Sostenibilidad

In Latin America, like the rest of the world, both nature assets and infrastructure are vulnerable to natural hazards and climate change effects. Therefore, all economic sectors face risks. Additionally, the different organizations in charge of promoting sustainable development are frequently constrained in their ability to get more political and financial support to ensure social sustainability. In this context, both research and experience have shown that safeguards can help effectively anticipate and mitigate social and environmental risks.

Fossil fuels continue to be the main resource for energy production both in Latin America and in the world. Unfortunately, their use carries great consequences for climate change and the environment. The good news is that tackling climate change is finally being conceived as an opportunity. Latin America is the region that generates the highest proportion of renewable energy in the world.

While much of Latin American is at peace, parts of Central and South America have had to cope with internal conflicts, including in the second half of the last century. Countries such as Nicaragua, El Salvador, Guatemala, Colombia, and Peru, have experienced civil wars and other internal conflicts that had severe impacts on the local populations. Evidence shows that vulnerable and marginalized communities were particularly affected in areas where the conflicts were harsher, and to this day are still suffering from the consequences.

For the 8 million people of Bogota who carry out their daily activities in an industrialized city with one of world’s worst traffic congestion, combating air pollution caused in large part by emissions from their means of transport is a necessity.

De aquí al año 2050 la producción de alimentos tendrá que aumentar un 60% para satisfacer las demandas nutricionales de más de 9 mil millones de personas. Esto supone para América Latina y el Caribe la oportunidad de consolidar su posicionamiento como uno de los principales proveedores de comida del mundo. Pero la rápida evolución de los sistemas agropecuarios plantea importantes desafíos que van a exigir una intervención de los sectores públicos y privados para hacerles frente.

Mexico is a leading country in the consolidation of the climate change agenda in Latin America and the Caribbean. It is the only country in the world that has five approved national communications and a sixth presented and under review, a general law on climate change since 2012, and is executing two special climate change programs since 2010. Mexico has it all, but despite this, the impacts of the environmental phenomenon continue to haunt it. The world is transforming.

The proposed location of a hydroelectric and water supply project for Tunari National Park, in the city of Cochabamba in Bolivia, had the potential to damage nearby wetlands and destroy a remnant of Polylepis forest, the highest elevation forest in the world, that is threatened throughout the Andes. The area is also home to the endangered Cochabamba mountain finch (Poospiza garleppi).

When looking at the long list of challenges countries in the region face in relation to economic development, one could think that for a nation like Paraguay energy access is not at the top of the list. After all, when it comes to electricity, Paraguay has an ace up its sleeve: the Itaipu Hydroelectric Dam.

Why do some communities fare better during and after climate shocks than others? We know that early warning systems and disaster preparedness decrease the losses of natural disasters, but what other social and economic factors could improve the outcomes? Climate change is already happening. Extreme weather events causing floods, droughts, cyclonic winds, and heatwaves occur more frequently and more violently than in the past.