Supporting Uruguay to advance their NAP process

Uruguay is situated in the south-east of South America, where the seasons are well-defined. The country has an export-oriented agricultural sector, and its services sector has shown significant growth since 2004 after it took a plunge as a result of the 2002 economic crisis. As of 2017, services contribute to around 61.25 percent of total economic outputs. In 2018 Uruguay was ranked 55th out of 189 countries in the Human Development Index (HDI), standing out in the Latin American region as a country with low levels of inequality, high per capita income and almost non-existent extreme poverty in recent years.

 

However, climate change poses a major threat to Uruguay and its adverse impacts are projected to intensify in the future. In 2008, the costs of drought to the agricultural sector were equivalent to 2.9 percent of GDP and in early 2014, rains that ranged between 150 and 350 percent of the monthly median caused extreme flooding and left 20,000 people in urban areas displaced. Temperatures are predicted to increase by 2-3°C by 2100, causing more frequent and intense incidences of drought, floods, heat waves, hail, storms, and tornados.

 

Over the years, the Government of Uruguay has developed institutional frameworks to address climate change. In 2009, it set up the National System for Response to Climate Change and Variability (SNRCC) which was evaluated in 2014 (Spanish). Furthermore, in April 2017, it adopted the PNCC, its National Climate Change Policy which advances the integration of climate change into public policies at national and local levels. It also provides a mechanism for formulating and adopting the country’s First Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) to the UNFCCC. Taking a proactive stance towards climate change with a national plan that stretches to 2050, Uruguay is giving necessary attention to adaptation measures, as well as mitigation. It is developing a NAP for agriculture as well as for its coasts and cities. The NAP-Cities initiative aims at mainstreaming adaptation into urban areas throughout the country and is being supported by domestic and international financing sources. This holistic approach to tackling climate change is complementary to its development objectives and conducive to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals.