GCoM).

Philipp Rode, Executive Director of LSE Cities.

Javier Torner, Program Management Officer in the Urban Planning, Fi nance, and Economics Section of UN-Habitat and Urban Development Specialist and Coordinator of the UN-Habitat Urban Laboratory for Mexico and Cuba.

Moderator

Maria Camila Uribe

Coordinator of the IDB Cities Network

Maria Camila is currently the coordinator of the Inter-American Deve lopment Bank’s (IDB) Cities Network as a Principal Technical Leader.

DAY 3: FRIDAY, OCTOBER 21 ST

She holds both a bachelor and studies in master’s degree in economics from Los Andes University in Colombia, a master’s degree in Public Administration from the Kennedy School at Harvard University and a master’s degree in Cities at the London School of Economics. Previous ly, she served as Representative for Chile at the Inter-American De velopment Bank (IDB) and then as Principal Advisor of the Office of Strategic Planning and Development Effectiveness (SPD) and Chief of Services to the Boards, Committee and Management in the IDB’s Office of the Secretary. She has over 18 years of experience in the Colombian public sector, having served as Bogota’s Secretary of Planning, Director of Cadastre, and Tax Director, as well as serving as an advisor to the Colombian Ministry of Finance and the National Planning Department. Her areas of expertise include local taxes and urban issues

Speakers

Ricardo Bertolino

Executive Director of the Argentine Network of Municipalities Against Climate Change

Ricardo Bertolino is an agronomist, former Undersecretary of Environ ment, and Coordinator of Sustainability Policies and Citizen Participa tion of the municipality of Rosario. Founder of the International Net work of Ecoclubs and promoter of the Movimiento Agua y Juventud Internacional. Fellow of the social innovators’ network of Ashoka (since January 1999) and Schwab Foundation, Switzerland (between July 2001 and December 2005). Ricardo is the Executive Director of the Argentine Network of Municipalities Against Climate Change (RAMCC). The RAMCC is a coalition of more than 270 municipalities and com munes in Argentina created in 2011 to coordinate and promote strategic plans to address climate change.

Andy Deacon

Acting Managing Director, Global Covenant of Mayors for Climate and Energy (GCoM)

Andy Deacon has been part of the Global Covenant of Mayors secretar iat team since January 2020 and as Co-Managing Director is working to guide program management and delivery across all of GCoM’s areas of activity. GCoM is the largest global alliance for city climate leadership and is built on the commitment of over 12,500 cities and local govern ments. Andy has worked for 25 years across a range of environmental protection issues focusing on climate change, energy, and air quality in local, regional, and central government, academia, and NGOs. He has advised Mayors and Ministers on city-scale carbon reduction and cli

mate adaptation, community energy, home retrofit, and air qual ity. Andy Deacon has a BSc in Geography and Environmental Studies from the University of Surrey Roehampton Institute and an MSc in Applied Meteorology and Climatology from the Uni versity of Birmingham.

Philipp Rode

Executive Director of LSE Cities

Philipp Rode is co-director of the LSE’s Executive Master’s in Cities and visiting professor at the Institute of Mobility of the University of St. Gallen. He is a co-founder of the Urban Age Program, manag es his global commitment efforts, and co-chairs the Addis Ababa Urban Age Task Force. At LSE, Phillipp leads the Emergency Gov ernance Initiative for Cities and Regions, organized in collaboration with United Cities and Local Governments (UCLG) and Metropolis. From 2016 to 2021, he was a member of the Steering Committee of the Coalition for Urban Transitions led by the C40 Cities Climate Leadership Group and the World Resources Institute. He co-led the United Nations Habitat III Policy Unit on Urban Governance, which served as the basis for the UN New Urban Agenda (2016), and co-led the cities workstream of the Global Commission on the Economy and Climate in the period leading up to the 2015 UN Climate Change Conference in Paris. He is a member of the Board of Directors of the Institute for Transportation and Development Policy (ITDP) and a member of the World Cities Summit’s Cities Science Knowledge Council. He holds degrees in transport sys tems (Dipl. Ing., TU Berlin), city design and social sciences (MSc, LSE), and cities/urban governance (Ph.D., LSE). Philipp Rode was awarded the 2000 Schinkel Prize for Urban Design.

Javier Torner

Program Management Officer in the Urban Planning, Finance, and Economics Section of UN-Habitat and Urban Development Specialist and Coordinator of the UN-Habitat Urban Laboratory for Mexico and Cuba

As part of UN-Habitat, Javier Torner has developed and participat ed in the implementation of policies, programs, and projects with a focus on climate change mitigation and adaptation, urban regen eration, and post-disaster urban initiatives, having carried out proj ects in more than 20 countries in Latin America and the Caribbean, Africa, Asia, and Europe. He manages the UN-Habitat initiative “Our City Plans”, a physical and digital platform for national and local gov

3: FRIDAY, OCTOBER 21 ST

ernments to develop customized participatory and incremental planning processes, with a special focus on climate mitigation and adaptation. Javier has worked as a program manager for climate action programs in collab oration with the Green Climate Fund, the Adaptation Fund, and GEF. As a technical advisor for UN-Habitat’s Urban Regeneration program, Inclusive, Vibrant Neighborhoods and Communities, he also supports the Agency’s urban regeneration portfolio with a focus on social inclusion and the ur ban-environmental agenda. Prior to joining UN-Habitat, he worked in the private sector in Europe and the USA, in public administration, and aca demia. Javier Torner holds master’s degrees in International Business Ad ministration, Urban Development, and Architecture

11:00-11:30

EVENT CONCLUSIONS AND CLOSURE

Location: Laurel Room, Buenos Aires Convention Center (CEC) Languages: English, Spanish, Portuguese

Outline

Richard Martínez, IDB Vice President for Countries will close the pro gram with a message of thanks to all attendees, highlighting the conclu sions of the meeting.

Closing Speaker: Richard Martínez, IDB Vice President for Countries

Closing Speaker Richard Martínez

IDB Vice President for Countries

Richard Martínez was appointed to his position in 2020. Previously, he served as Minister of Economy and Finance of Ecuador since May 2018, as President of the Board of the Ecuadorian Development Bank (BEDE), and as Executive President of the Board of CAF (Development Bank of Latin America). He was also a member of the Global Coalition of Finance Minis ters for Climate Action, as well as a member of the World Bank Group’s Advisory Council on Gender and Development. In 2019, Richard was na med a Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum and, in 2020, he was chosen Latin American Finance Minister of the Year by Global Markets newspaper. Previously, Richard was President of the Ecuadorian Business Committee (2015-2018), President of the National Federation of Chambers of Industries of Ecuador (2015), and Executive President of the Chamber of Industries and Production of Ecuador (2014-2018). Ri chard Martínez holds a degree in Economics from the Catholic University of Ecuador, a postgraduate degree in International Economics from the University of Barcelona, and an MBA from Ecuador’s IDE Business School.

DAY 3: FRIDAY, OCTOBER 21 ST

12:45-14:15

NETWORKING LUNCH

Location: Laurel Room, Buenos Aires Convention Center (CEC)

Outline

This lunch break will provide a space for exchange, knowledge sharing, and strengthening of networks and alliances.

14:15-17:00

C40 WORLD MAYORS SUMMIT CLOSING PLENARY

Location: Laurel Room, Buenos Aires Convention Center (CEC)

Outline

The closing session of the C40 World Mayors Summit will take place.

19:00-21:00

EVENING EVENT

C40 WORLD MAYORS SUMMIT SUSTAINABLE FESTIVAL

Location: Floralis Genérica

A festival of sustainability “Feet in the Grass” will be held in the fra mework of the C40 World Mayors Summit.

Foto de Fermin Rodriguez Penelas en Unsplash

The IDB Group works to im prove the quality of life in La tin America and the Caribbean (LAC) by improving health, edu cation, and infrastructure throu gh financial and technical su pport to countries that work to reduce poverty and inequality.1

Our goal is to achieve develop ment in a sustainable and clima te-friendly way. With a history dating back to 1959, today we are the main source of financing for development in LAC.

Climate change puts at risk the achievement of economic and social results in the region. Changes in temperature, rainfall, the frequency and intensity of extreme events, river discharge, sea level, acidification, the extent of glaciers, and coral bleaching increase the risks to countries, cities, and communities that are already vulnerable and could cripple the global economy, especially in small island economies. To meet these challenges, unprecedented action is needed at the international, nation al, and local levels.2

Recognizing the threat that climate change poses to development in LAC, climate action and environmental sustainability are one of the priorities of the IDB Group’s Vision 2025 to accelerate the region’s re covery and facilitate sustainable and inclusive growth. While our region is one of the most vulnerable to the impacts of climate change, we also have abundant natural resources and renewable energy assets that pro vide us with many opportunities to drive the transition to net-zero emis sions economies. We believe in the urgent need to go beyond climate change diagnostics and accelerate efforts to address it, positioning LAC to become a world leader in dealing with a problem that has no borders.

Cities are at the forefront of the global response to climate change; they are a major source of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, concen trate economic activity, and are home to large segments of the popula tion that are vulnerable to climate impacts. In this context, the IDB May ors Meeting 2022: Innovation and Resilience for Sustainable Growth of Cities is an invitation to share knowledge, visualize innovative mitigation and adaptation actions, and promote the collaborative work necessary to face urban challenges and scale up climate action. With the participa tion of nearly 30 LAC cities mayors and local and international experts, we delved into solutions for resilient and low-carbon growth, opportuni ties to finance climate action in the urban context, and the key role that cities have towards meeting the climate commitments established under the Paris Agreement (PA).

OBJECTIVES OF THE MEETING:

• Strengthen the leadership of LAC cities for governance and climate action based on the exchange of knowledge and lessons learned.

• Build awareness of innovative climate change adaptation and mitigation actions led by LAC cities, highlighting success sto ries that can be replicated.

• Promote collaboration and synergistic work in the region to achieve sustainable growth of cities, facilitating network ing, working within the net work and with the private sector.

• Position the Bank as the re gion’s main partner on cli mate change issues.

• Create a space to strengthen the involvement and partic ipation of LAC cities on the Road to COP27.

The IDB Cities Network was created in 2017 by the Housing and Urban Development Division (CSD/HUD) as a platform for LAC cities to facilitate the sharing of knowledge and solutions to address the common challenges of urbanization.

Aligned with the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the New Urban Agenda (Habitat III), the Paris Agreement, and the Nationally De termined Contributions (NDCs), the Cities Network generates opportuni ties for dialogue between the different divisions of the IDB and cities and between the public, private, and academic sectors in three lines of work:

• Transfer and dissemination of knowledge among urban leaders.

• In-person exchanges to identify common problems and their solu tions for capacity building in cities.

• Connections with partner institutions to promote sustainable urban development.

Currently, the Network incorporates more than 230 cities in LAC that together have a population of around 200 million people. Since its con solidation, the Network has been organizing activities such as forums; workshops; thematic, regional, and sectoral seminars; with the aim of providing mayors and technical officials with a space to exchange knowl edge and information on solutions to major urban challenges. For cities, the Network allows prioritization of the urban agenda in LAC, increasing collaborative platforms that generate innovation and investment, accel erating reforms and good practices, and increasing the investment read iness of cities. For partner agencies, the Network represents an excellent platform for interaction with the region’s cities that generates business and investment opportunities, such as public-private partnerships. And for the IDB, the Network promotes its role and leadership in the sustain able development goals by unifying internal efforts, as well as boosting the demand for its operations in cities and urban reforms.

Annually, the Network holds the IDB Mayors’ Meeting in one of its member countries to share knowledge and experiences on issues rele vant to cities in the region. On this occasion, the meeting takes place in the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires, Argentina, within the framework of the C40 World Summit of Mayors and the Road to COP 27 in Sharmel Sheikh, being a valuable opportunity to network with mayors from around the world and business leaders committed to climate change.

In 2017, the Housing and Urban Development Division (HUD) created the Cities Lab, a plat form for innovation, experimentation, and co-design of solutions, which contributes to the sustainable development of cities in Latin America and the Caribbean.

The Cities Lab seeks to promote the genera tion of robust innovation ecosystems in local governments, strengthening decision-making based on evidence and data. It also integrates innovation into the Bank’s operational dia logue with its counterparts.

