In an interview with La Estrella de Panamá, the CEO for Latin America Noe ReGen, Ariel Sanmartín, announced that he will talk with the national government to develop a plan to turn the Waters of Panama and the Central American region into a leader in the region. in the revolution of the blue economy. Sanmartín considered that the Panamanian market had all the attributes to achieve this goal. “It is very developed compared to the jurisdictions of other countries in the world, which is why we think we can be a leader in this regard,” Sanmartín said in the framework of the Blue Economy Regional Forum, organized by the National Center for Cleaner. Production of Panama. The waters of Panama are also intended to clean up some of the mess left behind by the Panama Papers. The idea was proposed at the United Nations Conference on Climate Change 2023 (COP28) in Dubai (United Arab Emirates), from November 30 to December 12, 2023. Noe ReGen promotes the blue economy and the azul carbo plan by providing, creating. management tools, investors and multilateral public and private sectors, so that they can participate in this key mechanism for ecosystem recovery and raise awareness about the importance of ocean and marine resources beyond fishing and tourism. According to data from the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), the blue economy employs a large part of the global population and its contribution is conservatively estimated at $1.5 trillion annually, about 3% of global value added.
What is the economy and blue carbon?
These are very broad topics, but I think it’s best to talk about the green economy, which everyone knows. Everything that happens in the flora, in the trees, in the grass, in the earth. That generates different types of economy, industries, operations. A green economy aims to protect all the natural resources that exist on earth; and governments, NGOs, private companies, investors are trying to participate in that green economy to try to protect and preserve that plant. We transfer to the ocean and water resources. The blue economy is everything that is generated in the world’s oceans, rivers and lakes. It allows you to generate other business, income, economy and income for the countries, people, communities and companies that participate in it.
What does Noah ReGen need to do to promote that blue economy?
We are consultants, we approach, we create tools for public and private agencies and multilaterals so that they can participate in this blue economy. In this whole blue economy, a large amount of blue carbon credits will be generated, which will mainly come from sequestration and storage, sequestering the carbon that pollutes the environment and investing it in places where it will not pollute. we will bring the technology, the partners, the funds to measure and monitor the implementation of these projects, we will report them, we will put them on a platform that can be depreciable assets, so that all these investments around the world, a block platform, where governments can see. natural carbon or blue or green carbon will put them up for sale, so that other investors and other countries that can take their carbon footprint can pay in this new market.
How is Panama progressing in terms of the blue economy and low carbon?
In general, Panama is a leader in environmental protection. It has come a long way in the green economy and is now progressing in the blue economy. It is clear here that we have signed agreements of understanding with the Government of Panama, with the Ministry of the Environment, on the one hand, and with the Tourism Authority, on the other hand, to determine precisely the stock or inventory of blue carbon that Panama has. . This country is unique in that it is one of the three countries that is carbon neutral, that is, it does not pollute. We capture more carbon than we emit. The country has reached its 30X30 goal, which by 2030 must protect at least 30% of its territory and natural resources. Since 2016, which has exceeded the goal of the country, it is already a leader in the areas of resistance and the fight for climate change and the protection of the environment. Now, together with the government, we are committed to protecting the resources in the ocean and all that it generates for our country and communities.
“In general, Panama is a leader in terms of environmental protection. It has made a lot of progress on the issue of the green economy and is now making progress on the blue economy.”
What are these agreements contemplated?
There are two agreements: one with MiAmbiente. Our first task is to measure the blue carbon inventory. Panama already has fairly accurate measurements of green carbon. There is a great opportunity for carbon sequestration in blue areas such as mangroves, corals, and sea grass. What we are doing is taking an inventory, then developing projects that protect all those resources precisely: coral regeneration, sea grass, mangroves. The second agreement is with the Tourism Authority and it is requested that through the investment fund all activities are non-polluting, to promote truly sustainable ecotourism. This agreement has been signed with the Tourism Authority of the United Nations and the United Nations World Tourism Organization to make trade, a market exchange point that allows the growth of ecotourism in the world and in Panama.
Do the agreements include any amount of investment?
The beginning is to understand the agreements that should be with the concession contract. But we have the first business, and like Noah we want to help the government set up the structure, plan and strategy, so that the investments will come later. That is, the instruments, the laws of the laws, which must be placed in the country, must be prepared first of all from Europe. I think that the problem of the attractions and the most important points that Noah is bringing closer to the European currency is brought to Panama and Latin America. We were in a few different color schemes and it put us across a lot of jurisdictions. If we manage to bring the population, the governments, and the European community back to Panama, a banking center with European banks, with banks from other countries, from Japan and the United States, for example, we think those markets will be broken up. it had been closed for a time.
Has it been considered how much the blue carbon market could generate for the country’s economy?
That’s our job! Measure blue coal and Panamanian power.
We already have a carbon exchange market. How do you rate these developments?
Yes! It is controlled. The Panamanian market is very civilized, developed compared to the jurisdictions of other countries that we have seen in the world. Panama has made a lot of progress and therefore can be thought of as a leader in this regard. After all, we have a proposal on the table: ‘Waters of Panama’.
What is the proposal of the Waters of Panama?
In which we bring technology, as a developer. With the name ‘Panama Waters’ we want to clean up what the Panama Papers have left us. Through the ‘Waters of Panama’, we plan to develop the country to become the leader of the country’s blue economy revolution. At the end of this year, 2023, the United Nations Climate Change Commission will meet in Dubai. Cop28 will be focused only on the blue economy and if Panama arrives at that forum with a regional proposal on how to protect our oceans and how we can develop the blue economy, we will once again be at the front throughout the world.
Have you already discussed the ‘Panama Waters’ proposal with the government?
If you talk!
When will the program be ready?
It must be before December 2023, which is COP28.
