Seminar with Carlos Manuel Rodriguez
Investing in nature for human prosperity
Investments play a crucial role in how deforestation and the destruction of nature can be reversed. "By far the biggest challenge is that humans continue to invest far more in sectors and activities that destroy nature, than in activities that can revert that destruction," says Carlos Manuel Rodríguez, the pioneer behind Costa Rica’s remarkable sustainability transition.
On Wednesday 2nd of April Stockholm Resilience Centre arranged an open seminar titled “Investing in Nature for Human Prosperity”. The Centre was honoured to have Carlos Manuel Rodríguez, CEO and Chairperson of Global Environment Facility (GEF) as key note speaker.
The former Costa Rican Environment and Energy Minister is a pioneer in the development of Payment for Ecosystem Services initiatives and strategies for forest restoration and de-carbonization, and an internationally recognized expert on environmental policy and financing for nature conservation.
During his three terms as Minister of Environment and Energy, Costa Rica doubled the size of its forests, made its electric sector 100 percent clean and renewable, and consolidated a National Park System that has positioned the Central American country as a prime ecotourism destination.
A major political challenge
During his speech, Carlos Manuel Rodríguez drew on his experiences in office to explain what mechanisms made the sustainability transition possible in Costa Rica.
"We understood early on that there were all kinds of policies that actually promoted deforestation. Many of them came from the agricultural sector, which at the time contributed around 40 percent of Costa Rica’s GDP," said Carlos Manuel Rodríguez.
Through hard work, these harmful incentives and subsidies were replaced by incentives that promoted people to plant, protect and restore nature. For instance, a system that taxed fossil fuel and paid forest owners for protecting these areas were introduced.
Rodríguez also highlighted that improvements in environmental governance were made. A ministry that dealt with all natural resources, both fossil and renewable, helped creating political coherence.
He stressed that the financial means for making a global sustainability transition is there. What we are facing is foremost a major political challenge.
“To make a system change happen that harmonize human systems with natural systems, we need a deep analysis of how societies and governments make decisions,” said Carlos Manuel Rodríguez.
Other speakers at the seminar were:
Albert Norström (Associate Professor, SRC & Science Director, Earth Commission)
Garry Peterson (Professor, SRC)
Michele-Lee Moore (Deputy Science Director, SRC)
Ashanapuri Hertz (Programme Officer, Swedbio)
The afternoon was rounded up with a panel discussion and reflections with Carlos Manuel Rodríguez.
Panel discussion with Garry Peterson, Ashanapuri Hertz, Michele-Lee Moore, Carlos Manuel Rodríguez and Albert Norström. Photo by Johan Lundberg.
Global Environment Facility (GEF)
The Global Environment Facility (GEF) includes several multilateral funds working together to address the planet's most pressing challenges in an integrated way. Its financing helps developing countries address complex challenges and work towards meeting international environmental goals.
Over the past three decades, the GEF has provided more than $26 billion in financing, primarily as grants, and mobilized another $148 billion for country-driven priority projects.
.png)
.png)
.png)
.png)
.png)