The Cities Lab integrates knowledge on new issues of the sustainable urban agenda, supporting cities to apply innovation concepts to foster inclusion, carbon-neutrality, and cli mate resilience. For example, during 2022, the Laboratory has co-designed and implemented pilot projects that allow experimenting and finding innovative solutions to challenges that exacerbate, or are exacerbated by, vulnera bility to climate change, such as heat islands, housing deficits, biodiversity degradation, and increased greenhouse gas emissions. In addition, through an open innovation process, it identified innovative private sector solu tions related to climate resilience. One of the solutions identified, a rainwater harvesting solution, will be tested in an informal neighborhood in Tegucigalpa, Honduras, contribut ing to the operational dialogue between this country and the IDB.

TECHNICAL DOCUMENTS

SUSTAINABLE GROWTH

Eighty percent of the total losses caused by disasters in Latin America and the Caribbean occur in urban areas, which also produce a third of GHG emissions at the regional level.1

As the world continues to urbanize, sustainable develop ment increasingly depends on the efficient management of ur ban growth. Decisions made today on the design of cities and long-lasting urban infrastructure will determine the scope and impact of climate change and our ability to achieve sustainable, low-greenhouse gas, and climate-resilient urbanization.

With more than 80% of its population living in urban ar eas and being the most urbanized developing region,2 climate change is one of the great challenges for growth and develop ment in LAC. Climate-related events and their impacts claimed more than 312,000 lives and affected more than 277 million peo In Peru, for example, infrastructure losses due to floods caused losses of US$3 billion throughout the country in 2017 (in addition to almost one million affect ed and made victims and more than 28,000 homes destroyed or made uninhabitable).4 That year, the damage caused by the

1

A Roadmap for Climate Action in Latin America and the Caribbean,

2 ECLAC, 2018. The 2030 Agenda and the Sustainable Development Goals: An opportunity for Latin America and the Caribbean. https://re

3 United Nations, UN (2021) Cambio climático: América Latina será una https://news.un.org/es/

4 El País. 2017. “Las inundaciones en Perú ya dejan al menos 90 muertos”. Link: https://elpais.com/internacional/2017/03/26/ameri

El Niño phenomenon reduced the growth of the Peruvian economy by 0.5% and the direct losses were equivalent to 1.6% of GDP, of which 80% corresponded to housing and transport infrastructure.

Most cities are already dealing with the effects of climate change and suffering significant negative consequences for the economy, in frastructure, and societies that are reflected in unexpected expenses caused by storms or floods, disruption in business operations, health impacts from heat waves and drought, or alterations in city budgets, rise in sea level, and storm surges due to climate change.5

Ensuring a secure climate future is possible and economically viable if urgent and immediate action is taken. Addressing this complex prob lem requires the implementation of mitigation and adaptation measures, regulatory frameworks at all levels of government that ensure the path to sustainability, targeted financing, and technologies in order to de sign innovative, replicable, and scalable solutions.6 Cities play a key role in leading climate action, as many local decisions have a direct impact on the environment, such as transport regulation, building construction, spatial planning, waste management, and economic issues by local au thorities. Decision-making at the local level is usually more agile than at the national level, being an opportunity to respond in a timely manner to these global challenges. In addition, because they are in close contact with local citizens and businesses, subnational governments are often in a better position to influence consumer and producer behavior and implement climate policies at the urban level.

Well planned and managed, cities can offer solutions to tackle cli mate change and lead the transformations needed to put us on a path to a more sustainable world. In addition, by promoting the resilience of cities and adaptation to reduce negative climate-related impacts, we will be better prepared to respond to other challenges of cities, being an opportunity to achieve economic growth, solve urban problems, and address climate change.

DISTRIBUTION OF GHG EMISSIONS IN LATIN AMERICA AND THE CARIBBEAN IN 2018

Agriculture Land use change and forestry Electricity and heat Transportation Manufacturing and construction Combustion of other fuels Industrial processes Waste Fugitive emissions Buildings

Latin America and the Caribbean generates 8% of global GHG emissions. The agricultural sector, accompanied by land-use changes and deforesta tion, account for 47% of emissions in Latin America and the Caribbean, well above the global average of 19%. Emissions from energy systems, mainly linked to the combustion of fossil fuels, account for 43% of total emissions in Latin America and the Caribbean, including 15% from transport and 13% from electricity and heating. The rest of the emissions correspond to ind sutrial processes, fugitive emissions, and construction activities.

Source: CAIT/Climate Watch (2020), Washington, DC, World Resources Institute.

Climate change refers to a variation in the state of the climate identifi able (e.g., by statistical evidence) by changes in the mean value or in the variability of its properties, which persists for prolonged peri ods, usually decades or longer.

The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), in Article 1, defines climate change as “a change of climate which is attributed directly or indirectly to human activity that alters the composition of the global atmo sphere and which is in addition to natural climate variability observed over comparable time periods.”

The UNFCCC thus differentiates between climate change attributable to human activities that alter atmospheric composition and climate variability attributable to natural causes.

The response to climate change involves both mitigation and adaptation actions:

• Adaptation to climate change: are the ad justments in ecological, social, and economic systems that are developed in response to current or expected climate stimuli and their effects or impacts. That is, it refers to changes in processes, practices, and structures to mod erate potential harms or to benefit from the opportunities associated with climate change.

• Climate change mitigation: refers to efforts to reduce or prevent greenhouse gas emissions under the implementation of policies or mea sures and/or to increase carbon sinks.

Source: IPCC, 2018: Annex I: Glossary [Matthews J.B.R. (ed.)]

EVIDENCE OF CLIMATE CHANGE IN THE LAC REGION

• The warming trend in Latin America and the Ca ribbean continued into 2021, with an average rate of temperature rise of about 0.2° C per decade between 1991 and 2021.

• Glaciers in the tropical Andes have lost at least 30% of their surface area since the 1980s. The retreat of glaciers and the corresponding loss of ice mass have increased the risk of water scarcity for the Andean population and ecosystems.

• Sea levels in the region continued to rise in 2021 at a faster rate than at the global scale, particu larly along the Atlantic coast of South America south of the equator and in the subtropical North Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico.

• The “megadrought in central Chile” continued in 2021, in its thirteenth year to date, making it the longest in a thousand years, compounding a trend of increasing dryness and putting Chile at the forefront of the region’s water crisis.

• A multi-year drought in the Paraná-Plata basin, the worst since 1944, affected south-central Bra zil, parts of Paraguay, and the Plurinational State of Bolivia.

• The 2021 Atlantic hurricane season was the third most active on record in the Atlantic, with 21 named storms, including seven hurricanes, and was the sixth consecutive above-normal Atlantic hurricane season.

• Extreme rainfall (with unprecedented values in many places), floods, and landslides caused substantial losses in 2021, resulting in the loss of hundreds of lives, tens of thousands of homes destroyed or damaged, and hundreds of thou sands of people displaced.

Source: State of the Climate in Latin America and the Caribbean 2021 (WMO-No. 1295)

INNOVATIVE EXPERIENCES FOR RESILIENT GROWTH (ADAPTATION)

I

In LAC, climate change affects, and will continue to affect, de velopment in several ways. In Central America and the Carib bean, extreme events, such as hurricanes and droughts, threat en livelihoods and infrastructure. In the Andes, changes in the availability of water resources caused by variations in runoff and glacier retreat affect both rural and urban populations and major economic activities, including mining and hydropower. The Amazon and the Great Chaco face forest degradation and biodiversity loss, which pose threats to local communities. In the Southern Cone, commodity exports are at risk due to the loss of production from intensive agriculture. Likewise, in the dry subtropical regions of Mexico and northeastern Brazil, in creased droughts endanger rural health and livelihoods.1

In a region as vulnerable as ours, promoting urban resil ience is fundamental to the sustainable development of cities. To this end, many cities in the region and the world are making progress in including climate change and resilience in the de sign of their plans and policies with measures and actions that tend to reduce vulnerability and minimize the consequences of climate change in the medium and long term. In addition to the planning processes, concrete adaptation and resilience ac tions are also being implemented, which vary according to the urban context, vulnerabilities, and specific climate threats for each territory.

Although most cities are already implementing actions to address the impacts of climate change, adaptation is a com plex challenge. There are still numerous obstacles that make it difficult to accelerate the response, such as the lack of up-todate and adequate information at the local level, the absence of financing and technology, cultural values and traditions, and

institutional limitations, among others. The good news is that building resilience is a good investment: empirical evidence indicates a cost-ben efit ratio of between $4 and $7 for every dollar invested in resilience, while generating unmonetized environmental benefits. In this sense, cit ies in the region have the opportunity to face the recovery from the crisis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic by applying policies and actions that, in addition to seeking economic reactivation, reduce the causes and risks derived from climate change.2, 3

Latin America and the Caribbean is one of the regions of the world most affected by climate change and external weather events that are causing serious damage to the health, life, food, water, energy, and so cio-economic development of the region.4

• Sea level rise threatens a large part of the population, which is concentrated in coastal areas, as it pollutes freshwater aquifers, erodes coasts, floods low-lying areas, and increases the risk of storm surges.5

• Extreme hydrometeorological phenomena such as hurricanes and intense rainfall that cause flooding also impact urban devel opment, as has become evident when hurricanes Eta and Iota caused great human and material losses. Predictions and prepa ration for these phenomena (with robust early warning systems) help mitigate their effects, so working with projection systems and future models is very useful.6

• Heat waves are a direct consequence of global warming, and for each additional increase in this warming, they are expect ed to become more frequent, more intense, and longer lasting. In response, some cities are developing early warning systems and awareness campaigns (focused on populations especially at risk), increasing and improving green spaces and vegetation cov er, using water sources in public spaces, among others. Dwellings also have to be prepared: from choosing an optimal orientation and using sunshades or vegetation for shade, to improving ther mal insulation and using white colors. People’s habits are also very important, both to maintain a lower temperature inside the home and to take care of their health, for example, good hydra tion, avoiding exposure, etc.

• Climate change directly affects the availability and quality of

2 IDB Group Climate Change Action Plan (IDB Group, 2021)

3 Adaptarse al cambio climático: una inversión necesaria para nuestras ciudades (2021), Inter-American Development Bank. blogs.iadb.org/

4 State of the Climate in Latin America and the Caribbean 2020 (WMO-No. 1272)

5 State of the Climate in Latin America and the Caribbean 2021 (WMO-No. 1295)

6 Inter-American Development Bank IDB, (2021). Adaptarse al cambio climático: una inversión necesaria para nuestras ciudades blogs.iadb.org/ciudades-sostenibles

freshwater resources around the world. Due to changing precip itation regimes and rising sea levels, the water supply in coastal and island regions is particularly threatened. It is essential that cities understand the availability (quantity and quality) of water, water balances at the level of basins and sub-basins, and the temporal and spatial variability of water, in order to develop inte grated adaptation plans and design more resilient infrastructure.

