Leveraging UK expertise to address net zero in Latin America

Connected Places Catapult has partnered with Innovate UK, and the FCDO in Colombia and Chile with the aim to identify local challenges on the Net Zero agenda and increase the knowledge of UK stakeholders on the opportunities to work in Pacific Alliance and further Latin American cities in order to accelerate the commercialisation of smart cities and transport innovations with a focus on decarbonisation and promotion of global partnerships in these sectors.

To achieve this, the project exploited the Connected Places Catapult’s City Typologies tool and has undertaken associated desk research and Interviews, to deliver valuable insights on the net zero challenges faced by the region.

By combining insights from global datasets, local strategies, and direct interaction via expert consultations and a webinar with key stakeholders in Pacific Alliance cities, this project provided a first-of-its-kind review of the opportunities for the UK to partner with Latin American cities on their journey to net zero.

This project was a pioneer in reviewing the challenges Latin American cities face in their journey to net zero. It has also assessed the best opportunities for the UK to provide expertise that can accelerate decarbonisation efforts. It combined insights from global datasets, local strategies, and direct interaction via expert interviews and a webinar with key stakeholders in Pacific Alliance cities to create a framework of analysis that can be applied globally. This framework enables cities to be evaluated according to a 5-pronged system that analyses:

• The assets and systems they inherit, how difficult it may be to decarbonise them, and which systems can be the main drivers of change (inherited assets)
• The scope and ambition of their climate change and associated net zero strategies, including areas where awareness raising may be required (ambition and strategy)
• The size, scale and mix of projects currently being mounted to progress to net zero, including the potential role for the UK, and the extent and maturity of platforms to convene action (projects and platforms)
• The tools and powers they have to undertake bold reforms and shift to net zero, and which sectors seem to offer the most scope for intervention (span of powers and influence)
• The maturity and dynamism of the net zero innovation and investment environment, including the extent of specialisation in sectors allied to net zero and presence of potential partners (innovation and investment)