The UN Climate Change Secretariate has opened registration for the next sessions of Latin America and Caribbean Climate Week 2021, which will take place from May 11 to 14, 2021 in virtual form hosted by the Government of the Dominican Republic.
Regional leaders from public and private sectors are said to have confirmed their participation, including the Vice President of the Dominican Republic, Raquel Peña de Antuña; the Minister of the Environment and Natural Resources of the Dominican Republic, Ángel Estévez; Minister of the Environment of Chile, Carolina Schmidt; Executive Secretary of the United Nations Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean, Alicia Barcena Ibarra; and UN Climate Change Executive Secretary, Patricia Espinosa.
Three Virtual Thematic Sessions will bring together governments, private sector leaders and civil society to engage in solution-oriented dialogues and showcase climate action, providing valuable regional impetus to the upcoming UN Climate Change Conference COP26 scheduled for November.
Patricia Espinosa, Executive Secretary of UN Climate Change, said: “With six months to go until the COP26 UN Climate Change Conference in Glasgow, collaboration at the regional level can accelerate action and contribute to success at COP26. Beyond the climate talks, this collaboration strengthens the call to integrate climate action into recovery from the global pandemic. The discussions at LACCW 2021 and all our Regional Climate Weeks showcase the solutions that address emerging climate risks and promote a dialogue on policy to seize opportunity as the world rebuilds.”
Latin America and Caribbean Climate Week (LACCW 2021) is organised by a partnership of international and regional organisations and takes place at a critical moment, as governments prepare to submit their next round of national climate action plans under the Paris Agreement – Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) – for COP26 in November 2021.
The outcomes of LACCW 2021 Virtual Thematic Sessions will be shared with Ministers during a regional Ministerial Session in August. They follow on from Virtual Regional Roundtables that took place in March to scope regional priorities for all three Regional Climate Weeks this year – in Latin America and the Caribbean, Asia and Africa.
The event will be held online, with virtual participation possible from anywhere in the world. The majority of participants are expected come from the 33 countries in the Latin America and Caribbean region, with a focus on creating a collaborative space for solution-oriented discussion.
From the host nation, Max Puig, Executive Vice President of the National Council for Climate Change of the Dominican Republic, said: “The Dominican Republic is on the front line of climate change impacts as a small island developing State in a region known for extreme weather. We are proud to bring together governments, regional stakeholders and civil society to collaborate on our common challenge. Climate action is a path to a better future in the Caribbean and around the world, and collaboration is needed to move forward together.”
