Uruguay to promote government bonds associated with good environmental practices

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – “It seems to us of the utmost importance that the country with the most appropriate environmental behavior should pay less interest for its debt,” the Minister of Economy said at an event held at the Residence of the British Ambassador to Uruguay Faye O’Connor, to mark the celebration of COP26 in Glasgow (United Kingdom).

From next November, Arbeleche will chair the Development Committee of the World Bank Group and the International Monetary Fund, which “is a good opportunity to bring this issue to discussion and ensure that countries’ incentives are aligned,” she said.

In addition to noting that the country is working towards this goal, she added that it is “in dialogue with different multilateral financing organizations to ensure that the loans they provide are linked with environmental performance.”

Arbeleche will be part of the Uruguayan delegation at the COP26 Climate Summit, to be held from October 31 to November 12, which will assess if there has been progress since the 2015 Paris Agreement, among other issues.

The delegation will also include Environment Minister Adrián Peña, who on Monday recalled that “the greatest challenge facing humanity in environmental matters is climate change,” thus describing COP26 as “important and far-reaching.”

The head of the portfolio created in 2020 (it was previously included in the Ministry of Housing and Land Management) indicated that, although greenhouse gas emissions are “marginal” in Uruguay, the country is “highly vulnerable” due to its production based on agribusiness and its location in the estuary of the River Plate.

“We have been working at the forefront in the transformation of our production systems incorporating the environmental aspect and this is something we also want to value and convey,” Peña said, who will be accompanied in Glasgow by the National Director of Climate Change Natalie Pareja.

The Environment Minister used the occasion to call on “developed countries to fulfill their commitments” in terms of financing for developing nations so that they may implement their climate adaptation plans in production, on coasts or in cities.”

Known as climate summit, the Conference of the Parties (COP), whose 26th edition will be held in Glasgow, is the highest-level political forum for tackling the climate crisis.