Sérgio Magalhães: Funding shortfall in Latin America hinders climate goals

The issue of financing is key for the Latin American and Caribbean region, Sérgio Ferraz Magalhães, former Minister of Housing of Rio de Janeiro and former President of the Brazilian Institute of Architects, said at the Forum of Ministers and High Authorities of Housing and Urban Development of Latin America and the Caribbean (MINURVI) at the 13th session of the World Urban Forum (WUF13), Report informs.

"We are also talking about the extremely inadequate funding for families who need to build or purchase housing, and the almost complete lack of funds for the improvement of informal settlements. In the face of such a severe resource shortage, cities continue to grow rapidly, but this growth is uncontrolled and occurs in conditions of poverty. The contradiction between the quality of urban development and climate goals is obvious," he emphasized.

"The Latin American and Caribbean region has tremendous experience in addressing such issues. For example, the Brazilian city of Niteroi is currently implementing a large-scale revitalization program for all informal settlements. However, without consistent financial support, both for families to address housing issues and for governments to upgrade infrastructure, cities will continue to expand haphazardly. This means we will continue to move further away from solving the climate crisis."