Environment at a Glance in Latin America and the Caribbean

Glossary

Socio-economic and geographic context

Gross Domestic Product per capita: Gross Domestic Product per capita (USD/person) is expressed at constant 2015 USD PPP prices. GDP per capita measures a country’s economic wealth of the population of a nation. However, as a mean value it does not reflect income distribution. Moreover, it is a gross measure of income, and no account is taken of the depreciation neither of produced assets nor of the depletion of natural assets. The main sources for GDP data are the Gross domestic product dataset of Aggregate National Accounts of the OECD National Accounts Statistics Database and the most recent OECD Economic Outlook. OECD data are complemented with data from the World Development Indicators of the World Bank, reference series of the International Energy Agency, and data from the International Monetary Fund.

Land use: The data presented here give information concerning land use state and changes (e.g. agricultural land, forest land). The definitions used in different countries may show variations.

• Land area excludes area under inland water bodies (i.e. major rivers and lakes).

• Arable refers to all land generally under rotation, whether for temporary crops (double-cropped areas are counted only once) or meadows, or left fallow (less than five years). These data are not meant to indicate the amount of land that is potentially cultivable.

• Permanent crops are those that occupy land for a long period and do not have to be planted for several years after each harvest (e.g. cocoa, coffee, rubber). Land under vines and trees and shrubs producing fruits, nuts and flowers, such as roses and jasmine, is so classified, as are nurseries (except those for forest trees, which should be classified under “forests and other wooded land”).

• Arable and permanent crop land is defined as the sum of arable area and land under permanent crops.

• Permanent meadows and pastures refer to land used for five years or more to grow herbaceous forage crops, either cultivated or growing wild (wild prairie or grazing land).

• Forest refers to land spanning more than 0.5 hectare (0.005 km2) and a canopy cover of more than 10 percent, or trees able to reach these thresholds in situ. This includes land from which forests have been cleared but that will be reforested in the foreseeable future. This excludes woodland or forest predominantly under agricultural or urban land use and used only for recreation purposes.

• Other areas include built-up and related land, wet open land, and dry open land, with or without vegetation cover. Areas under inland water bodies (rivers and lakes) are excluded.

Population: Population is the de facto population in a country, area or region as of 1 July of the year indicated. The main source of population data is the World Population Prospects database from the United Nations, complemented with data from the World Development Indicators of the World Bank.

Population density: The number of inhabitants per square kilometre of total country area (persons/km2). Population is defined here as all nationals present in or temporarily absent from a country, and foreign nationals permanently settled in the country. Population is the de facto population in a country, area or region as of 1 July of the year indicated. The main source of population data is the Population Statistics database from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, complemented with the World Population Prospects database from the United Nations, then with data from the World Development Indicators of the World Bank as a third source, and with data from the World Economic Outlook from the International Monetary Fund as a fourth source. Total area data are obtained from the Land Resources dataset of the OECD Environment Database.

Climate change mitigation

Greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions: GHG emissions refer to the sum of GHGs that have direct effects on climate change and are considered responsible for a major part of global warming: carbon dioxide (CO₂), methane (CH₄), nitrous oxide (N₂O), chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs), hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), perfluorocarbons (PFCs), sulphur hexafluoride (SF₆) and nitrogen trifluoride (NF₃). They refer to GHGs emitted within the national territory and may include or exclude emissions and removals from land use change and forestry (LUCF). They do not cover international transactions of emission reduction units or certified emission reductions. Greenhouse gas emission estimates are divided into main sectors, which are groupings of related processes, sources and sinks.

Mean population exposure to fine particulates (PM_2.5): Expressed as the mass of PM_2.5 per cubic meter. Calculated as the mean annual outdoor PM_2.5 concentration weighted by population living in the relevant area, that is, the concentration level, expressed in μg/m³, to which a typical resident is exposed throughout a year.

The guideline set by the WHO for PM_2.5 is that annual mean concentrations should not exceed 10 micrograms per cubic meter, representing the lower range over which adverse health effects have been observed. The WHO has also recommended guideline values for emissions of PM_2.5 from burning fuels in households.

Exposure to ambient particulate matter is estimated by combining satellite data with a chemical transport model, land use information, and calibrated using ground measurements. An integrated exposure-response curve is used to calculate a relative risk for exposure to particulate matter from both ambient and residential (household) sources, and these are then weighted by the proportion of individuals exposed to each source. The method is described in detail in the technical appendix 1 of GBD 2019 Risk Factor Collaborators (2020).

Mortality attributed to exposure to fine particulates: Premature deaths are calculated as the number of premature deaths attributed to exposure to environment-related risks, expressed in absolute value, per million inhabitants of the same age group and sex (mortality).

