2. Context analysis 30
2.1. Legal and Institutional Framework 2.1.1. United Nations Framework Convention on <strong>Climate</strong> <strong>Change</strong> (UNFCCC) Country representation Each country has a designated representative for the UNFCCC, but the focal po<strong>in</strong>t is designated <strong>in</strong> formal terms. The M<strong>in</strong>istries of Foreign Relations from Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador and Venezuela, and the Department of Foreign Relations from Mexico, are the focal po<strong>in</strong>ts recognised by the UNFCCC. The focal po<strong>in</strong>ts of the rema<strong>in</strong><strong>in</strong>g 12 countries are their environmental authorities (m<strong>in</strong>istries, departments, national authorities). In the case of Costa Rica and Cuba, the M<strong>in</strong>istries have a double function (Energy, Sciences and Technology respectively). In all the countries the environmental authorities play a fundamental role <strong>in</strong> develop<strong>in</strong>g this matter. The orig<strong>in</strong>s of these bodies were not the same throughout the region. Mexico and Venezuela had already created their Environment M<strong>in</strong>is tries beforehand. In some countries, environmental functions were given to preexist<strong>in</strong>g bodies (public health, agriculture, urbanisation, m<strong>in</strong><strong>in</strong>g, etc.); new organisations were created <strong>in</strong> other countries, often as a result of pre-exist<strong>in</strong>g areas of government be<strong>in</strong>g grouped together. After the Summit <strong>in</strong> Rio, only Bolivia formed an area of government that took on the jo<strong>in</strong>t responsibilities of susta<strong>in</strong>able development and the environment. Chile is still <strong>in</strong> the process of transform<strong>in</strong>g its environmental authority from the National Environment <strong>Commission</strong> to the higher rank of M<strong>in</strong>istry of the Environment, whereas Peru has recently made this transformation. The creation of most of the Environment M<strong>in</strong>istries <strong>in</strong> Lat<strong>in</strong> <strong>America</strong> co<strong>in</strong>cided with the 1992 Earth Summit when the Biodiversity Convention and the <strong>Climate</strong> <strong>Change</strong> Convention were signed. The first actions taken by the M<strong>in</strong>istries of the Environment were to control pollution (brown agenda), by pass<strong>in</strong>g laws and regulations based on direct regulation mechanisms. As the years went by, new functions were gradually added to the m<strong>in</strong>istries as a response to the need to strengthen the natural resources protection system (green agenda) and to meet various <strong>in</strong>ternational commitments. Over recent years, a lot of the Environmental Authorities have been modernised and are promot<strong>in</strong>g (i) mechanisms to <strong>in</strong>clude environmental aspects <strong>in</strong> development and land-use plans and (ii) the use of economic and tax <strong>in</strong>centives. This modernisation can also be seen <strong>in</strong> the creation of national environmental funds. Structure and functions Different approaches have been used to develop the structure and hierarchical level of the Convention's Focal Po<strong>in</strong>ts <strong>in</strong> the 18 Lat<strong>in</strong> <strong>America</strong>n countries. The <strong>in</strong>stitutional arrangements that have been made are as follows: • <strong>Climate</strong> <strong>Change</strong> Units under the command of the International Relations and/or Environmental Quality Directorates (Honduras, Chile, Colombia, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay and Uruguay); • <strong>Climate</strong> <strong>Change</strong> Units <strong>in</strong>cluded as part of the Directorate and/or Undersecretary for Environmental Quality and Clean Production (Cuba, Ecuador); • Directorates or <strong>Climate</strong> Programmes with a variable number of dependencies, which are coord<strong>in</strong>ated by the different agreements of the Convention (Argent<strong>in</strong>a, Bolivia, Brazil, Costa Rica, Ecuador and Mexico); • Permanent Inter-m<strong>in</strong>isterial Committees for supervis<strong>in</strong>g and coord<strong>in</strong>at<strong>in</strong>g <strong>Climate</strong> <strong>Change</strong> actions (Brazil, Mexico). In terms of the restructur<strong>in</strong>g processes of the environmental authorities there has been an evolution of the structures and functions of the Convention's Focal Po<strong>in</strong>ts. There is a clear relationship between the way the Executive Power tackles the matter, the hierarchical position of the designated authority compared to the executive power (or with<strong>in</strong> the respective M<strong>in</strong>istry) and the performance of the designated authority. The <strong>in</strong>fluence over promot<strong>in</strong>g policies and coord<strong>in</strong>at<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong>ter-<strong>in</strong>stitutional and <strong>in</strong>ter-sectoral activities varies depend<strong>in</strong>g on the structure of the government (position of the unit <strong>in</strong> the M<strong>in</strong>istry of Environment hierarchy), as well as the value of the m<strong>in</strong>istry itself. When the environmental authority is part of another m<strong>in</strong>istry (plann<strong>in</strong>g, energy, science, development) there is a greater amount of coord<strong>in</strong>ation and better oppor tunities for <strong>in</strong>tegrat<strong>in</strong>g the issue of <strong>Climate</strong> <strong>Change</strong> <strong>in</strong>to national policies. In all cases there is a scarce amount of coord<strong>in</strong>ation with local government: the decentralisation processes that were begun more than a decade ago have taken effect. 31