At the intersection of environmental challenges and the need for global action, Latin America is emerging as a crucial player in the geopolitics of climate. The region is rich in biodiversity and natural resources and is located in the on the front lines in the fight against the effects of climate change. As extreme weather events intensify, climate is taking a leading role on the agenda of Latin American countries.
On the one hand, the region has a more than remarkable role to play in protecting itself from the consequences of climate change. The vulnerability of Latin American countries to global warming is not new: extreme weather events such as hurricanes, droughts and floods have disproportionately affected the region. These countries, many of which are developing, face the challenge of adapting to these changes while pursuing sustainable development. In addition, sea level rise threatens coastal communities and water scarcity impacts agriculture and cities increasing risks of extreme weather events.
On the other hand, it is more than clear that Latin America can play a key role in the fight against climate change in general, especially due to a common denominator: the Amazon rainforest. Also called the lungs of the planet, it plays an important role in purifying the air and regulating the global climate.
Countries like Colombia, Peru and Brazil have enormous potential to promote rainforest reforestation
The Amazon’s precise ability to purify the air relies on several biogeochemical processes that occur in this vast ecosystem. Although it plays a crucial role in air purification and climate regulation, it is important to note that this ecosystem is threatened by deforestation and human activities. The loss of the region’s forests can reduce their ability to act as a carbon sink and have a negative impact on air quality locally and globally. Latin American governments are aware of its importance and have seen its preservation as a geopolitical opportunity.
Forgive debt to save the Amazon
When Gustavo Petro had just come to power in Colombia, the analyst and sociologist Jorge Galindo, who has spent years decoding the reality of Latin America for media outlets such as the New York Times and El País, emphasized that “one of the interesting public policies of…” The government of Petro is the exchange of foreign debt to reduce net carbon emissions. And the net is important because the reforestation capacity in countries like Colombia, Brazil or Peru is gigantic. That, put it in Net emissionscan be extremely beneficial.
Petro presented to the United Nations General Assembly a proposal that other Latin American leaders had already tried to put on the world agenda: that the global system should reduce countries’ external debts in return for being the lungs of the planet takes care. “If they don’t have the capacity to finance it Rainforest Revitalization FundIf it is more important to allocate money for weapons than for lives, then reduce external debt to free up our own fiscal space to fulfill the task of saving humanity and life on the planet. We can do it if you don’t want to. “Just change the debt for life, for nature,” said the Colombian president.
The President’s proposal came to fruition as the President of the United States, Joe Biden, showed up in favor of Proposal to change debt around the world for climate protection and to this end it will submit the proposal to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in the fight against the effects of climate change.
But that’s not all: In the fight against the climate crisis, the USA announced that it would contribute $500 million to the climate crisis Green backgroundproposed by Colombia to save the Amazon rainforest.
In this way, it becomes clear that geopolitics is no longer based solely on historical alliances or economic interests, but that climate has entered strongly into the battle of relations between countries.