During a press conference as part of the Rio +20 Summit, Tuluy highlighted the economic and social progress in the region in recent years, through which 73 million people lifted out of poverty over the last decade.

Tuluy meant that the principle of sustainability is based on three pillars: economic development, environmental protection and social inclusion, noting that Latin America today is more democratic and open and its leaders are more pragmatic.

Tuluy considered that political and economic problems hindered the sustainable development of the region during what he called two lost decades, referring to the years between the Earth Summit held in Rio de Janeiro in 1992 and Rio +20.

The leader said that in the last 10 years Latin America increased wealth, recorded average growth rates of four percent and became a source of stability amid the global uncertainty.

But those gains may be threatened if they are not environmentally sustainable, Tuluy warned.

The World Bank representative said that to achieve that goal Latin America deals with the need to continue growing to fight poverty and protect natural resources so that future generations can use them productively.

That is the essence of a green growth agenda that benefits all, Tuluy said and exemplified how the subregion's economic boom led to an explosive urbanization, the highest motorization rates in the world and to an energy matrix that tends to deviate form its traditional hydropower.

The good news is that the subregion is at the forefront of some of the most innovative green practices in the world, he said.