The document, “The Economics of Climate Change in Guatemala” was publish in the ECLAC repository. This document is the result of a compilation, systematization and analysis exercise of the results of the economics of climate change in Central America initiative (ECC CA) studies on Guatemala. The document shows prospective macroeconomic, demographic, soil usage and energy scenarios, temperature and precipitation climate change scenarios are presented from the fourth IPCC report at the national and departmental level, analyses on interannual changes, aridity, dry months and extreme events are also included. The document also shows the impact on water resources, hydroelectricity, grain and coffee yields and includes the proposal on agricultural insurance. The impact on biodiversity and ecosystems is also described, as well as a close-up of the potential impact of climate change on health. On the topic of mitigation, greenhouses gas emissions and possible trajectories in Guatemala are analyzed. Finally, an estimate is made on the economic costs of the impacts of climate change.
The motive for this document is to visualize the impacts of climate change in Guatemala since its it is one of the countries with the greatest climate risk due to its geographic location, as well as the vulnerability of its population. The country has been affected by diverse extreme climate events such as tropical storms, hurricanes, droughts, and the expansion of the dry corridor. Guatemala has a gran diversity of forests and ecosystems that in addition to being subject to degradation and deforestation, are now affected by these phenomena and temperature increase and rain variability.
MARN and MINFIN, which have participated as founding institutions in the Economics of Climate Change in Central America and the Dominican Republic Initiative since its start in 2008, have participated in the analyses and discussions on options for responses and have contributed to the capability strengthening proposal. MARN commissioned ECLAC to produce the document so that the country could have an updated compilation of the results for Guatemala from this initiative. It is expected that this document will contribute to technical training and the design of public policies across sectors and will encourage national actors to continue with research and action in the face of climate change. This document was financially supported by the Interamerican Development Bank (IBD) and the Nordic Development Fund (NDF) within the scope of project Rg-X1107 which supported phase III of ECC CARD.