Production-based CO₂ intensity: Production-based CO₂ intensity is calculated as CO₂ emissions per capita (tonnes/person). Included are CO₂ emissions from combustion of coal, oil, natural gas and other fuels. The estimates of CO₂ emissions are obtained from the IEA’s database of CO₂ emissions from fuel combustion. Default methods and emission factors are given in the Revised 1996 IPCC Guidelines for National Greenhouse Gas Inventories.

Production-based CO₂ productivity: Production-based CO₂ productivity is calculated as real GDP generated per unit of CO₂ emitted (USD/kg). Included are CO₂ emissions from combustion of coal, oil, natural gas and other fuels. The estimates of CO₂ emissions are obtained from the IEA’s database of CO₂ emissions from fuel combustion. Default methods and emission factors are given in the Revised 1996 IPCC Guidelines for National Greenhouse Gas Inventories. GDP is expressed at constant 2015 USD using PPP.

Share of renewables in electricity production and total energy supply: Total energy supply includes electricity trade. Renewables include hydro, geothermal, solar (thermal and PV), wind and tide/wave/ocean energy, as well as combustible renewables (solid biomass, liquid biomass, biogas) and waste (renewable municipal waste). The underlying data on “renewables and waste energy supply (ktoe)” are obtained from the World – Renewable and Waste Energy Statistics dataset of the IEA Renewables Information Statistics Database. Data on Total Energy Supply are obtained from the IEA database on World Energy Statistics and Balances.

Total energy supply:  TES is made up of production + imports - exports - international marine bunkers - international aviation bunkers ± stock changes. Primary energy comprises coal, peat and peat products, oil shale, natural gas, crude oil and oil products, nuclear, and renewable energy (bioenergy, geothermal, hydropower, ocean, solar and wind). Electricity trade is included in total primary energy supply but excluded from the calculation of the breakdown by source.

Welfare cost of mortality from exposure to fine particulates: Welfare costs of premature deaths from exposure to environment-related risks are expressed in millions constant 2015 USD using PPP, compared to GDP as percentage points of GDP equivalent, per capita (total population across age groups and sex), and as a percentage of the welfare cost of total attributable premature deaths. Cost estimates represent only the cost of premature mortalities. They are calculated using estimates of the “Value of a Statistical Life” (VSL) and the number of premature deaths attributable to each environmental risk. They exclude any morbidity impacts (labour productivity losses, treatment costs and willingness to pay to avoid pain and suffering from illness). They also exclude impacts other than those on human health (e.g. on built structures, agricultural productivity, ecosystem health). The social cost of the exposure to these environment-related risks is thus greater than the cost of mortalities presented in this chapter. Yet the available evidence suggests that mortality costs account for the bulk of the total costs to society. Finally, VSL also captures non-market values that are unrelated to expenditures and therefore not an integral part of the calculation of GDP. Consequently, the cost estimates are compared with GDP only for illustration.

Climate change adaptation

Annual surface temperature change: Annual surface temperature change is measured in Celsius degrees (°C). It is calculated as the difference between the annual average temperature (in a given year) and the average annual temperature of the 1951-1980 period. Data are obtained from the FAOSTAT Temperature Change dataset of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Data are based on the publicly available GISTEMP data, the Global Surface Temperature Change data distributed by the NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies (NASA-GISS).

Climate-related extreme weather events: Extreme weather events are defined as a weather event resulting in 10 or more casualties, 100 or more affected people, the declaration of a state of emergency, or a call for international assistance. Climate-related weather events include meteorological (extreme temperature, fog, storm), hydrological (wave action, landslide, flood), and climatological (wildfire, glacial lake outburst, drought). EM-DAT data covers both independent countries and dependent territories.

Cropland exposure to extreme precipitation events: extreme precipitation refers to a daily precipitation that exceeds the 99th percentile value over the reference period 1981-2010. Unlike a monthly approach, used for example for extreme temperature, percentiles are computed using all wet days of the reference period (i.e. 1981-2010) because the data sample would otherwise be too small to robustly compute seasonally adjusted percentiles. It defines a wet day as a day where total precipitation is above or equal to 1 mm. Since percentiles are computed using all wet days of the reference period in a given location, this implies a different occurrence frequency between different locations.

Forested area exposure to fire danger: Fire danger is estimated with the Canadian Fire Weather Index (FWI), adjusted to account for biomass availability. Fire danger is defined as FWI values of 5 or higher (indicating very high or extreme fire danger).

Land exposure to cyclones: Category 1 cyclones on the Saffir-Simpson scale are described as "very dangerous winds that will produce some damage". Higher categories cover extensive, devastating and catastrophic damage respectively. The return period is the average or estimated time that a specific climate-related hazard is likely to recur.

