Where LatAm and Caribbean stand on net zero commitments

Political shifts and power transitions could affect Latin America and the Caribbean’s ability to fulfill its net-zero pledges. 

Only two countries in the region passed legislation setting targets, while most others have either made no commitments to include them in policy documents or as part of political pledges, according to a new data tracking tool from the World Resources Institute (WRI).

“One thing that we tend to acknowledge from our tracking is that a law is certainly more durable and more binding in some instances than policy commitments or government announcements that can be subject to turnover or reversal as the political regime changes,” Clea Schumer, research associate at WRI’s Climate Program said in response to a question from BNamericas during a webinar presenting the new database.

So far only Chile and Colombia have set net zero goals and strategies in legislation, while 10 other countries have them in policy documents, three submitted them as political pledges and 18 have not submitted any official targets, according to WRI’s new Climatewatchdata.org platform.

Schumer, however, said the effectiveness of legislation versus policies and pledges depended heavily on the political context of each country, singling out Costa Rica as a good example since it only has a net zero goal set in a policy document, yet it is considered a “pioneer” when it comes to climate actions.

Other countries that have submitted net zero goals as part of policy documents are Argentina, Brazil, Peru, Uruguay, the Dominican Republic, Panama, Belize, Antigua and Barbuda, and Dominica.

Meanwhile, Barbados, Guyana, and Jamaica have only included net zero targets as part of political pledges. 

Ten countries set 2050 as the year to reach net zero, while three aim to fulfill that pledge before 2050 and two others (Guyana and Panama) claim they already crossed the finish line and aim to maintain their net zero status.

Although Latin America and the Caribbean account for less than 10% of global greenhouse gas emissions, Schumer highlighted that some of the most ambitious policy proposals come from less developed nations or small island states such as those in the Caribbean and that global efforts should be made to ensure these plans are well funded.

“This is a global goal that we all are trying to do everything we can to work together to achieve. In that way the efforts of everyone matter, no matter how large the share of emissions. It all adds up,” she said.