At a regional forum on grasslands and pastoral systems, Ministry of Economy and Finance adviser Luisa Olivera outlined Uruguay’s approach to integrating economic and environmental policy. She said protecting natural services that support production and productivity is also part of the country’s competitiveness policy and highlighted coordination across government as central to managing tensions between economic development and conservation. Olivera reviewed existing instruments that embed climate and biodiversity commitments in public financing and investment incentives. These include bonds and loans indexed to climate change indicators, reduced guarantee fees for small and midsize enterprise loans financing environmentally sustainable activities, and tax benefits for investments in areas such as irrigation, livestock improvement, natural grasslands, biological inputs and lower impact technologies. Tax incentives also apply to companies that protect native forests. The instruments were developed with other public bodies, including the Ministry of Environment, the National Research and Innovation Agency and the National Development Agency, which help determine environmental priorities and objectives.
Uruguay's Ministry of Economy and Finance outlines integration of climate goals into debt, credit and tax policy
Uruguay’s Ministry of Economy and Finance outlined how the country integrates climate and biodiversity goals into debt, credit guarantees and tax incentives. Existing measures support environmentally sustainable small and midsize enterprise financing, lower impact investment and native forest protection, with environmental priorities set through coordination across public bodies.