Mortality attributed to high temperature: Exposure to high and low temperature is estimated by combining ERA5 climate reanalysis data with gridded population data. An integrated exposure-response meta-analysis model is used to calculate a relative mortality risk for exposure to average daily temperatures and temperature zones. The GBD study performs a systematic assessment of risk across the whole temperature range (i.e. including moderate non-optimal temperatures) in populations exposed to different climates. The method is described in detail in the technical appendix 1 of GBD 2019 Risk Factor Collaborators (2020).

Population and built-up area exposure to river flooding: River floods exposure indicators were computed using JRC River Flood Hazard Maps for Europe and the Mediterranean Basin region, and for the World (Dottori, 2021[61]). The maps depict flood prone areas for river flood events for six different flood frequencies (from 1-in-10-years to 1-in-500-years). Cell values on these maps indicate the water depth (in m). For countries located in Europe and around the Mediterranean Basin, the regional flood hazard maps were used, as the spatial resolution is higher (100 m) than the global maps (1 km). For the remaining countries, the global maps were used. To get flood prone areas, a threshold of 1 cm was applied on the water depth. The return period is the average or estimated time that a specific climate-related hazard is likely to recur.

Population exposure to hot summer days: Hot summer days are defined as those during which daily maximum temperature surpasses 35 °C. Due to the resolution of the raw data, it is possible that heat stress for small islands is slightly underestimated. There are also several additional indicators to describe heat stress (such as the UTCI (Universal Thermal Climate Index), which also takes moisture, wind and solar radiation into account); these should be taken into account for a more thorough analysis of exposure to heat for single countries.

Population exposure to tropical nights: Tropical nights are defined as nights where the minimum temperature does not fall below 20 °C. Due to the resolution of the raw data, it is possible that heat stress for small islands is slightly underestimated. There are also several additional indicators to describe heat stress (such as the UTCI), which also takes moisture, wind and solar radiation into account); these should be taken into account for a more thorough analysis of exposure to heat for single countries.

Soil moisture anomaly in cropland: Soil moisture anomaly is a suitable indicator for monitoring the intensity of droughts and shows similar performances in identifying droughts to the Standardized Precipitation Index. Copernicus CDS ERA5-Land monthly averaged data and Copernicus global land cover data is used to calculate average cropland soil moisture anomaly.

 

Hazard	Exposure threshold
Extreme heat	More than 14 hot summer days (daily maximum temperature > 35 °C) or tropical nights (daily minimum temperature > 20 °C) per year.
Wildfire	Very high or extreme fire danger based on the Canadian Fire Weather Index (FWI), adjusted for biomass availability.
Wind threats	Occurrence of violent storms (Beaufort class 11) or a 10% probability or higher of a tropical cyclone to recur in a 10-year period (Hurricane category 1 or higher on the Saffir Simpson scale)
River flooding	Inundation zone of a river flood event to recur with a 10% probability in a 10-year period
Coastal flooding	Inundation zone of a coastal flood to recur with a 10% probability in a 10-year period

Terrestrial and marine protected areas as percentage of total land and of exclusive economic zone (EEZ): Protected areas are areas of land and/or sea especially dedicated to the protection and maintenance of biological diversity and of natural and associated cultural resources, and managed through legal or other effective means. The data refer to the World Conservation Union (IUCN) management categories I-VI. National classifications may differ. The data cover areas under the management categories:

• I (strict nature reserves and wilderness areas),

• II (national parks),

• III (natural monument or feature)

• IV (habitat or species management area),

• V (protected landscape or seascape) and

• VI (protected area with sustainable use of natural resources).

Areas nationally/internationally designated without any IUCN category assigned are also included. This category includes regional and international designations such as the European Natura 2000 network.

In general, under the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea the EEZ of a country extends 200 nautical miles from the coastline, or to the mid-point between coastlines where the EEZ of different countries would otherwise overlap.

Climate policy instruments

Aid activities targeting Global Environmental Objectives (CRS): In their reporting to the DAC CRS, donors are requested to indicate for each activity whether it targets environment and the Rio Conventions (biodiversity, climate change mitigation, climate change adaptation and desertification). A scoring system of three values is used, in which aid activities are “marked” as targeting environment as the “principal objective” or a “significant objective”, or as not targeting the objective.

The environment marker identifies activities that are intended to produce an improvement in the physical and/or biological environment of the recipient country, area or target group concerned or include specific action to integrate environmental concerns with a range of development objectives through institution building and/or capacity development.