• Climate change will continue to affect ecosystems and endan ger LAC’s terrestrial biodiversity due to variations in the geo graphic range of species, changes in predator-prey relationships, food availability, and changes in the cyclical behavior of plants and animals. Forest management and conservation are essential actions for mitigation and resilience in the region. On the oth er hand, climate change increases the risk of spreading pests with consequences both on the agricultural and forest ecosys tems on which cities depend, and directly on the health of their population. According to the Pan American Health Organization, a warmer climate will increase the reproduction, resilience, and distribution of vector-borne diseases. The additional number of people infected with malaria year-round in South America is es timated to rise from 25 million in 2020 to 50 million by 2080.7,8

CLIMATE CHANGE AFFECTS DIFFERENT URBAN CONTEXTS IN A DIFFERENTIATED WAY

• Coastal cities are threatened by rising sea levels and coastal ero sion. Demographic change in cities and settlements in low-ly ing coastal areas globally will result in approximately one billion people being at risk from low-lying climate threats in the medi um term. The development of coastal defenses, the restoration of reefs, the development of integrated coastal management plans to monitor and protect coasts, the preservation of coastal ecosystems (such as mangroves, underwater grasslands, coral reefs), the promotion of green infrastructure (which includes na ture-based solutions), water quality recovery actions, the reset tlement of populations located in risk areas, and actions to avoid settlements in flood zones, are some examples of adaptation and resilience measures that cities can adopt to respond to this chal lenge of climate change.9

7 UN. El cambio climático aumentará el riesgo de propagación de plagas, que ya destruyen un 40% de la producción de cultivos. Link

8 Climate Change and Health, Pan American Health Organization. Link

9 IPCC 2022

• Andean cities, renowned for their biological diversity, are threat ened by glacial retreat and declining water availability and all that this entails. Certain localities have adaptation actions such as the construction of functional green infrastructure to improve the environment and increase biodiversity, the development of nature-based solutions, and urbanism in neighborhoods.10

• The Amazonian cities, considered the lungs and refuge of the South American continent, are also home to more than 30 mil lion people, including approximately 1.5 million indigenous peo ple and more than 5 million Afro-descendants. The Amazon re gion is being threatened mostly by anthropic activity through deforestation causing an enormous loss of biodiversity, and a decrease in carbon dioxide (CO2) uptake and oxygen (O) emis sions that constitute a risk for local communities. Certain cities are engaged in preserving forests and creating corridors so that wildlife can move between protected areas of the Amazon. In 2021, the IDB launched an initiative for the sustainable develop ment of this region in order to forge models based on human capital, natural wealth, and cultural heritage focusing on four

10 Springer (2021) Co-design of a Nature-Based Solutions Ecosystem for Reactivat ing a Peri-Urban District in Quito, Ecuador. link.springer.com

thematic areas: 1) the bioeconomy; (2) sustainable management of agriculture, livestock, and forests; 3) human capital; and 4) sustainable cities and infrastructure.11,12,13

• Big cities and metropolises. The challenges of climate change overlap with the challenges of cities, such as waste generation, land use change, air pollution, and a high demand for resources, among others. These are particularly relevant challenges in large cities and metropolises, where accelerated and poorly planned growth is often accompanied by the growth of informal settle ments, pollution, etc. However, large cities are also important centers of commerce, culture, and innovation, with great poten tial to boost the response to the climate and environmental crisis. In many cases, cities can act as laboratories for social, economic, and technological innovation and provide relevant expertise at the local level that could be scaled up nationally or replicated in other cities. These initiatives include the implementation of neighborhood redevelopment programs according to principles of urban integration (public services, urban criteria, transporta tion), housing (decent housing, housing tenure), and socioeco nomics (health, environment, education, security, work). They also include measures to promote sustainable mobility through the incorporation of bicycle paths, Eco bike stations, and access to public transport, or landscape projects for the recovery of riv erbanks that cross cities.14

Disaster risk refers to the “the poten tial loss of life, injury, or destroyed or damaged assets which could occur to a system, society or a community in a specific period of time, determined (...) as a function of hazard, exposure, vulnerability and capacity.” In other words, disaster risk is the possibility that exists solely in the interaction of its three components and cannot be described based on only one of these factors. Climate change can be seen as a modifying (and possibly exac erbating) factor in disaster risk, for example, through an increase in the frequency and intensity of extreme weather events, as well as the in creased vulnerability of communities to natural hazards due to ecosystem degradation, reduced availability of water and food, and changes in liveli hoods, among others.

Hazard or Threat: refers to phenomena of natural origin that pose a threat to the population or property and that could therefore cause damage, economic loss, inju ry, and loss of life. When we talk about climate change, the main threats include fires; hurricanes; storm, river, and coastal floods; landslides; heat waves; and droughts.

Exposure: refers to the spatial and temporal coinci dence of people or assets (both physical and environ mental) and natural hazards. Therefore, communities, assets, services, or populations located within the area of influence of natural hazards are considered exposed to such threats and with the potential to suffer damage.

Vulnerability: refers to how susceptible an entity is to being harmed or damaged. In the case of assets, sys tems, and people, it is their intrinsic, internal, individual, and combined characteristics that make them prone (or, on the contrary, resistant) by nature to suffer damage

Source: Disaster and climate change risk assessment meth odology for IDB projects. IDB (2019).

INNOVATIVE EXPERIENCES FOR LOW-CARBON GROWTH (MITIGATION)

To meet climate goals and commitments, including those of the Paris Agreement, LAC needs to reach zero emissions be fore the end of this century. The decarbonization of transpor

tation, buildings, and industries brings challenges, including en vironmentally friendly planning that enables sustainable urban growth, and electrification (or the use of hydrogen), for which— with the technological advances of the coming years—LAC has enormous potential. The creation of new processes for sectors with high intensity of emissions, such as cement and steel, and the accelerated transformation of linear economic models into models that maintain the value of products, materials, and re sources for as long as possible and that minimize the genera tion of waste (circular economy), are also challenges to achiev ing the climate commitments.1

Cities are increasingly at the forefront of the global response to climate change as urban decision-makers can implement solutions to climate change, including (i) promoting density combined with careful planning; (ii) establishing means of public transportation; (iii) applying ecosystem-based approaches; and (iv) incorporating green building construction and infrastructure strategies. Cities face the dilemma of meeting in an integrated way the demands of their population, the use of natural resourc es, and the generation of GHG emissions associated with urban and economic growth. The region is slowly decreasing GHGs per unit of GDP, indicating that economic growth is possible while reducing emissions.2

1 Oportunidades del hidrógeno verde para América Latina: ¿será este un mecanismo para exportar renovables? (2020), Inter-American Develop ment Bank. https://blogs.iadb.org/energia/es/oportunidades-del-hidrog eno-verde-para-america-latina/

2 IDB Group Climate Change Action Plan (IDB Group, 2021)

Measures should be taken to decarbonize their economies in a socially acceptable manner and to ensure compatibility with other sustainable development goals, as well as to ensure a just and inclusive transition. Unmanaged impacts on specific groups could jeopardize the political economy of emission reduction policies, mainly fixed assets and jobs. Regardless of political viability, efforts must be made to protect vulnera ble populations and ensure that the transition to a low-carbon economy is fair and inclusive.

Many cities have GHG inventories that include emissions and remov als from urban territory; the gases emitted and absorbed from the atmo sphere over a period of time for a given area are counted. The common factor of the inventories indicates the energy, transportation, and waste management sectors as the urban activities that contribute most to GHG emissions, therefore, it is in these sectors that cities must prioritize their mitigation efforts.3

Waste and the circular economy

The management of water, wastewater, and solid waste often involves processes with a high energy demand and associated GHG emissions. In LAC, around 540 thousand tons of waste are generated per day, which is equivalent to 354 kg per inhabitant per year, but only 4.5% is recycled.4 This affects sustainability in several ways. Waste is made up of materials that were extracted, processed, and in whose production energy was invested. This process has an environmental footprint on the planet, so when a product is transformed into waste, all the resources used in its manufacture is lost. In addition, waste decomposition is the third larg est source of methane emissions caused by human activity (20%) after agriculture (40%) and fossil fuels (35%), which has a warming potential 25-80 times greater than CO2.5 The lack of waste management in cities generates floods associated with blockages of urban drainage systems. The excessive increase in plastics and their lack of management causes 80% of ocean pollution.6 Poorly operated final disposal sites increase the risks of landslides and fires , 7 the perpetuation of poverty in surrounding areas, and the loss of economic value of land.8

The costs of the negative externalities of inadequate waste man agement, in terms of pollution to the environment and society, repre sent between 3 and 5 times (US$45-125 per capita per year) the cost of proper waste management (US$15-25 per capita per year); it is much more economical for society to carry out environmentally sound waste management. These costs are associated with diseases related to direct and indirect contact with waste (US$16-36 per capita per year), ground water and surface water pollution and its effects on the population and environment (US$4-20 per capita per year), tourism losses due to beach pollution (US$26-50 per capita per year), among others.9

Improving water treatment and waste management systems can de crease emissions by reducing energy consumption, using renewable en ergy sources, and recovering methane. In the waste sector there is clear potential to mitigate the effects of climate change by closing open dumps; using low GHG generation technologies for collection and transport; pro moting waste management practices, including recycling, recovering or ganic waste and diverting it from final disposal sites, promoting biological treatment and composting of food and organic waste, as well as green consumption practices; and capturing and using the methane generated in landfills at final disposal. Recent satellite studies showed that methane emissions from the waste sector are up to three times higher than those recorded so far in national inventories. In addition, treated sewage sludge and composted solid organic waste offer opportunities to be used for pro ductive or landscape purposes, and have the potential to displace tradi

tional fertilizers, helping to mitigate GHG emissions from their use.

The circular economy offers an alternative to addressing the causes of climate change, loss of biodiversity, and the increase in waste and pollution. At the same time, it reveals great opportunities for growth through an alternative to the economic model (produce-use-throw away). This model offers a systemic solutions framework for economic development and revolutionizes the way we design, produce, and consume. It is based on three principles: modifying production and consumption models to reduce the generation of waste and pollution; keeping products and materials in use; and regenerating natural systems. In this way, it is possible to reduce the use of resources in production, extend useful life, maximize use, and ensure an acceptable final disposal where the recovery and use of materials is prioritized, and the emissions generated in said facilities are captured.

The transition to this model is not uniform and varies depending on a number of factors, such as the degree of industrialization, the level of technological development, informal work, the availability of human resources, and access to financing, among others. Some barriers in local governance include a lack of technical and financial capacity, a lack of control over resources, and a lack of viable financing models.

Experiences show that the LAC region has been adopting key circu lar economy actions through comprehensive waste management, such as the distribution and sale of sustainable packaging for food delivery. Also noteworthy is the “Hermosillo Recycles” Program that seeks to re duce urban solid waste, the Circular Economy Plan, and the project of the first Circular Economy Center, which seeks economic recovery in a creative and innovative way while reducing the excessive consumption of the planet’s resources.10,11 Finally, in a context of post-pandemic and economic recovery, the cir cular economy can serve as a catalyst for green jobs and solve critical waste management problems and urban development gaps.

10 País Circular, (2022) PedidosYa implementa en Chile piloto de distribución y ven ta de packaging sustentable para locales de comida que operan en su aplicación, www.paiscircular.cl 11 www.hermosillo.gob.mx

The deployment of a circular economy depends on policies, private sector participation, and a favorable innovation ecosystem. Cities, as centers of consumption, employment, innovation, gener ation, and waste management, are the heart of

the circular economy. Local govern ments have the opportunity to lay the groundwork for a circular strategy. For example:

• Incorporating digital transformation strategies that allow knowing the status of waste manage ment, facilitate informed decision-making, and measure the impact of actions and solutions. What is not measured cannot be improved. The IDB is developing the Waste Hub for LAC, which will make it possible to learn about progress in waste management and the circular economy in each of the countries in the region.

• Deploying waste collection systems with mate rials separation that are efficient and convenient for users.

• Creating disincentives to waste production.

• Encouraging businesses that support circular economy schemes, with differentiated taxes on companies that repair and extend the useful life of products.

• Promoting public-private innovation centers that identify key circular economy opportunities in the region.12

• Closing open dumps by 2030 and ensuring the capture and potential use of methane emissions at final disposal sites.

• Strengthening public sector governance and ca pacity to ensure the adequate planning, manage ment, financing, and control of waste manage ment and the transition of the sector towards the circular economy.

12 Inter-American Development Bank, IDB (2021) ¿Cómo aplicar una estrategia de economía circular en mi ciudad? blogs.iadb.org

Sustainable mobility

CO2 emissions from the transport sector in LAC grew 3% between 2010 and 2019 and accounted for almost 30% of the region’s total CO2 emis sions in 2019, this proportion being higher than in comparable regions such as Africa (22%) and Asia (12%) 13

Urbanization in LAC has not stopped growing, representing a chal lenge for cities in their efforts to cover transportation needs and services, with high congestion rates and a limitation on the coverage of transpor tation systems. Likewise, the motorization rate in the region presents an average annual growth equivalent to 4.7%, one of the highest worldwide.14

The growth of cities in LAC has been accompanied by an increase in travel times, a greater use of motorized vehicles, the need for more road infrastructure, and, consequently, the occupation of areas increasingly far from urban centers; thus, harming the natural environment and generating an increase in CO2 emissions from the sector. This highlights the need to adopt new forms of mobility that are more sustainable, clean, and durable. Cities in the region have a high potential to mitigate GHG emissions from the transportation sector. Well-designed, compact, walkable cities with good public transit system can contribute to the reduction of carbon emissions, while increasing access to services and opportunities for work and education, as well as improving the quality of life and reducing travel times and energy needs of millions of people. Transportation decarboniza tion options focus on electrification, urban development based on mobility, and the modal shift to public transit, and, above all, non-motorized mobility.

Some mitigation measures for the transportation sector are:

• Transformation of the type of equipment and fuels (more effi cient engines, electric vehicles).

• Discouraging the use of private cars (implement urban tolls in certain areas and at certain times, regulate entry to cities ac cording to license categories, permit circulation based on a min imum of passengers for entry to the city, regulate the ability to circulate in streets, and increase the cost of parking in down town areas).

