The Brazilian Center for International Relations (Cebri) and KAS-EKLA hosted this Thursday and Friday 26th and 27th a conference “The Climate Agenda as the Central Axis of Foreign Policy in Latin America”, which took place at the Cebri Headquarters, in Gavea (South Zone of Rio de Janeiro) and was broadcast virtually. Experts from Brazil, Peru, Colombia and Chile stressed the importance of a comprehensive climate agenda for promoting sustainable economic development and social well-being on the continent. According to the participants, the climate agenda has an impact on health promotion and job creation and is therefore part of the agenda of candidates in this year’s elections.
“The environment is at the center of the power struggle of the new global geopolitics. The climate agenda that began to take shape in Rio 92 30 years ago is not a matter of right or left, much less a separate issue from the current economic agenda. The climate agenda represents economic and political strength as well as technological strength,” said Chebri adviser and former environment minister Isabella Teixeira.
According to Nicole Stopfer, director of the Regional Program for Energy Security and Climate Change in Latin America at the Konrad Adenauer Foundation (KAS), the idea of the conference was to open up space for dialogue for greater integration among Latin American countries. “The region has a huge energy and sustainable potential. The development of regional and global public policy cooperation at a critical time for the whole world is of fundamental importance,” he said.
The discussions also included Hussein Kalut, Cebri international consultant and researcher at Harvard University; Cristian Gutiérrez Pangui, Director of the Regional Center for Green Growth and Climate Change in Chile; Ana Toni, Director of the iCS Institute and Senior Fellow at the Cebri Center for Environment and Climate Change; Maria Laura Rojas, co-founder and director of the NGO Transforma in Colombia; and Elsa Kelly, Ambassador and Director of the Environment and Human Development Committee of the Argentine Council on Foreign Relations (CARI). Manuel Pulgar, former minister of the environment of Peru and global leader on climate and energy for the World Wildlife Fund (WWF), also attended at the invitation of KAS-EKLA.
Elsa Kelly emphasized the importance of diplomacy in the implementation of joint public policy: “We cannot continue with the mentality of the 20th century. Diplomacy must place the environment at the center of foreign policy and move closer and closer to scientists. We need to consult in terms of science and technology and include this knowledge in the training of diplomats to ensure national interests,” he stressed.
Manuel Pulgar, Peru’s former environment minister, said the cost of a tonne of carbon in the carbon market is not competitive for certain sectors of the economy in Latin America. Pulgar said governments in the region, especially those bordering the Amazon region, should create regulation and provide incentives to capitalize on the carbon market in the energy transition in the coming years. Pulgar also stressed the importance of “better use of land, effective control of deforestation, and better political governance and joint planning by the countries of the region.”
Hussein Kalut warned that the climate agenda occupies a secondary place in the region’s foreign policy, but today it is a strategic and long-term issue. “There is a direct request from society. The environment is fully linked to the economy, job creation and public health,” he said.
Ana Toni recalled that Rio 92, held 30 years ago, was an important milestone for putting the climate agenda on the agenda. Now the climate agenda is central to the economies of countries, especially developed ones. “We need to bring this issue to the polls, speak with ordinary citizens, and in a more accessible language. In Chile and Germany, the climate issue determined the elections. I hope the same will happen in Brazil in the October elections. More than two million young people have registered in Brazil this year. Young people will vote with this agenda in mind because it’s the same health and income agenda, not a separate agenda. All candidates will be on the alert because they are voting,” he said.
For Cristian Gutiérez Panga, climate change does not happen without participation, political integration and societal engagement. He noted with concern the militarization movement in the Amazon. “It is important that there is a culture of cooperation between countries to ensure energy and agri-food security in Latin America, this should be a priority of the foreign policy of the continent.”
