Today is a demonstration that the European Union is “walking the talk”.
Last October, here in Barbados we unveiled our new partnership
framework with the region, anchored on a stronger policy and political
dialogue and on the Global Gateway. Climate change is obviously a central
theme in this framework, captured in the EU-Caribbean Partnership for a
Green Deal.
At the time, Euroclima was presented as the new flagship programme that
would turn that political commitment into an operational reality.
Today, a few months later, we are telling our Caribbean partners that we are
starting to implement. In these months, a lot of work has been put into making
the team ready to deliver and if you look around, you see the faces of this new
team here today.
I am sure many of you are thinking: “okay, but what can Euroclima do in
practice”? Let me share some examples from Latin America, where the
programme has worked for over a decade. In Costa Rica, Chile, Uruguay, El
Salvador and Honduras we have supported their climate policies and
strategies to achieve carbon neutrality and promoted citizen participation
processes to support their National Determined Contributions. In Central
America we have supported the generation of climate scenarios, working
closely with their national meteorological services to facilitate decisions to
tackle and mitigate climate hazards. In WHICH COUNTRIES Euroclima has
contributed developing urban mobility plans, putting people at the center
focused on youth and promoting a public and sustainable transport system
with low emissions.
These are just some examples of the span of the programme, which in the
Caribbean will respond in a flexible and agile way across various levels: on
policy and regulatory framework, on concrete demonstrative actions, and on
leveraging investments through increased access to climate finance. Euroclima
will be a key vehicle to deliver on the Global Gateway Investment Agenda, a set
of concrete project packages that can lead the way for increased investment in
transformative sectors.
We agree that climate change is one issue where European and Caribbean
leaders share the same ambition and sense of urgency. Over the past years we
have been together in ensuring that the fight for climate action remains on the
front burner in our countries, in our regions, and globally. We have seen this
partnership forging year after year on the stage of global climate negotiations,
from the historic achievement of the Paris Agreement in 2015, to the most
recent creation of a fund for Loss and Damage and increase of funds for
mitigation in COP27 in Egypt last year.
As a demonstration of this strengthened partnership, the Executive Vice
President of the European Commission responsible for climate action and the
green deal, Frans Timmermans, will visit Barbados, Guyana and Suriname the
next month.
We also share the appreciation that we need more, better, and faster finance
to address global challenges such as climate change to allow us to better
support the most vulnerable countries. In this regard, the next few months will
present important stepping-stones towards a reform of the global financial
system. Barbados, today’s host country, along with others in this region have
contributed tremendously to this debate with what is known as the
“Bridgetown Initiative”.
We bring to the table our flagship programme on climate action. “European
Union” and “Climate Action”: these four words create a new one, “Euroclima”,
which in neighbouring Latin America has become a synonym for partnership for
over a decade. Extending Euroclima to the Caribbean adds an important
element to the EU-LAC partnership and provides a new flexible mechanism for
us to deliver in the Caribbean.
This launch is also an excellent opportunity to celebrate Team Europe.
Yesterday was Europe Day. [maybe add something about it]. Euroclima is a true
demonstration of the intention of European partners – German, French,
Spanish cooperation agencies – to join hands towards a coherent and
comprehensive climate partnership with the region. And the beauty is that the
family goes beyond Europe and include UNEP, UNDP, ECLAC.
We will be planting some trees later today to mark this occasion in the
“calendar of our planet”. I am confident that they will grow strong, with solid
roots as our partnership with the Caribbean and wide branches as the many
actions we will achieve together.
Once again, I welcome you all to the launch of Euroclima in the Caribbean and
wish the programme success!
