A 2022 study by the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) estimated that the infrastructure and social spending needed by 2030 to meet climate change goals in Latin American and the Caribbean (LAC) is between 7% and 19% of GDP – the tremendous need for sustainable infrastructure is clear, as it is the lack of bankable projects and limitations in funding for those that exist.

Sustainability-Linked Bonds, or SLBs, are a great way to support issuers sustainability strategy without earmarking the capital raised for specific goals. As this market matures, “green-washing” and other risks are being identified and dealt with by market participants.

Since the first green bond issuance in 2008, the labelled bond market has matured, with green, social and sustainability issuances galore. These are instruments in which the use of proceeds is predefined and applied to one or more specific green, social and/or sustainable project.

In the context of the energy transition and decarbonization of the electricity generation matrices in the region, green hydrogen is positioning itself as a strategically important solution in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC).

The key to this technology is how it can be applied at a cross-sectoral level, both in energy and in manufacturing and transportation, allowing the region to position itself as one of the global production hubs of the so-called "energy vector of the future." However, some major challenges to its sustained deployment need to be taken into account.

An abundance of renewable energy resources gives Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) a unique advantage that can help the region move rapidly towards the net-zero emission target.

When we say “net-zero”, we refer to a term as defined in the 2015 Paris Climate Agreement as a state in which the emissions of greenhouse gases to the atmosphere are balanced by removals out of the atmosphere over a specified period.

Climate change is one of humanity’s most pressing challenges. There is wide consensus that human activity is its main cause. Every sector of the economy adds to greenhouse gas emissions, with energy, materials, transportation, agriculture, and forestry accounting for the bulk of the negative impact.

However, it’s not all bad news, since there are parts of the economy that can have a positive impact: for example, the telecom sector, through fifth-generation high-speed Internet connections (5G).