Climate actions and policies: A policy is counted as adopted when it is effective in national legislation. Policies include sectoral policies (both market and non-market-based instruments applied across the electricity, transport, buildings, and industry sectors), cross-sectoral policies (such as GHG emission targets, public RD&D expenditure, fossil fuel production policies and climate governance), and international policies (such as international co-operation, public finance, and emissions reporting). Policies included directly contribute to all broader mitigation strategies that are mentioned in the UNFCCC synthesis report on the first Global Stocktake. Both climate policies with an explicit intent of advancing mitigation (e.g. carbon taxes, GHG emissions standards, subsidies for zero-carbon technologies) as well as non-climate policies that have an expected positive effect on mitigation are included (e.g. fuel excise taxes, energy efficiency standards, congestion charges). More information on the policies included can be found in (Nachtigall et al., 2022[62]).

Environmentally related taxes: compulsory, unrequited payment to government levied on tax bases deemed to be of environmental relevance, i.e. taxes that have a tax base with a proven, specific negative impact on the environment. Taxes are unrequited in the sense that benefits provided by government to taxpayers are normally not in proportion to their payments. This means that there needs to be a redistributive element in order for a payment to be considered a tax. Environmentally related taxes increase the cost of a carbon product or activity, which tends to discourage its production or consumption, regardless of what was the intention behind the introduction of the tax. In this database, the term ‘’levy’’ is used to cover taxes, fees and charges. The tax bases covered include:

• Energy products

• Transport equipment and transport services

• Pollution, including measured or estimated emissions to air and water, ozone-depleting substances, certain non-point sources of water pollution, waste management and noise

• Natural resources, such as management of water, land, soil, forests, biodiversity, wildlife and fish stocks, including mining and quarrying.

The tax base of environmentally related taxes may thus include both (i) the first-best taxes on the negative by-products (e.g. emissions) and (ii) the second-best taxes on inputs or (intermediate) outputs of a polluting activity (e.g. fuel purchases, ownership or use of a motor vehicle). As such, taxes on NOX emissions fall in the former category, while excise taxes on petrol, diesel, LPG or CNG for vehicles or taxes on mining activities (extraction and exploration rights) would fall in the latter category. In all these cases, the unrequited character holds when there is no proportionality between the environmental benefits of the taxpayers and their payments. However, borderline cases may occur, and these cases are discussed below. Taxes on resource rents (or any other taxes on profits) are not included in the definition of environmentally related taxes, because they do not affect relative prices, while revenues from auctioning of emission permits are included and labelled as ‘’taxes’’.

Net Effective Carbon Rates: The Effective Carbon Rate (ECR) is the sum of fuel excise taxes, carbon taxes and tradeable permits that effectively put a price on carbon emissions. The Net ECR equals the ECR minus fossil fuel subsidies that decrease pre-tax fossil fuel prices. Electricity excise taxes and subsidies generally do not treat fossil fuels in a differential manner compared to clean sources and are therefore excluded from the Net ECR indicator. EUR 60 per tonne of CO₂e is a midpoint estimate for carbon costs in 2020, and a low-end estimate for 2030. Pricing all emissions at least at EUR 60 in 2020 shows that a country is on a good track to reach the goals of the Paris Agreement to decarbonize by mid-century economically. EUR 30 is a historic low-end estimate for carbon costs, and EUR 120 is a midrange estimate for carbon costs in 2030. The share of emissions priced above EUR Y per tCO₂-e shows the share of emissions within a country or sector with a carbon price that exceeds EUR Y in percent.

Tax rates and permit prices refer to the same base year. Due to data limitations, 2021 fossil fuel subsidy estimates are based on data for 2020. Effective tax rates for 2018 and 2021 are both mapped to 2018 energy use and emissions data, which facilitates comparisons between the two points in time, as changes in average rates are not affected by changes in the composition of energy use and GHG emissions. At the time of data collection, the latest available energy use, emissions, and ETS coverage data available for all countries was from 2018, which was used as a proxy for the 2021 base. Tax and subsidy data was collected via publicly available official sources and consultation with government officials and independent experts who were asked to review and refine the data.

The database focuses on pricing instruments that specifically apply to a base that is directly proportional to energy use or GHG emissions. It therefore excludes taxes and fees that are only partially correlated with energy use or GHG emissions. Common examples of policy instruments that fall outside the scope of the database include vehicle purchase taxes, registration or circulation taxes, and taxes that are directly levied on non-GHG emissions, such as the Danish tax on SOx. Some countries also apply production taxes on the extraction or exploitation of energy resources (e.g. severance taxes on oil extraction). Since these supply-side measures are not directly linked to domestic energy use or emissions, the database does not cover them either. Similarly, the database does not include value added taxes (VAT) or sales taxes. As VAT in principle applies equally to a wide range of goods, they do not change the relative prices of products and services (i.e. they do not make carbon-intensive goods and services more expensive than cleaner alternatives).