• Use and promotion of digital tools to encourage the efficient use of motorized transport and the adoption of non-motorized modes.

• Strengthening the public transit system (bus rapid transit, im proving bus service, integrating different modes, using applica tions to improve service information).

• Promotion of non-motorized means of transportation (imple mentation of bicycle and pedestrian paths, bike-sharing infra structure, safe areas dedicated exclusively to these modes).

• Recovery of public spaces and green areas.

• Promotion of urban densification and the connectivity of stra tegic points.

• Design and implementation of strategic sustainable mobility plans, including the Sustainable Transit-Oriented Development (STOD) approach: an urban model with planning and design around public transit, which builds compact, high-density neigh borhoods; it allows people to enjoy spaces with various uses, services, safe public spaces, and favors social interaction.

Many cities in LAC have already strengthened infrastructure for non-mo torized transportation by expanding bicycle paths and pedestrian zones in areas of high foot traffic. One of them is the City of Buenos Aires’ network of protected bicycle paths that reaches more than 287 km and was specially designed to integrate different strategic points of the city while also allowing interconnection with other modes of transit.15 An other is the implementation of Bogota’s “Bicycle Path Program” that has a total of 127 km and consists of road improvements that restrict ve hicular flow through some of the city’s roads, ensuring their recreational use by pedestrians, cyclists, skaters, walkers, and others.16

The implementation and relevance of these measures will depend on the local characteristics, institutional capacity, and financing capac ity of each city. The complexity of urban transportation policies lies in materializing the plans into tangible projects with all that this en tails. In this framework, such implementation requires the use of simula tion models or pilot project as a useful tool to determine effectiveness, costs, benefits, improvements, and community involvement.

Finally, the above-mentioned programs must be accompanied by measures aimed at making public transit a viable, safe, and efficient op tion for the majority of citizens. Access to high-quality transit networks generates more inclusive cities by increasing mobility and opportunities for inhabitants, particularly for low-income people and vulnerable per sons such as older adults, people with disabilities, and ethnic minorities.

Sustainable Transit-Oriented Devel opment (STOD) is an urban model that has gained acceptance due to its great potential to guide cities towards more sustainable futures. The STOD is a coordination between a city’s invest ments in public transportation and its land development strategy that allows for better accessibility, greater walkability, and mixed land use around transit areas.17

This model allows people to enjoy spaces with various uses, services, safe public spaces, while favoring social interaction. However, implementation of this strategy re quires urban policies at all levels of government, leading to sustainable and inclusive construction of urban proj ects. To achieve this, there are a few essential elements, such as the use of tools that optimize the use of urban land, leveraging opportunities to recapture land value, the development of public transportation infrastructure with clean and renewable energy, and stimulation of the urban regeneration process.

With this strategy, multiple benefits are obtained, both for the public and private spheres. Among them are reduction of travel times, optimization of the use of resources and services, containment of sprawled and dispersed growth of cities, reduction of greenhouse gas emissions, and the possibility of recapturing land value. However, perhaps one of the main advantages that best illustrates the benefits of using a TOD approach is that it prioritizes the concentration of diversified activities around mass transit stations, which promotes urban re generation in areas that commonly have low prices and low accessibility for pedestrians and cyclists.18

Clean energy, efficiency, and green buildings

Responding to the region’s energy needs in an environmentally, socially, and economically sustainable manner is a major challenge. GHG emissions from energy (including transportation) account for 4.3% of emissions in LAC,19 although there are significant variations between countries. Fos sil fuels continue to be the main source of primary energy in the region, where nearly 75% comes from oil, gas, and coal. As for the electricity grid, the carbon content of this is comparatively lower due to the high propor tion of hydropower.20

New electricity generation technologies such as distributed solar and energy efficiency present a unique opportunity for cities to become more sustainable, resilient, and at the same time, support a true green recovery of the economy. The decarbonization of energy systems requires massive investments in renewable energy and energy efficiency. Several countries in Latin America and the Caribbean have successfully conducted auctions that have helped reduce the cost of generating electricity from renewable sources (in particular, solar and wind), as prices for storing energy (in cluding batteries) continue to fall. Energy efficiency measures also play a key role in reducing the sector’s emissions. In particular, the decarboniza tion of electricity networks will require greater flexibility to accommodate additional electricity generation capacity from variable renewable energy sources while ensuring security of supply and inclusion. The electrification of other sectors, such as transportation, industrial processes, and domestic cooking and heating applications, presents a remarkable opportunity for decarbonization and the generation of health benefits at the local level. However, it also requires the development of new policies and regulations for energy markets, the strengthening of energy sector institutions, and significant upfront investments. The decarbonization of high-emission sec tors, such as cement and steel, will require a considerable effort of innova tion that transforms production processes.

The building and construction sector plays an important role in re ducing emissions, with buildings in the residential and commercial sector alone consuming 24% of the final energy in the region and buildings ac counting for 21% of CO2 emissions related to the energy sector.21 This does not include emissions related to the construction and manufacturing pro cess of materials and products such as steel, cement, and glass. The de carbonization of buildings throughout the entire life cycle would require a transformation of buildings and the production and technological process of the construction sector. Achieving operational and net-carbon buildings is possible but requires clear and ambitious policy signals to drive a num ber of measures, including passive building design, material efficiency, the use of low-carbon materials (such as wood), efficient building envelope measures, and high-efficiency lighting and appliances. Achieving these re

sults at pace and scale will require greater collaboration among policymak ers at all jurisdictional levels, as well as with academics, urban planners, architects, developers, investors, construction companies, and utilities. In addition, the decarbonization of the building sector presents a business opportunity in LAC with an estimated value of approximately USD 4 trillion by 2030. Despite the high demand for new residential buildings, in many countries, progress in developing sustainable building codes is slow, where only 6 out of 33 LAC countries had mandatory or voluntary building codes in place in 2018 (although most had certification programs).22,23

Local governments have begun to participate in energy management and forecasting with the introduction of renewable energies, mainly so lar and wind, whose generation and management are decentralized. An example of this is the Distributed Generation of Renewable Energies that promotes energy generation from renewable sources for self-consumption and for injection of surpluses into the grid. The variety and extent of en ergy sustainability measures show the active role of local governments in mitigation and how this task aligns with other priority development goals for the region. To do this, the various sources of national and international, public and private financing need to be taken advantage of and the miti gation perspective needs to be incorporated into various service policies.24 The Uruguay 2050 National Development Strategy is also a strategic and prospective planning document in which a far-reaching perspective is es tablished to identify the most important challenges for the country’s de velopment both in the present and in the medium and long term.25

Sustainable urban growth

In recent decades, LAC has been experiencing an unprecedented pro cess of urbanization. Cities have densified, while extending their urban footprint across new developments. However, this growth does not al ways entail a homogeneous benefit for all its inhabitants. The increase in informal neighborhoods, with poor access to basic services and often located in degraded or technically unsuitable places (flood zones, near

22 (IFC, 2019)

23 GlobalABC/IEA/UNEP (Global Alliance for Buildings and Construction, Interna tional Energy Agency, and the United Nations Environment Programme) (2020): Glo balABC Regional Roadmap for Buildings and Construction in Latin America: Towards a zero-emission, efficient and resilient buildings and construction sector, IEA, Paris. 24 Generación Distribuida de Energías Renovables, Argentina. www.argentina.gob.ar 25 Hacia una Estrategia Nacional de Desarrollo, Uruguay 2050. Oficina de Plan eamiento y presupuesto. Gobierno de la República Oriental del Uruguay. https:// www.opp.gub.uy/sites/default/files/inline-files/12_%20Presente%20y%20futuro%20 de%20las%20Energ%C3%ADas%20Renovables%20en%20Uruguay.pdf

garbage dumps, industrial sites, etc.), are part of this urban mosaic in continuous expansion. This framework presents significant environmen tal and planning challenges for cities.

An increasingly urbanized world requires the implementation of public policies and concrete actions to achieve adequate land manage ment and sustainable development of cities. Therefore, it is key to have local governments willing to assume the responsibility of advancing land use planning and development in a sustainable way and at the appro priate scale.

Achieving sustainable urban growth requires planning, financing, and im plementing infrastructure projects, resilient and sustainable services, and promoting cooperation, knowledge sharing, and capacity support be tween mayors and cities themselves. The current context leads us to re think the reorganization of cities in a more ecological and sustainable way. Many cities are using land use planning strategies such as zoning, master plans, urban densification, and urban development and design standards to limit urban expansion, reduce the need for displacement, and increase

the energy efficiency of the built urban area.26 An example is the concept and idea of the “15-minute city” which stipulates that basic needs must be met within 15 minutes on foot or by bicycle from our home. This not only benefits city dwellers in terms of their quality of life, but also presents the potential for cities to reduce their CO2 emissions and contribute to tack ling climate change. These are some examples of actions and policies that are already occurring in cities and that need to be replicated and scaled up to reduce the impact of urban areas on the environment.

As cities grow, the challenge arises to meet the needs of their grow ing urban populations, including those for housing, transportation, ener gy systems, drinking water, sanitation, and other infrastructure, as well as for employment and basic services such as education and health care. Analyses suggest that investing in low-carbon, climate-resilient urban in frastructure has low incremental costs and provides multiple local bene fits, so there is an opportunity to adapt to and mitigate climate change by filling what is already a large investment gap for basic infrastructure in urban areas. In line with the achievement of the Sustainable Development and Climate Goals, infrastructure projects should be planned, designed, built, operated, and dismantled in a manner that ensures economic and financial, social, environmental (including climate resilience), and institu tional sustainability throughout the project life cycle.

Urban Green Infrastructure (UGI) and Nature-based Solutions (NBS) can help cities against the impacts of climate change and offer a set of ecosystem services to improve the lives of citizens.27 UGI replicates, im itates, or relies on nature, while addressing the challenges of cities in a sustainable way, with the potential to contribute to green growth, form a resilient society, promote the well-being of citizens, and provide business opportunities. It is a tool that provides ecological, economic, and social benefits, and has great potential as a measure of adaptation and mitiga tion of climate change, contributing to sustainable development.28 While traditional infrastructure is necessary, it needs to be improved and/or complemented with NBS and innovation. The development and regeneration of cities has to be carried out holistically where UGI has greater relevance.29 Some examples of urban green infrastructure com plemented by gray infrastructure and whose implementation can be of great relevance for LAC include:

26 La urbanización sostenible ha de llegar a todos los países, y no ser un beneficio de unos pocos (2022), United Nations. news.un.org/es

27 Inter-American Development Bank (2021), Infraestructura Verde Urbana I: Retos, oportunidades y manual de buenas prácticas. publications.iadb.org

28 Inter-American Development Bank (2021), Infraestructura Verde Urbana I: Retos, oportunidades y manual de buenas prácticas. publications.iadb.org

29 Inter-American Development Bank (2021), Infraestructura Verde Urbana I: Retos, oportunidades y manual de buenas prácticas. publications.iadb.org

• Tree cover (planting of individual or groups of trees along streets or in other urban spaces with the space for them for the reduction of emissions, temperature regulation, improvement of biodiversity, and provision of public space for recreation).

• Urban riverbank parks (green spaces strategically located so that in the event of a flood due to the overflow of a nearby body of water, they can capture excess water without affect ing the rest of urban areas).

• Green roofs on buildings (cover all or part of building roofs for the reduction of emissions and floods and temperature regu lation).30

30 Inter-American Development Bank (2021), Infraestructura Verde Urbana I: Retos, oportunidades y manual de buenas prácticas. publications.iadb.org

NBSs can be a cost-effective means of strengthening infrastructure resilience in response to climate change, while provid ing other benefits. Cities can benefit from a wide range of ecosystem services, such as flood management and urban heat island mitigation, by using local biodiver sity and implementing NBS related to the protection, management, enhancement, and restoration of natural capital to de velop climate-resilient infrastructure.

To increase the net impact of green infra structure on GHG mitigation, local gov ernments must pay attention to local cli mate characteristics. Likewise, they must seek to reduce vulnerability to natural disasters through planning and prepara tion, by implementing infrastructure in harmony with the continuation of eco nomic and environmental sustainability. It is extremely relevant to mention that to implement this infrastructure, the governments of the region must adopt an integrated approach that involves the different levels of government, the local population, and the private sector, and analyze the resources that each one provides to optimize the programs ef ficiently. Listening to local communities offers interesting strategies for project implementation.

