La Nación / Lago: Paraguay will access loans

Our country is among the first adopters of the pilot program after the signing of the agreement during the recent Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Climate Change Summit (COP28) in Dubai.

The Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) program proposes discounts on eligible loans for countries that achieve specific biodiversity and climate goals: ambitious environmental goals, adequate spending, and the ability to measure and report on progress.

Indeed, the Minister of Economy, Carlos Fernández, signed the agreement accompanied by the Minister of Public Works, Claudia Centurión, the head of Industry and Commerce, Javier Giménez, and the head of the Civil Cabinet, Lea Giménez.

The budget programming agreed upon between the Government and the IDB are two lines of USD 309 million and USD 469 million, whose access is subject to the presentation of sustainable development proposals in infrastructure, energy transition and water resources management.

Countries must comply with IDB indicators to access the benefit of the 5% loan subsidy.

The Minister of the MOPC, Claudia Centurión, stated that “for the first time a government is taking seriously the problem we have in Lake Ypacaraí and certain steps will be taken for its recovery.”

The first nine countries that will participate in the IDB Climate program are Barbados, Belize, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Paraguay, Dominican Republic, Suriname and Uruguay.