By Ana de León
Panama City, May 20 (EFE).- Global economic growth and the fight against the climate crisis “go hand in hand” thanks to a financial system based on decarbonization, which is “difficult” to achieve but not “impossible,” as inaction in the face of the environmental emergency could have serious long-term consequences.
Brazilian Ana Toni, Executive Director of the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP30), referred to this in an interview with EFE from Panama City on Tuesday, amid the Climate Week.
“I think this is a way to boost the economy and prosperity, growth and development, and at the same time fight climate change. If it felt like a contradiction before, that is no longer the case,” said Toni, who also is Brazil’s secretary for climate change.
She cited the example of China, which is producing “renewable energy, solar s and electric cars” while “the economy is also growing,” and Brazil, which has achieved economic growth while fighting deforestation.
“There doesn’t have to be a contradiction between (economic) growth and fighting climate change. The two can go hand in hand and each other. It depends a lot on how we do it,” Toni said.
She also argued that currently “many countries have realized that a low-carbon economy can also be an engine for growth” and therefore urged to analyse “how to fight against climate change an engine for growth and development.”
“I know it is not easy, especially for developing countries. We need investment (…) but it is not necessarily a contradiction. And I think what we have to look at is how to make the fight against climate change an engine for growth and development. I know that’s not easy, especially for developing countries,” she warned.
The COP30 executive director is betting on renewable energy, electric cars and sustainable agriculture, among other things, as assets to boost green economies, increasingly reducing carbon emissions.
The road to decarbonization: challenging but not impossible
Toni stressed that this week’s meeting in Panama is “not a negotiating forum,” but it is “very important” for the debate to bring positions closer together to continue negotiations in future meetings, to reach an agreement in November at COP30, held under the Brazilian presidency in the Amazonian city of Belém.
“We are moving from an economy that has been based on fossil fuels for centuries to one that we wanted to be based on renewable energy, from an economy that thought we could destroy forests for agriculture to one that shows we need to keep our forests and use the land better for agriculture,” she said.
Toni also stressed that this transition to decarbonization is “complicated” because there are interests and “power relations” behind it, “but nothing is impossible.” She pointed out that if we compare the situation today with that of 10 years ago, there are many countries, some of them major economic powers such as Europe or China, that have found ‘different sources of energy while decarbonizing.'”
“We know we have to make a transition. It is difficult because we are in the middle of it. But everyone has to contribute to this transition, and at the same time we can help, especially the vulnerable people who are the first to suffer from climate change,” Toni said.
“Latin America can be a provider of solutions”
Toni highlighted Latin America and the Caribbean as a region with great capacities to help fight the climate crisis thanks to its natural resources and that it can become a “solution provider” in the face of this environmental situation.
“Latin America can be a solution provider for climate change and I believe we are increasingly working together to show this to the rest of the world. As we approach COP30, we are working closely with our Latin American colleagues to define priorities for Latin America,” she concluded. EFE
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