Deforestation rates in the Amazon River Basin have risen to near-record levels in recent years, threatening biodiversity and indigenous lands as well as global climate change efforts and weather patterns in the Amazon region and beyond. The lack of governance across Amazonian nations is a primary factor behind countries’ failure to stem forest loss, said experts at an event launching a new Inter-American Dialogue report on May 29.
The largest tropical rainforest on the planet, the Amazon plays a critical role as a storehouse of carbon and mediator of the global water cycle and holds a greater share of the world’s known biodiversity than any other ecosystem. However, unchecked development is placing the Amazon under threat, pushing deforestation rates to near-record levels throughout the region.
The development of energy resources is an integral component of many of Latin America’s economies, from established producers like Colombia and Brazil to newcomers to the global energy market like freshly oil-rich Guyana. However, policymakers and energy companies throughout the region must devise solutions to a variety of fiscal, political, social, and environmental hurdles to ensure successful and sustainable projects, explained speakers at an Inter-American Dialogue event on May 10.
On April 12, the Inter-American Dialogue, in partnership with the Latin America Program at the Wilson Center, hosted a conversation with the current Minister of Finance and Public Credit of Colombia, Alberto Carrasquilla.
The U.S. president needs to keep cooperating closely with Mexico, steer clear of any military action in Venezuela and refrain from bullying his partners and allies in the region.
In a wide-ranging panel about current events in energy, Lisa Viscidi commented on the shift in the US energy trade balance and its effects on foreign policy, Chinese financing for foreign energy projects, the importance of upgrading transmission lines for expanding renewable power generation, and how the Green New Deal attempts to reframe the discussion on climate change in the US.
The Inter-American Dialogue co-hosted an event with President Ivan Duque Marquez called “Colombia’s Domestic and Regional Opportunities and Challenges.”
Electric mobility would bring a host of benefits to Latin America. Countries like Chile are taking the lead in adopting electric buses and promoting private use of electric vehicles. Yet hefty price tags and a lack of charging infrastructure are among the barriers that must be surmounted for widespread uptake in the region.
The Inter-American Dialogue and the Wilson Center’s Latin American Program hosted President of the Colombian Commission for the Clarification of Truth, Coexistence and Non-Repetition to discuss the challenges of constructing a coherent and honest narrative of the Colombian conflict.
On December 7, 2018, the Inter-American Dialogue’s Working Group on Latin America met for its 31st session. Dating back to 2001, the group is one of the longest-running and most successful initiatives at the Dialogue.
