The Vice President of the Dominican Republic, Dr. Raquel Peña, headed the representation of the Dominican Government at the inauguration of the Ibero-American Environmental Week, an event where the Minister of the Environment and Natural Resources, Orlando Jorge Mera, proposed the creation of a “Recovery and Restructuring Fund for Latin America” to finance the transition of the countries of the region towards a new model of sustainable productive development through long-term, zero-rate loans.
During her participation, the Dominican vice-president detailed the importance of making the environmental dimension and green recovery visible in the run-up to the XXVIII Ibero-American Summit, which will take place in the country next year.
“The Dominican government has understood the value of promoting an environmental agenda and, given that we are one of the countries most vulnerable to climate change, we have assumed leadership in international forums of great relevance, raising our voice on the need to make environmental issues visible. It is with great responsibility that we have assumed the pro tempore secretariat in preparation for the twenty-eighth Ibero-American Summit to be held in our country at the end of 2022,” said Vice President Raquel Peña.
Proposed Fund
The fund proposed by Minister Orlando Jorge Mera arises from the need for the countries of the region to have access to financing to enable the post-covid-19 recovery of their ecosystems.
The fund should be financed by multilateral organizations, States and private contributions, in order to establish a recovery goal sufficient for the development of large infrastructure, industrialization, research and innovation projects.
“We emphasize the need to support financing for decarbonization, loss and damage mechanisms, support for a rural agenda of intelligent development and the strengthening of institutional capacities with technical and financial support instruments aimed at countries for the preparation of projects and pre-investment,” said Orlando Jorge Mera.
About the Ibero-American Environmental Week
The Ibero-American Environmental Week, held from the 20th to the 24th of this month, is based on the renewed commitment of Ibero-American Heads of State and Government to address environmental crises based on cooperation and joint work.
All the discussions presented will serve as inputs to formulate the environmental dimension of the Ibero-American Cooperation 2023-2026 and the XXVIII Ibero-American Summit, which the Dominican Republic will host under the slogan “Together for a fair and sustainable Ibero-America”, with the firm objective of promoting the unity of the region in the face of the health crisis and the climate emergency.
It is organized in virtual mode and its program includes some 30 sessions with representatives of governments, cities, companies, foundations, networks and other institutions committed to the environment in the region.
On the opening day of the event, in which Ibero-American ministers of the environment are participating, Orlando Jorge Mera reaffirmed the commitment of the Dominican Republic, as the country heading the pro tempore presidency towards the XXVIII Ibero-American Summit, which it will also host in 2022.
