18 months ago, I was privileged to be invited by Isabel Cavelier Adarve to form part of the AILAC Support Unit, as a Climate Finance Adviser to 6 countries in Latin America and the Caribbean (which have now grown to 8).
I joined an extraordinary team of human beings, all of them brilliant: Alexa Kleysteuber, Giannina Santiago Cabarcas and Irene Suárez. Later Isabel left as Team Leader and Andres Pirazzoli joined us; we also had Natalia Bogle as Administrative Director, Fanny Ramirez as Communications Officer, and Elizabeth Alcarraz in Logistical and Adminstrative Support.
The task seemed a herculean one: to assist the AILAC countries in ensuring that their preference for an ambitious, durable, universal, legally-binding Paris Agreement on Climate Change was achieved. Now, we can say, Mission Accomplished.
All of the "must haves" for AILAC were included, and numerous paragraphs on key issues reflect textual inputs made by AILAC (including those on a cycle to ramp up the collective goal on climate finance from a floor of $100 billion per year; and biennial communications from developed countries on the projected levels of climate finance to be provided and mobilized).
I feel like my work accomplished its goals, similar to when resources mobilized from European sources through the IDB increased from $100 million per year before 2007 to an average of $1,200 million per year in 2008-12 while I was the Resource Mobilization Lead Specialist at the IDB Office in Europe; or when the 7 sector strategies for the priority areas of the IDB (including Sustainable Economic Growth, Poverty Reduction, Social Development and Environment) were approved while I was the Senior Program Coordinator at the Sustainable Development Department of the IDB.
I feel like I have made a contribution to make the world a better place for my children and (eventual) grand-children.
Thanks to my colleagues and friends for giving me this opportunity. Thank you also to the AILAC delegates that fought for this, including Maria Laura Rojas, Jorge Gastelumendi, Mirko Serkovic, Santiago Briceño, Natalia Rojas, Laura Juliana Arciniegas, Pascal Girot, Iván Valencia, and, again, Isabel as a delegate and AILAC Finance Coordinator in the final push.