The IDB and the World Resources Institute (WRI), through the Cities 4Forests Initiative, jointly developed a series of reports on the oppor tunities offered by NBSs for LAC. A recent report found that the IDB’s Infrastructure and Climate Change and Sustainable Development Sectors invested $813.23 million in green and green-gray projects between 2015 and 2020. These projects mobilized an additional $436.77 million in part ner financing, amounting to nearly $1.25 billion in total project costs.

The IDB works with clients in a variety of ways to advance NBS proj ects. The Bank is a founding member of the Latin American Association of Water Funds, which has launched NBS projects such as forest and wetland restoration to improve water security in 25 LAC cities.

The following are some examples of LAC cities that have developed projects to address the aforementioned risks, in order to have resilient and prosperous cities that are prepared to face climate change while minimizing their carbon footprint:

• In the Bahamas, the IDB worked with the Ministry of Works and Urban Development to pair investments in road improvements across the country with the restoration of specific mangroves to improve resilience to coastal flooding and erosion. Man groves reduce erosion by trapping sediment at their roots and can dissipate wave energy by up to 66%. The project included restoration of 15 km of mangroves along with rehabilitation of a ring road that was damaged by Hurricane Joaquin in 2015 to mitigate the risk of further damage.

• In Honduras, a project to renovate an aging hydroelectric plant complemented investments in new hydroelectric equipment and forest restoration in the plant’s watershed. The increased risk of drought threatens hydroelectric plants in Central Amer ica (and around the world). This project restores upstream for ests to stabilize water flows that sustain the plant’s productiv ity. This restoration was aimed at reducing the plant’s future operating costs by reducing sediment loads, which can cause further wear on equipment and result in costly dredging costs.

• In Paraguay, the IDB worked with the city of Asunción to in corporate NBS into a neighborhood rehabilitation and afford able housing project to reduce the flood risk for vulnerable communities near the flood-prone Paraguay River. The project includes funding for the restoration of lagoons and wetlands that provide a buffer zone between the neighborhood and the river, as well as green infrastructure within neighborhoods to mitigate stormwater flooding.

FINANCING CLIMATE ACTION IN CITIES

Achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and cli mate commitments requires mobilizing more investments of all kinds: public, private, local, national, and international, both in capacity and capital, since the resources needed to overcome poverty, protect the environment, and improve lives far exceed the current financial flows for development.1

LAC is the most urbanized region in the world, with more than 80% of its inhabitants living in cities.2 In this context, na tional governments, cities, and public and private financial in stitutions are increasingly recognizing the importance of cities for climate action and launching initiatives to address barriers to accessing finance. Despite total climate finance increasing steadily over the past decade, cities continue to face signifi cant obstacles in mobilizing finance for transformative climate action. Many of the barriers to financing identified are lack of technical and financial capacity, lack of control over resources, and lack of viable financing models or lack of investor-ready bankable projects of sufficient size and quality. Cities’ ability to deliver on their climate action ambitions is at a critical point and requires partnership with subnational governments, national, international organizations, civil society, and the private sector. Therefore, encouraging the strengthening of technical capacity and local planning instruments should be a priority to scale up climate finance in cities.3

1 Second Update to the Institutional Strategy, IDB Group 2019.

2 Inter-American Development Bank IDB, (2021). Adaptarse al cambio climático: una inversión necesaria para nuestras ciudades blogs.iadb.org/ ciudades-sostenibles

3 The State of Cities Climate Finance, Cities Climate Finance Leadership Alliance (2021)

Cities’ climate action plans, with their respective implementation road maps and financing strategies, are a useful tool to guide existing invest ment flows towards climate goals, as well as to mobilize additional re sources needed to achieve resilient, low-carbon growth. Assessing and communicating how a city’s climate action plans align with international goals such as the Paris Agreement, NDCs, and SDGs could attract public and private investment, especially when concrete investment strategies and plans exist for climate-smart urban infrastructure.4

Private sector resource mobilization is essential to provide the nec essary scale of financing. This sector is already investing and leading climate change actions for multiple reasons, such as benefits in access to financing, cost savings derived from the impacts of climate change, opportunities for innovation and creation of new products and services, among others. Subnational governments can play an important role in creating an enabling environment to facilitate and scale up climate fi nance by the private sector while advancing the achievement of their resilient, low-carbon development strategies.

To achieve transformative, well-planned, and funded climate action in cit ies and urban systems, we can:

• Define and incorporate climate considerations in city plan ning and investment plans, based on diagnostic studies and robust GHG emissions inventories that allow the identifica tion of priority sectors and activities responsible for both emissions and carbon sinks related to the city.

• Adopt and implement regulations, design standards, and in centives to encourage private and household investment in buildings, vehicles, equipment, and accessories.

• Assess and communicate how the city’s climate action plans align with international goals such as the Paris Agreement, NDC, LTSs, and/or SDGs.

• Strengthen cities’ capacity in municipal finance, including budgeting, contract management, and procurement, to im prove the overall quality and sustainability of service and in vestment delivery.

• Build the necessary awareness and skills of government teams on climate change, to help them better understand the individual contributions of each area in achieving the objec tives of an interdisciplinary agenda.

• Lay a stronger foundation for climate finance through bet ter use of fiscal transfers, municipal revenues, and blended finance instruments.

4

The State of Cities Climate Finance, CPI 2021.

• Improve capital investment planning by integrating carbon pricing and other climate-smart metrics into decision-mak ing. This sends an important signal to private actors operat ing in the urban space and helps position the city to address the regulatory risk of national carbon pricing requirements.

• Whenever possible, cities should leverage municipal revenues as a tool to create fiscal space for city climate investments and as an instrument to incentivize residents, businesses, and other stakeholders to invest in more efficient resources and climate-smart outcomes.

• Prepare climate-smart urban infrastructure projects with at tention to potential income-generating opportunities, and with private sector commitment from an early stage.

• Measure what is done: establish robust measurement and reporting processes, with clear and simple indicators that make it possible to show both the population and potential investors the performance of the proposed objectives to face climate change and thus be an increasingly sustainable city.

LOCALIZING NDCS IN CITIES

Much greater ambition is needed over the coming years to meet the goals of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Develop ment and the Paris Agreement. According to research and anal ysis, it is estimated that current NDCs will result in a warming of 2.4° C by 2100.1

The efforts of subnational governments and their vast po tential for emissions reductions are crucial parts of the solution towards meeting international climate commitments and the respective climate commitments of countries (in their NDCs, LTS). Multiple local governments have joined in increasing their climate ambition, recognizing that they are key actors in the implementation of climate change policies and that cities play a leading role in the solution,2 since more than 80% of the pop ulation of our region lives in them. In fact, a growing number of municipalities, cities, states, and regions are taking climate action at a more ambitious level than their respective nation al governments, and thus demonstrating that resilience and greenhouse gas emissions reductions are possible.3

Local climate action takes place in the context of broader national frameworks, which can empower or slow down action at the city level. While national governments are working on

1 Climate Action Tracker, 2021: https://climateactiontracker.org/publica tions/glasgows-2030-credibility-gap-net-zeros-lip-service-to-climateaction/

2 How is climate ambition progressing at the municipal level? (IDB, 2021). https://blogs.iadb.org/sostenibilidad/en/how-is-climate-ambi tion-progressing-at-the-municipal-level/

3 Policy Brief Localising NDCs with inspiration from the 2030 Agenda (GIZ, 2021). https://collaborative-climate-action.org/wp-content/up loads/Localising-NDCs-with-inspiration-from-the-2030-Agenda-PolicyBrief-GIZ.pdf

their climate commitments through Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs), local governments have been working on developing climate ac tion plans, resilience, and adaptation and emission reduction targets. These simultaneous efforts offer the opportunity for different levels of government to align their actions and together face information gaps, technical and financial needs, and market failures, so they can accelerate processes and achieve proposed climate goals. Including subnational governments in the formulation and implementation of NDCs and im proving the coordination of climate action in cities has the potential to accelerate and scale up climate action. To achieve this, the global and national goals and plans of these agendas must be translated and adapt ed to local contexts and needs in a collaborative manner. This is what can be understood as “localization of NDCs”.4

In order for NDCs to be effectively implemented and monitored at the subnational level, coordination of national and subnational governments and clear guidelines are needed to ensure linkages with development plans.5 However, climate change is so complex and urban contexts are so varied that it is not easy to achieve effective coordination between na tional and local governments in the design and implementation of climate commitments. The targets set out in the NDCs are very asymmetrical and the mention of mitigation and adaptation actions at the city level, if any, is quite general regarding what strategy they would like to adopt. They also tend not to directly reflect subnational governance and, in some cases, cities’ direct participation in these documents turns out to be little or none.

In this context, strengthening cities’ climate governance and knowl edge of the national environmental regulatory framework allow, enable, and encourage the design, execution, and operation of local projects aligned with national objectives. One possible option is the creation of a cabinet as a coordinating body for local climate policy that identifies the cities’ opportunities, needs, and challenges; establishes local data on the subject in coordination with the departments or secretariats involved in the implementation of policies to face climate change; and coordinates public investment with these objectives. This cabinet should understand local climate action plans and the integration and coherence or align ment with national and international climate commitments such as the NDC, long-term climate strategy (LTS), and development plans. With the right support, local governments have a great opportunity to de sign measures and actions for climate change mitigation and adaptation

4 Policy Brief Localising NDCs with inspiration from the 2030 Agenda (GIZ, 2021). https://collaborative-climate-action.org/wp-content/uploads/Localising-NDCs-withinspiration-from-the-2030-Agenda-Policy-Brief-GIZ.pdf

5 Inter-American Bank. Urban and Subnational Climate Action: https://interac tive-publications.iadb.org/increasing-climate-ambition

based on the particular characteristics of their territories and their pop ulation; and to join efforts between municipalities and actors in society to achieve national objectives.

On the other hand, cities have a central role to play in creating low-car bon, resilient, and equitable cities, but they cannot achieve their ambitions on their own. They rely on national government support and cross-sec tor collaborations to develop long-term strategies to unlock financing for ambitious local climate action. Cities need help to overcome obstacles to financing, coordination, alignment of incentives, and especially where lack of capacity and sovereign guarantees often prevent them from developing bankable projects.6 There is a window of opportunity to invest in capacity and knowledge at the city level, so that climate finance can flow directly into them and create conditions to make climate action more effective.

Finally, collaborations between cities through alliances and net works are powerful motivators to empower the central role of cities in achieving low-carbon, resilient, and equitable growth. There is a great opportunity for cities in the region to generate alliances and synergies to face the challenges of climate change and achieve sustainable growth under the implementation of medium- and long-term subnational cli mate strategies. The challenge of these partnerships will be to find po tential tools to accelerate alignment and develop and implement good practices as soon as possible to strengthen the climate governance of cities and the involvement of citizens.

Considering the relevant role of local governments in the response to climate change, national policies and incentives should be promoted to en sure that city-level initiatives have sufficient resources, suitable regulatory frameworks, and capacity to achieve meaningful change that contributes to the achievement of national commitments and global climate and envi ronmental goals. As countries update their NDCs, we have the opportunity for cities to integrate their climate commitments with those of the national government to increase climate ambition and effective action.

To summarize, some recommendations to improve the localization of NDCs and turn NDCs into local action are:7

• Involve subnational governments in the design and implemen tation of NDCs, through a strengthened dialogue between the national and subnational levels, for example, through con sultations with stakeholders.

6 https://urbantransitions.global/en/news/localising-ndcs-and-supporting-city-ac tion-for-a-1-5c-world-and-a-green-and-just-recovery/

7 Policy Brief Localising NDCs with inspiration from the 2030 Agenda (GIZ, 2021).

https://collaborative-climate-action.org/wp-content/uploads/Localising-NDCs-withinspiration-from-the-2030-Agenda-Policy-Brief-GIZ.pdf

• Incorporate the efforts of subnational governments in both the development and updating of NDCs, and during their im plementation.

• Improve vertical coordination and cooperation between lev els of government.

• Develop a framework strategy for localization of NDCs with connected support for subnational governments

• Address the interrelationships between different agendas (e.g., SDGs, risk management, biodiversity, development plans) and take advantage of synergies.

• Establish local climate plans and support local implementa tion and financing.

• Strengthen technical capacity and knowledge at the city lev el, followed by adequate access to financing.

• Support joint efforts for the collection, processing, and use of data.

