Climate finance course starts for Honduran institutions

• Within the framework of the Pro Agenda project of the United Nations (UN), the course "Climate Finance for Honduran Institutions" was created, implemented by GIZ and with the technical assistance of CATIE.

April 5, 2022. Given the increase in extreme weather events and their impacts on society and the environment, more and more urgent intervention scenarios are being considered in countries, both in terms of climate change adaptation measures and greenhouse gas (GHG) mitigation. To this end, the creation of climate finance strategies is necessary to enable the resilience of the population and move towards more sustainable, low-emission economic models that contribute to the goals of the Paris Agreement and the Sustainable Development Goals. 

In order to strengthen the capacities of representatives of public, private, civil society and academic institutions in Honduras for the analysis, evaluation, classification and determination of needs and opportunities related to public, private and international climate finance, the German Agency for International Cooperation (GIZ), together with the advice and technical implementation of CATIE (Tropical Agricultural Research and Higher Education Center), will train 38 people over 15 weeks, from March 31 to July 7, through the Climate Finance for Honduran Institutions course.

Contents and thematic experts 

Four modules will address the introduction to climate finance; climate finance mechanisms; formulation of bankable climate projects; and transformative economic approaches. These contents will be taught by CATIE researchers, including Leida Mercado, expert in economics and environment; Vladimir Valera, expert in climate finance; Felipe Peguero, expert in agricultural economics and finance; Jesús Córdova, expert in technology, economics, politics and climate change; and Mario Chacón, expert in tropical forest management and biodiversity conservation with a focus on climate change. 

In addition, the course has the technical support of Diana Rivera, a CATIE graduate with a master's degree in Economics, Development and Climate Change, and Marianela Argüello, who provides technical support in educational matters.

Opening event 

The course was opened on March 31 and was attended by Ricardo Matamoros, Director of the Economic and Social Research Institute (IIES, its Spanish acronym) and Roberto Carlos Ramírez, Vice Minister of Credit and Public Investment of Honduras. 

"It is very interesting that initiatives like these are betting on a change in the way we think, how we build and how we propose, instead of only thinking from an individual and disjointed point of view (...)," said Matamoros. 

"Thanks to CATIE officials, GIZ officials and all the officials from the public, private and academic sectors, whom we welcome. Within the framework of the entire Pro Agenda project, they will receive the best product, which is to define projects and strategies on how to generate a change in society in order to invest and select the best opportunities to have a better control of climate change," said Ramirez. 

Among the Honduran institutions participating in the training process are the Universidad Tecnológica Centroamericana (UNITEC); the Planning Directorate; the Ministry of Finance; the National Autonomous University of Honduras (UNAH, its Spanish acronym); the Honduran Association of Banking Institutions (AHIBA, its Spanish acronym); the Honduran Council of Private Enterprise (COHEP, its Spanish acronym); the Honduran Foundation for Responsibility and Environment (MiAmbiente+); and the National Banking and Insurance Commission (Comisión Nacional de Bancos y Seguros). At the end of the course, participants will receive a certificate of approval endorsed by CATIE and GIZ.