Following the speech by the Indonesian Ambassador Andayani, we are pleased to publish the one by the Ambassador of Guatemala to Italy, Mr. Luis Fernando Carranza Cifuentes, highlighting the efforts made by the Central American country in favoring sustainable supply chains, respect of humans’ and workers’ rights, and the promotion of technological innovation within the agricultural and industrial sectors. The speech was also published by the policy analysis platform Formiche.net

The Ambassador Luis Fernando Carranza Cifuentes is a friend and supporter of Competere.eu and of Sustainable Nutrition.

You can read the article in Italian and in Spanish.

Guatemala Invests in Sustainability

Luis Fernando Carranza Cifuentes

Ambassador of Guatemala to the Italian Republic and Chair of the Executive Board Bureau of the World Food Program (WFP).

The G20 is promoting three subjects of uttermost importance for humanity: people, the planet and prosperity. These are three indivisible elements that coexist and that nurture each other.

Just like many of its Latin American peers, Guatemala is a high middle-income country that has structural gaps that make it more difficult to reach sustainable development.  Because of this, the Guatemalan organized private sector works hand in hand with the United Nations to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

In the past 20 years, Guatemala has invested over US$350 million in protecting and taking care of its national forests, through forestry incentive programs. Furthermore, it protects its natural resources, reduces greenhouse gas emissions, and mitigates climate change effects through the implementation of the Forestry Law and the Guatemalan System of Protected Areas

Considering that the Guatemalan economy is mainly dependent on agro-exports, the private sector is implementing a strategic plan for 2021-2025 to implement farming sustainability, which includes soil fertility recovery and maintenance, adequate use of water and agricultural technologies (such as digital farming and precision agriculture).

One of the sectors that has become a world reference in sustainable agroindustry is palm oil. Guatemala is the second producer in Latin America and the sixth worldwide, in the oil industry.  64% of its production is sustainable and it complies with international standards certified by the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) and the International Sustainability and Carbon Certification (ISCC) in Biofuel Production.

Moreover, the coffee sector has an environmental and climate change policy that defines strategic guidelines to improve environmental management, biodiversity conservation, climate change adaptation, as well as low emission competitivity and development in all the coffee sector production chain.

Other productive sectors, such as cane sugar and bananas, have begun assessing their carbon footprint and developing mitigation plans. This industry has replaced fossil fuels with renewable fuels, increasing efficiency up to 230%.  The circular economy that results from using waste material from cane sugar production is a business source, which in turn, lowers costs and reduces pollution.

In upcoming years, it is expected that Guatemala assimilates practices that focus on environmental protection, prevention, and adaptation, which in turn, strengthen a sustainable development model in the country, as well as its leadership in the Central American region.