• Promote collaborations between cities through alliances and networks for ambitious local climate action, create opportu nities to bring together mayors and city leaders; showcase what other cities are doing; demonstrate how to implement best practices in other metropolitan areas; and exert political pressure on national governments.

In 2016, virtually every country in the world ratified the Paris Agreement with the goal of keeping the global temperature rise in this century well below 2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels, and continuing ef forts to further limit temperature rise to 1.5° C; reduce vulnerability and increase climate resilience; and make financial flows consistent with a path towards low greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and climate-resilient development.8 By 2017, the IDB Group’s 26 borrowing member countries had signed the Paris Agreement, demonstrating the strong interest of the Latin Amer ican and Caribbean region and its commitment to achieving the goals.9

Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) are the commitments made by countries that are party to the United Nations Framework Convention on Cli mate Change (UNFCCC) under the Paris Agreement to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and adapt to the effects of climate change.

Each country’s contributions are set according to their national circumstances and respective capacity and must be updated every 5 years. In order to in crease ambition over time, the Paris Agreement states that successive NDCs will represent a progression compared to the previous NDC and reflect its highest possible ambition.10

In the Paris Agreement, local and subnational gov ernments are recognized as essential actors in acceler ated transformative action in the urban world. How ever, it should be noted that the only entities formally responsible for implementing the Paris Agreement are exclusively the parties to the agreement.

Localization is described as “the process of defining, implementing and monitoring strategies at the local level for achieving global, national, and sub-national goals and targets.”

The concept of localization of NDCs should be considered as part of the larger localization landscape of the Paris Agreement. Ideally, this is done in collaboration with and with the support of national governments.

The localization of NDCs can be thought of as a threepart exercise, comprising:

1. During the development or updating of an NDC, the inclusion of subnational governments by the national government early in the process is key to on the one hand gain knowledge of subna tional potential, on the other hand include sub national views in order to lay the groundwork for effective implementation.

Examples of interaction with stakeholders in clude: • Stakeholder dialogues

Written consultations

Inclusion in preparatory or consultative bodies11

2. During the implementation of an NDC, where subnational governments are key actors in implementing many measures, from sustainable mobility to local renewable energy systems and low-carbon buildings.

National and regional governments can: • Co-develop investment plans that address regional and/or local needs • Develop project pipelines for subnational im plementation • Provide access to national or international financing or funding for subnational implemen

LOCALIZACIÓN

Source: Policy Brief Localising NDCs with inspiration from the 2030 Agenda (GIZ, 2021). https://collabora tive-climate-action.org/wp-content/uploads/LocalisingNDCs-with-inspiration-from-the-2030-Agenda-PolicyBrief-GIZ.pdf

12 Policy Brief Localising NDCs with inspiration from the 2030 Agenda (GIZ, 2021). https://collaborative-climate-action.org/ wp-content/uploads/Localising-NDCs-with-inspiration-from-the2030-Agenda-Policy-Brief-GIZ.pdf

13 Policy Brief Localising NDCs with inspiration from the 2030 Agenda (GIZ, 2021). https://collaborative-climate-action.org/ wp-content/uploads/Localising-NDCs-with-inspiration-from-the2030-Agenda-Policy-Brief-GIZ.pdf

BOGOTÁ, G. O. (n.d.). Programa Ciclovía, Instituto Distrital de Recreación y Deporte – IDRD. Obtained from bogota.gov.co/servicios.

BUENOS AIRES, G. O. (n.d.). Pedalea la ciudad. Argentina. Obtained from www.buenosaires.gob.ar/.

CHILE, G. O. (n.d.). Programa “Llamado Casa Solar”, Chile. Obtained from www.casasolar.cl/.

IDB. (n.d.). Acción Climática Urbana y Subnacional

IDB. (2021). ¿Cuál es el secreto de las ciudades eficientes?: Desarrollo Ori entado al Transporte. Obtained from blogs.iadb.org.

IDB. (2021). ¿Cómo aplicar una estrategia de economía circular en mi ciu dad? Obtained from blogs.iadb.org.

IDB. (2021). Adaptarse al cambio climático: una inversión necesaria para nuestras ciudades. Obtained from blogs.iadb.org/.

IDB. (2021). Adaptarse al cambio climático: una inversión necesaria para nuestras ciudades blogs.iadb.org/ciudades-sostenibles.

IDB. (2021). IDB Launches Initiative for the Sustainable Development of the Amazon Region.

IDB. (2021). Infraestructura Verde Urbana I: Retos, oportunidades y manual de buenas prácticas. Obtained from publications.iadb.org.

IDB. (2022). Diseño Ecológico II, BID Barrio 31, Buenos Aires, Argentina. Obtained from www.buenosaires.gob.ar.

IDB, G. (2021). IDB Group Climate Change Action Plan. IPCC. (2015). Cambio Climático: 2014 Mitigación del cambio climático. Ob tained from www.ipcc.ch. Sostenible, R. d. (2015). Nuevo programa regional para proteger la Amazonia. UN. (2021). Cambio climático: América Latina será una de las regiones más afectadas.

UN. (n.d.). El cambio climático aumentará el riesgo de propagación de pla gas, que ya destruyen un 40% de la producción de cultivos.

UNFCCC. (n.d.). Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs). Obtained from https://unfccc.int/ndc-information/nationally-determined-contribu tions-ndcs.

Uruguay, G. o. (n.d.). Hacia una Estrategia Nacional de Desarrollo, Uruguay 2050. Oficina de Planeamiento y presupuesto. Obtained from https://www. opp.gub.uy/sites/default/files/inline-files/12_%20Presente%20y%20futu ro%20de%20las%20Energ%C3%ADas%

PARTICIPATING CITIES

CLIMATE CHANGE VISION AND GOAL

The City Council of Antigua Guatemala for the current administration has join its efforts for setting up Technical Boards and Work Teams that focus on the effective strategies designed to mitigate the effects of climate change; to benefit the Antigua Guatemala population, having as priority the following: Diversify nurs eries with both native and introduced species in our region to create a pleasant natural eco system for the population of Antigua Guate mala, preserve soils in vulnerable areas, take actions to achieve a comprehensive waste management model in the short term, thinking about the future generations of the municipal ity. Raise awareness of the population on vari ous environmental issues, properly manage the risks derived from the natural disasters, an plan in a sustainable way the water supply for the entire population of Antigua.

platform that integrates sectors is being es tablished;

technical, international

state, civil society and private sec tor, which will allow us to think about a “Sus tainable Antigua” within the International Day of

VÍCTOR HUGO DEL POZO Mayor of La Antigua Guatemala

The Mayor of La Antigua Guatemala, Víctor Hugo Del Pozo was elected for the third time. In 1996 he won the elections and was re-elected for a second term that ended in 2004. Sports were an important part of his youth training as he represented Guatemala in tennis and volleyball. He has a bachelor’s degree in Political Sciences from the Universidad Fran cisco Marroquín. He studied at the Fu-Sin-Kan Political Science College of the Republic of China, in Taiwan, and Political Negotiation at the Har vard School of INCAE, in Costa Rica. He recently obtained a diploma in Local Public Management from the Instituto Ortega y Gasset in Madrid, Spain. In 2004, due to his projection, dynamism and professionalism, the World Mayor Association chose him as one of the 10 best mayors in the world. Serving the community and improving the living conditions of the neighbors through better management, among others, are part of the objectives of the mayor, who has led, since the day he took office, the transformation of La Antigua Guatemala, Cultural Heritage of Humanity.

View of Antigua. Jack Roaming.

ÓSCAR RODRÍGUEZ QUIÑONEZ Intendant, Municipality of Asunción

He is a Commercial Engineer and holds a degree in Business Administra tion and Management. He served as Director of the Contracting Opera tive Unit of the Palace of Justice and was also appointed as Advisor to the Bicentennial Celebrations Commission by the National Congress. He was Councilman of Asunción in his first term and two years later he was elected President of the Municipal Board and in 2019 he took office as Mayor of Asunción being elected in 2021.

Photo: Asunción, Paraná river, The U.S. National Archives

CLIMATE CHANGE VISION AND GOAL

Climate change is no longer a matter of the fu ture and, like most cities in the world, Bogotá has been affected by atypical climate events that demonstrate the urgency of achieving a commitment from all its citizens. This adminis tration is aware of the impact and urgency of vigorously confronting this problem. For this reason, since February 2020, we promoted the declaration of climate crisis along with the de partments of Cundinamarca, Boyacá, Meta, and Tolima. This included ten decisive mandates to take action and seek transparency in the re porting of the objectives set. The city also has a Climate Action Plan 2020-2050 (CAP), which articulates the roadmap for Bogotá to achieve the ambitious climate change mitigation and adaptation agenda we have set for ourselves.

lead to a

by 2024, and

Devel

CLAUDIA NAYIBE LÓPEZ HERNÁNDEZ Mayor, Office of Mayor of Bogotá

Claudia López was elected mayor of Bogotá in October 2019 and began her term on January 1, 2020. She became the first woman to be elected by popular vote and the first openly diverse mayor in Bogotá’s history.

She was elected best Senator of the Republic of Colombia between 2014 and 2018, for four consecutive years, a period in which she promoted the Anti-Corruption Consultation—the most-voted citizen initiative in the history of Colombia. She was a vice presidential candidate in the 2018 presidential elections for the Alianza Verde party. She obtained her Ph.D. in Political Science from Northwestern University. The public opinion rec ognizes her tenacity and capacity for collective action. The Development Plan for Bogotá is called Nuevo Contrato Social y Ambiental para la Bo gotá del Siglo XXI (New Social and Environmental Contract for the Bo gotá of the 21st Century).

Bogotá, Kaya, Flickr

CHANGE VISION AND GOAL

Buenos Aires is committed to being a car bon-neutral, resilient, and inclusive city by 2050. The Climate Action Plan (CAP) outlines the climate actions needed to achieve a fair dis tribution of environmental, social, and econom ic benefits and accomplish a 53% reduction of emissions by 2030 and more than 84% by 2050. The plan is developed under four axes: prepared city, close city, innovative city, and inclusive city. Initially, more than one hundred actions were selected. After this process, con sidering the primary benefits of reducing emis sions and climate risks, the associated co-ben efits, and the feasibility of implementing each of them,

HORACIO RODRÍGUEZ LARRETA Head of Government, City of Buenos Aires

Horacio Rodríguez Larreta was born in the City of Buenos Aires on Octo ber 29, 1965. He is the father of three girls: Manuela, Paloma, and Serena. He holds a bachelor’s degree in Economics from the University of Buenos Aires (1988), and also a master’s degree in Business Administration from Harvard University. In June 2015 he was elected Head of Government of the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires with 53% of the votes, thus begin ning his term for the period 2016-2019. One of the values he insists on most in his role as Head of Government is to listen to the neighbors. That is why he holds weekly meetings in different neighborhoods, where neighbors bring him proposals, complaints, and different points of view about life in the city. The current Head of Government is an unconditional fan of his beloved Racing, the club of which his father was President in the 70s.

CLIMATE CHANGE VISION AND GOAL

2050, Curitiba’s Climate Action Plan (PAC) has the aim of becoming a carbon-neutral and resilient to climate risks city. The objectives are based on technical and procedural evidence: Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Emissions Inventories, Sink Inventories, Reduction of GHG Scenarios,

Assessment for Inclusive Climate Ac tion, Climate Risk Assessment and Engagement, Participation and Collaboration Actions. In accordance with the scenarios proposed in the PAC, the Extended/Disruptive Scenario achieved a significant reduction of 78.1% com pared to the base-year 2016. The mitigation goals are: (1) Transportation: 100 per cent of passenger vehicles powered by clean or renewable energies; 85 per cent of trips by mass transit and active mobility; 7 per cent of trips made by cars (2) Energy: 40 per cent of buildings with photovoltaic modules; 100 per cent of renovated buildings with high-energy ef ficiency standards; 100 per cent of new buildings with high-energy efficiency standards (3) Waste: 10 per cent of waste and tailings sent to landfill.

RAFAEL GRECA DE MACEDO Mayor, Prefeitura Municipal de Curitiba

Rafael Greca de Macedo was born in Curitiba in 1956. In addition to holding a bachelor’s degree in economic sciences and engineering, he has a specialization in Urban Planning and Opposition from IPPUC. He also was a councilman, Constituent State Deputy, and Mayor of Curitiba (1993-1996); he was the most-voted federal deputy in Brazil. Further more, he was a Minister of Sports and Tourism. He has received numer ous international awards and decorations. Among the most significant is the 1996 UN World Habitat Award. He is a writer, poet, editor and history researcher, member of the Paraná Academy of Letters and the Paraná Historical and Geographical Institute. When he assumed the mandate of State Deputy, he presided over the Paraná Housing Company (20072010). In 2016 he was elected Mayor of Curitiba for the second time and re-elected in 2020, he is currently serving his third term as mayor.

Photo: Aerial view of Curitiba, Brazil. Mariordo (Mario Roberto Durán Ortiz)

JESÚS PABLO LEMUS NAVARRO

Mayor, Municipalidad Provincial de Huamanga

Jesús Pablo Lemus Navarro, was born in Guadalajara, Jalisco, on July 18 of 1969. He is married to Maye Villa, with whom he has 3 daughters and a son. He holds a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration and Entrepre neurship; he has postgraduate studies in Finance, and Specialized studies in Senior Business Management.

He was the Director General of the family business (Musical Lemus ) from an early age. General Manager(GM) and board member of Multiva lores. He was also President of the Commission for Young Entrepreneurs of the Confederation of Employers of the Mexican Republic (COPARMEX). Director of Coparmex Jalisco. Municipal President of Zapopan (2015-2021). Currently, the Municipal President of Guadalajara.

Guadalajara, Jalisco. Miguel Ángel Victoria

HIS WORSHIP THE MAYOR, PANDIT UBRAJ NARINE Mayor, City of Georgetown

Ubraj Narine was the elected mayor of Georgetown, Guyana, following the November 12, 2018, local government elections and officially took office on January 1, 2019. His plans for the city of Georgetown are numerous and include health and safety issues in addition to major developments. He is currently working to promote city council accountability, transparency, and integrity. He holds a certificate in pandit training from Vedanta Inter national University and has been a Hindu priest for 16 years. Additionally, he holds a diploma in Legal Studies from the Government of Guyana and served as a paralegal.

Foto por Amanderson2, Flickr

YURI ALBERTO GUTIÉRREZ GUTIÉRREZ

Mayor,

Huamanga Provincial Municipality

Yuri Alberto Gutiérrez Gutiérrez, mayor of the province of Huamanga Ay acucho Peru, is an architect who graduated from the Ricardo Palma Uni versity (Lima, Peru), with a postgraduate degree in Restoration of Histor ical Monuments and Rehabilitation of Historical Cities in Context with the Environment, with a scholarship from Unesco at the Federal University of Salvador de Bahía (Brazil), a postgraduate degree in Urban Rehabilitation with a scholarship from the Government of Belgium at the Central Uni versity of Ecuador, and a master’s degree in Public Management from the Federico Villareal University (Lima, Peru). Official of the Ministry of Cul ture, Peru. Regional Director of Foreign Trade and Tourism, Regional Di rector of the National Institute of Civil Defense Ayacucho - Huancavelica, Councilman of the Provincial Municipality of Huamanga, Professor of the Faculty of Architecture at Alas Peruanas University, and Professor of the Faculty of Civil Engineering at the University Los Ángeles de Chimbote. Co-author of the book “Huamanga, Espacio y Cultura”, and author of technical articles related to heritage, urbanism, and public transportation.

Photo: Aerial view of Ayacucho, Santiago Stucchi Portocarrero, Flickr

HIS WORSHIP THE MAYOR, DELROY WILLIAMS

Mayor, City of Kingston

Mayor of Kingston Senator Delroy Williams was sworn in as the Chairman of the Kingston and St Andrew Municipal Corporation (KSAMC) in Decem ber 2016. He serves as the Councillor responsible for the Seivwright Gar dens Division of the KSAMC. Senator Williams is a past student of the Uni versity of the West Indies and the Calabar High School, where he played football and was a part of the Manning Cup Team. He enjoys ancient his tory, philosophy, art and sports. Senator Williams also serves on the board of the National Solid Waste Management Authority (NSWMA). Since his appointment, his vision for the city of Kingston has been to transform the city into a sustainable tourist and business hub as well as creating a net work of Caribbean cities for regional integration and cooperation. He is known for his interactive and inclusive approach towards local governance. Mayor Williams is a firm believer and supporter of the creative industries and often patronizes events and members of the creative community. His greatest project to date is the Ward Theatre Restoration Project.

Downtown Kingston Waterfront

MIGUEL ROMERO SOTELO Mayor, Municipalidad Metropolitana de Lima

Mayor Miguel Romero Sotelo has more than 50 years of valuable service to Lima and the country. He is an architect by Universidad Nacional de Ingeniería (UNI), Master in Territorial Planning and Environmental Man agement by Universidad de Barcelona. He has a Master’s degree in High er Education from Universidad San Ignacio de Loyola and a life dedicated to train new generations of professionals in major universities in Peru. He has also been twice Vice Minister of Housing and Urbanism in the periods 2002-2003 and 2011-2012; alderman of Metropolitan Lima in the municipal management from 1999 to 2002 and national dean of Colegio de Arquitectos, between 2000 and 2002. In his career as an architect, he has received numerous national and international awards. He has an important trajectory in the field of academia. He has been a postgraduate professor at Universidad Nacional de Ingeniería (UNI), y en la Pontificia Universidad Católica del Perú (PUCP), en el Máster en Dirección de Em presas Constructoras e Inmobiliaria (MDI). He is also founder and Dean of the Faculty of Architecture, Urbanism and Territory of Universidad San Ignacio de Loyola, since 2006.

Photo: Miraflores in Lima, Christian Vinces.

DANIEL QUINTERO Alcalde, Alcaldía de Medellín

He is an Electronic Engineer from the University of Antioquia. He has a mas ter’s degree in Business Administration (MBA) from Boston University, and also specialization studies in Finance from the University of Los Andes. In 2012, he created the Piensa Verde (Think Green) Foundation, where he car ried out environmental proposals and massive planting days. In 2015, he was appointed as the CEO of iNNpulsa Colombia, along with his team, they achieved the entity transformation and make it a benchmark for business development in Latin America. Later, at Ministry of Information and Com munication Technologies (MICT) he served as Vice Minister, creating the first Vice Ministry of Digital Economy in Latin America, with which they managed to connect the country. In 2019, he ran as a candidate for Mayor of Medellín with the Independents (Independientes) movement, winning the elections. His government program is focused on taking a leap towards the Eco-city, recovering the social issues and to transform Medellín into a Software Valley.

Photo: Downtown Medellín. Seth Pipkin

ULPIANO LEANDRO SUAREZ

Intendente, Gobierno Municipal, Ciudad de Mendoza Ulpiano Leandro Suarez was born in the city of Mendoza on July 26 of 1970. In 1994, he received his law degree from the University of Mendoza. He holds a specialization in Labor Law from the The National University of Cuyo in conjunction with the Faculty of Law and Social Sciences of the University of Litoral. With a great deal of responsibility within the Men doza government, in 2015, he reached provincial management with the position of Deputy Secretary of Public Management and State Modern ization. Thanks to his relationship with the residents of the city, in 2019, he was elected as Mendoza’s Mayor and began a model of comprehensive management under a triple-impact public policy paradigm, characterized by proximity, and incorporating agendas of environmental sustainability, economic development, and social inclusion. Since 2022, he has been the Vice President of the National Forum of Radical Mayors of Argentina. In July of the same year, he was elected Vice President of CIDEU, the Ibe ro-American network of cities with a compromise of 122 associated local governments and 28 collaborating entities.

Photo: Mendoza. CNN travel.

CLIMATE CHANGE VISION AND GOAL

Montevideo is the capital of the country, in 530 m2 where 40% of Uruguay’s inhabitants live. The political and economic center is concentrated in its territory, but it is also a food-producing department and has 70 km of coastline on the Rio de la Plata, which con stitutes a huge public and democratic space where tourists and local inhabitants converge. For all these reasons, we are aware that global change will have an impact on the future development and dynamics of the department. It is evident that strategies for adap tation to climate change and variability are a necessity for our department, so the response to climate change is part of the strategic guidelines.

As stated by Intendant Carolina Cosse on November 21, 2021, in Glasgow, it is recognized that climate change is a global emergency, and she is committed to working to keep global warming below 1.5 °C in relation to the pre-industrial era, following the 2015 Paris Agreement, to incorporate the climate change perspective in deci sion making, and implement actions based on science to overcome the global crisis and achieve a more equi table society. In this sense, the commitment to achieve the goal of zero CO2 emissions by the decade of 2040 through the implementation of actions contained in the Montevideo Climate Action Plan was presented.

CAROLINA COSSE Intendant, Intendance of Montevideo

Ana Carolina Cosse Garrido is an Electrical Engineer, who graduated from the School of Engineering of the Universidad de la República in 1991. In 2009 she obtained a master’s degree in Mathematical Engineering. She has worked in the private sector, directing numerous engineering and man agement projects in Uruguay and other Latin American countries. She has provided professional services to Uruguayan public companies such as UTE, Banco de Previsión Social, and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. From 2007 she holds political positions — she was the director of the Information Technology Division of the Municipal Government of Montevideo, president of Antel, and Minister of Industry, Energy, and Mining from 2015 to 2019. Ana Carolina oriented her administration towards a strong implementation of policies to promote national industrial production, contribute to the di versification of the energy matrix, and encourage the development of the mining sector, telecommunications, and micro, small and medium-sized enterprises, particularly innovative industries. In the national elections of October 2019, she was elected Senator of the Republic. In the departmental elections of September 2020, she was elected Intendant of Montevideo.

Photo: Montevideo waterfront

CHANGE VISION AND GOAL

According to the UN Climate Change Adap tation Report, sea level rise and increased ex treme weather events are expected to severe ly affect the Bahamas. More than 80% of the country’s land area is only one meter or less above the mean sea level. The country’s nat ural resources are very limited. The economy is based on tourism and services. Bahamians, like other island peoples, have historically had a close personal relationship with the land and the sea. Climate change presents new challeng es due to the speed of the expected changes and the magnitude of the investments needed to adapt to the effects they will generate. In the case of some small islands, the only option may be to withdraw and abandon the property. In the Bahamas, a series of combined actions will be needed to reduce vulnerability to climate change. Zoning practices based on vulnerability assessments, restricting types of development, prohibiting activities that exacerbate impacts, and replacing and providing greater security for settlements and infrastructure are options that should be considered to reduce loss of life, loss of competitiveness in the tourism sector, and preserve the environment.

Source: https://www.adaptation-undp.org/ex plore/caribbean/bahamas

WAYDE WATSON Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Economic Affairs, Government of the Bahamas

Having started off working hands-on in the Information & Communica tions Technology sector, Wayde Watson moved from coding to manag ing procurement and systems development for large-scale public and private sector projects. Apart from having mastered the skills needed to move The Bahamas more fully into the digital age, Wayde Watson counts as his greatest achievements the fathering and educating of his children, as well as the coaching, mentoring, and character-building work he has done with young people over the past 31 years. Wayde Watson believes that our cultural and spiritual development is a part of the essential work that we need to engage in to improve ourselves and our country. Having dabbled in art, drawing, and painting as a young boy, he now finds inspi ration in music. Part of his calling is to help others find their joy.

Nassau. Bogdan Dyiakonovych

CLIMATE CHANGE VISION AND GOALS

JOEL MARTÍNEZ Mayor, Port of Spain City Corporation

For more than two decades, Joel Martinez has served his community as a local government representative. He began his political career in 1996 where he served as councilor for the Paramin/Maraval constituency in Trinidad. His strong background in finance helped him in his role in that Council as finance chairman. After a brief break from politics, Mr. Marti nez returned in 2016 following his selection as mayor of Trinidad’s capital city of Port of Spain. Today, Joel Martinez leads a Council that focuses on several initiatives, including improving business relationships between entrepreneurs; fostering partnerships with cities around the world; and implementing recycling initiatives.

Foto: Port of Spain. Baldur Brückner

SANTIAGO GUARDERAS IZQUIERDO Alcalde, Municipio del Distrito Metropolitano de Quito

Santiago Guarderas Izquierdo is the Mayor of the Metropolitan District of Quito, his term started on September 30, 2021 and will end on May 24, 2023. Most of his professional life has been connected to public service and community welfare work. He is an Ecuadorian lawyer and politician, who began his political career in 2007. He served in the National Congress for the Province of Pichincha. In 2019 he was elected Deputy Mayor of the Metropolitan District of Quito (MDQ). Under the slogan that “Por un Qui to Digno (For a Worthy Quito)”, Guaderas draw up the Government Plan 2021-2023, a roadmap with four strategic axes (economic, social, territori al, governance and institutional) that will allow him to deal most efficiently with citizens’ demands.

Centro de Quito

EDUARDO DA COSTA PAES Mayor, Office of Mayor of Rio de Janeiro

Eduardo da Costa Paes holds a Law degree from the Pontifical Catholic University of Rio de Janeiro, his native city. Eduardo Paes was mayor of Rio de Janeiro for the first time, combining two terms, between 2009 and 2017. A period in which Brazil’s second most populous and most touristic city underwent an urban transformation beyond what was required to host part of the 2014 World Cup and, above all, the 2016 Olympic Games, the latter held in turbulent political, social, and economic circumstances. In the municipal election of November 29, 2020, Paes — candidate of the Demo crats (DEM) party, where he already tried to win the election for governor of the state in 2018 — is confirmed mayor with 64% of the votes.

Photo: Aerial view of Rio de Janeiro. Mariordo (Mario Roberto Durán Ortiz)

VISION AND GOAL

In recent times, the city of San Fernando has seen an increase in the incidence of flooding in

areas within the city. These flood events can be attributed to increasing levels of devel

combined with the increasing intensi ty of

change and weather patterns. In 2022, San Fernando Union Park was proposed as a strategy to focus on flood events occurring in Gopaul Lands in the vicinity of Union Park and develop a green space designed to mitigate flooding problems at this location. Simultane ously, this proposal aims to show how the space can also be used as an urban nursery with to propagate selected local plants and trees, with the intention of using them in the city to intro duce rain gardens in the medium term and to reduce the impact of the heat island effect in the long term. As a stand-alone project, under the mandate of the SFCC, the project aims to highlight the city’s commitment to diversifying the local economy, as well as taking a funda mental step towards fighting climate change.

HIS WORSHIP, MAYOR ALDERMAN JUNIA REGRELLO Mayor, San Fernando City Corporation

Junia Regrello first entered parliament in December 2007, having been successful at the election polls on November 5 of that year. He was elect ed to represent the San Fernando West constituency. Mr. Regrello was appointed Parliamentary Secretary in the Ministry of Community Develop ment, Culture, and Gender Affairs. Mr. Regrello was formerly a Councilman in the San Fernando City Corporation. He is the founder and captain of the Skiffle Steel Orchestra, based in San Fernando. Mr. Regrello received the Chaconia Gold Medal for his contribution as a member of the team that invented the G-pan. Mr. Regrello holds an MBA and is a former board member of TIDCO and PIDCOTT and past chairman of the Dimanche Gras Carnival Committee. He is active in several NGOs in San Fernando.

ROBERTO CONTRERAS MENDOZA Mayor, Municipality of San Pedro Sula

Roberto Contreras Mendoza was born in San Pedro Sula, Cortés, north ern Honduras. He is a food solutions engineer and the founder of the Power Chicken franchise, the same company with which he started sell ing on the street. In May 2020, Roberto Contreras announced his presi dential pre-candidacy for the Liberal Party and, in 2021, finally announced an independent candidacy for the municipality, winning the election. He has been mayor of San Pedro Sula since January 25, 2022.

Photo: San Pedro Sula, Manuel Chinchilla

GUALBERTO NUÑEZ

Mayor, San Pedro Town Council Gualberto “Wally” Nuñez Nacido y criado en la hermosa isla de San Pedro Town, Belice. 37 años, licenciado en Biología. Piloto en Tropic Air duran te 19 años (piloto de transporte de línea aérea ATP) involucrado activa mente en proyectos y organizaciones comunitarias. Miembro de consejo del ayuntamiento de San Pedro 2012-2015 y alcalde de San Pedro desde 2021. Participa activamente en grupos conservacionistas. Gualberto “Wal ly” Nunez was born and raised on the island of San Pedro Town, Ambergris Caye. 37 years old. He holds an Associate Degree in Biology. Pilot at Tropic Air for 19 years (ATP airline transport pilot) actively involved in commu nity projects and organizations. Member of the San Pedro City Council 2012-2015 and mayor of San Pedro since 2021. He is actively involved in conservation groups.

San Pedro, Belize. Tropic Air.

CHANGE VISION AND GOALS

MARIO DURÁN

Mayor, Mayor’s Office San Salvador City

After holding various positions for more than 15 years in the private sector, in 2010, Mario Durán began his career as a public servant at the National Council of La Raza (NCLR), where he fought to achieve immi gration reform for compatriots living in USA. In 2012, he returned to El Salvador to work at the Ministry of Economy, developing projects in rural communities. He also worked on projects in the Municipality of Nuevo Cuscatlán, to benefit the municipality’s population. In 2015, he is elected as Mayor of San Salvador and Director of Municipal Development ad hon orem. In 2019, he assumes the role as Minister of Interior and Territorial Development, he was also the President of the National Civil Protection Commission. In 2021 he becomes Mayor of San Salvador where he has promoted various projects such as: Revitalization of the Historic Center (Revitalización del Centro Histórico), A work per Day (Una obra x día) and San Salvador 100% illuminated (San Salvador 100% iluminado).

San Salvador, El Salvador © Camilo Freedman

CLIMATE CHANGE VISION AND GOALS

The municipality is strongly affected by a severe drought and an intense rainy season. The effects mainly harm the riverside populations and the urbanization of the city. The vision is to work on the environmental awareness of the population and carry out urban reforestation, in addition to join efforts with the state and federal govern ments to allocate public funds that promote ac tions to mitigate and control these effects.

https://g1.globo.com/pa/santarem-regiao/ noticia/2022/03/22/fotos-e-video-chuva-al aga-ruas-e-provoca-estragos-em-varios-bair ros-de-santarem.ghtml

https://g1.globo.com/pa/santarem-regiao/ noticia/2022/03/22/video-santarem-rece be-177mm-de-chuvas-em-7-horas-e-registra-al agamento-de-hospital-casas-e-ruas.ghtml https://www.oliberal.com/para/apos-cheia-his torica-nivel-do-rio-tapajos-recua-11-centi metros-em-santarem-1.534875

FRANCISCO NÉLIO AGUIAR DA SILVA Prefeito, Mayors Office of Santarém

Francisco Nélio Aguiar da Silva was born in Santarém. He is an Otorhi nolaryngologist, married, and father of two children. In the past, he was a Councilman and State Deputy. Current Mayor of Santarém serving his second term. He is also President of the Federation of Associations of Mu nicipalities of the State of Pará (FAMEP), and Director of the National Con federation of Municipalities (CNM).

Photo: Aerial view of Santarém, western Pará. Santarém Communications Agency.

IRACÍ HASSLER JACOB

Alcaldesa, Gobierno Regional Metropolitano de Santiago

Irací Hassler Jacob is the Mayor of the Commune of Santiago. Under the auspices of the social and student movement, her political career was cre ated. She was a member of the University Senate and Secretary-General of the Student Federation of the University of Chile (FECH), where she had a position in the debate for the right to education, and progressively she became an active member of the feminist movement. Working towards gender equality, she advocates for sexual and reproductive rights current ly promoting municipal policies. Her role as Mayor is part of the political construction of a trajectory that has gone hand in hand with social and political organizations. Hassler was elected as a municipal councilor in San tiago for the previous term. The objectives of the administration continue towards the right to the city, community security, the strengthening of public education, the mainstreaming of the gender perspective, and a new waste management model.

Photo: Santiago from Cerro San Cristobal (San Cristobal Hill), Christian Van Der Henst S. – Flickr

CLAUDIO ORREGO LARRAÍN

Gobernador Regional, Gobierno Regional

Metropolitano de

Santiago Claudio Orrego Larraín is a Lawyer and Bachelor of Legal Sciences from the Universidad Católica de Chile and holds a Master in Public Policy (MPP) at the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University. He started his political career in 1996 as a Councilman in the Peñalolén co muna. In 2000, he would assume as bi-minister of the Ministry of Housing and Urban Development and the Ministry of National Assets of President Ricardo Lagos. Later, he was Mayor of Peñalolén (2004-2012). He was designated Intendent of the Metropolitan Region a decade later, where he remained during the four years of management. He is currently run ning as the first elected Regional Governor of the Metropolitan Region.

Santiago desde el Cerro San Cristobal, Rawderson Rangel

VISIÓN Y META DE CAMBIO CLIMÁTICO

ROSA CAROLINA MEJÍA

Mayor, Nacional District

Changing a 522-year-old tradition, Rosa Carolina Mejía became, in 2020, the first female mayor of Santo Domingo de Guzmán, a municipality in the National District of the Dominican Republic. From that position, she has managed to undertake important initiatives aimed at strengthening the resilience of the city — among them are the improvement of its net work of micro parks, the sanitation of ravines tributary to bordering riv ers, the improvement of rainfall absorption systems in low-lying areas, the accompaniment of the Central Government in the process of con ditioning the western bank of the Ozama River, and the construction of the first Climate Action Plan (CAP) of Santo Domingo. Since 2021 she is the Regional Vice President of the Union of Ibero-American Capital Cit ies (UCCI) for Central America, Mexico, and the Caribbean. Since 2000 she has held important political and administrative positions, in the 2016 presidential elections, she was the candidate for Vice President of the Re public for the Modern Revolutionary Party, accompanying today’s Presi dent Luis Abinader. Rosa holds a degree in Economics from the Pontifi cia Universidad Católica Madre y Maestra (Dominican Republic) and she studied Marketing Management at Barna Business School.

Photo: Aerial view of Colonial district. Mariordo (Mario Durán & German Valver

CLIMATE CHANGE VISION AND GOAL

RICADRO LUÍS REIS NUNES

Mayor, Office of Mayor of São Paulo

Ricardo Luís Reis Nunes, mayor of the city of São Paulo, also born in São Paulo, businessman, and resident of the South Zone of the city. He has been affiliated with the Brazilian Democratic Movement (MDB) party since he was 18 years old and has always acted in defense of democracy. He took his experience as a businessman to the São Paulo Legislature, studied the city’s economic situation in depth, and, for six years, Ricardo was rap porteur of the capital’s budget guidelines and general budget. He served on several Parliamentary Commissions of Inquiry — Tax Evasion, Active Debt, and Municipal Theater. The work of these commissions resulted in more than R$ 3 billion for the public coffers. Ricardo implemented several business incentive plans and programs and strategies to face the Covid-19 coronavirus pandemic. He was the director of AESUL (Business Associ ation of the Southern Region of São Paulo) and has always worked as a volunteer in social projects focused on education.

Sao Paulo. Mathieu Lebreton

Based on the Municipal Climate Change Pro gram (PROMACC), Tuxtla Gutiérrez has initiat ed a sustained and substantial gradual process for the design and implementation of adapta tion and mitigation actions, linked to state, na tional and international processes, but with a local vision. These actions are coordinated by the City Council and planned in a cross-cutting, inter-institutional and inclusive form with so ciety, so that their development is adapted to the conditions of climate change, and carbon emissions are reduced. Transparency, gender perspective and respect for the citizens’ rights to a healthy environment and health are consid ered in all strategies, as well as the social and private sectors participation as allies to face the climate change and strategic actors for public policies in good governance implementation and compliance. The goal is to significantly re duce the danger, exposure, and population’s vulnerability scenarios considering the adverse effects caused by extreme weather events in the

territory, as well as to reduce green house gas (GHG) emissions. Danger, exposure,

(IPCC, 2012) are the main risks

change poses for the economy, so

with the provided by it, so

CARLOS ORSOE MORALES VÁZQUEZ Mayor, Municipality of Tuxtla Gutierrez

He was born in Ocozocoautla, Chiapas; he is Attorney at Law with a de gree from the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México; he holds a master’s degree in in Public Administration from the Universidad Autóno ma de Chiapas; he is also an academic, politician and environmental ac tivist. Mr. Morales started his political activity in 1991 with youth issues; he has been councilman in Tuxtla Gutiérrez; local deputy; and twice Federal Deputy; in 2012, he was Secretary of Environment and Natural History of Chiapas, and he serves as Mayor since 2018. Among his administration achievements, the comprehensive urban solid waste management stands out, obtaining the Escoba de Plata (Silver Broom) award. Regarding re forestation, the Arbor Day Foundation and the FAO recognized Tuxtla Gutiérrez as one of the “Tree Cities”. Finally, in terms of Innovation, the city obtained the INNOPOLIS 2020-2021 recognition.

Tuxtla Gutiérrez, Valle de Tuxtla.