
How Biden Can Change Bolsonaro’s Mind on the Amazon
Biden can learn important lessons from Europe’s failure to coax Brazil into moderating its environmental policies.

Tracing the Causes of Berta Cáceres’ Life and Death
Nina Lakhani’s “Who Killed Berta Cáceres?” looks at both the details and context of the Honduran environmentalist’s murder.

Brazil Doesn’t Have to Choose Between the Environment and the Economy
President Jair Bolsonaro’s efforts to roll-back environmental regulations reverse years of innovative policymaking in Brazil.

Why Bolsonaro’s Amazon Policies Could Sink Brazil’s Trade Ambitions
Consumers in China and elsewhere are increasingly concerned about the environment.

How Latin America Can Use its Natural Resource Wealth Responsibly
Extractive industries can bring benefits for the region. But governance of the sector must continue to improve.

Brazil Doesn’t Have to Choose Between the Environment and the Economy
President Jair Bolsonaro’s efforts to roll-back environmental regulations reverse years of innovative policymaking in Brazil.

A Prestigious Award for Chile Is a Headache for Piñera
The Goldman Prize was just awarded to Alberto Curamil, a jailed Chilean environmental activist, shining a spotlight on Chile’s policies in the Araucanía.

China and the Environment: A Struggle for Change in Latin America
Chinese companies gained a reputation in Latin America when it comes to the environment. Cleaning it up will take more than solar panels.

Making Economic Sense of Bolsonaro’s Environment Views
Brazil’s former Environment Minister Izabella Teixeira spoke to AQ about the new government’s green imperatives.

Threats to Environmental Activists Put Colombia’s Indigenous at Risk
While Colombia has made remarkable strides in reducing violence over the last two decades, the country remains a dangerous – and even deadly – place for environmental activists. According to a report released June 20 by the advocacy group Global Witness, at least 26 land and environmental activists were killed in the country in 2015. … Read more

Former UN Climate Talks President Says Latin America Has Much to Gain at Paris Conference
On the opening day of international climate change talks in Paris this week, Manuel Pulgar Vidal, Peru’s environment minister, officially handed over the presidency of the United Nations Conference of Parties (COP) to French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius. AQ sat down with the minister to talk about Latin America’s role in climate negotiations in Paris … Read more
[i]AQ[/i] Slideshow: Post-Spill Effects in Peruvian Mining Communities
Extractive industries have made a considerable contribution to Latin America’s economic growth this century, especially in countries along the Pacific Rim (i.e., Chile, Colombia, and Peru). Of those nations, perhaps greatest recent impact of the resource boom has been in Peru—contributing a large share to the country’s remarkable GDP growth of 6.9 percent in 2011. … Read more

A Brazil Perspective on Rio+20
All eyes are on Brazil this week as more than 130 world leaders and some 50,000 activists, civil society representatives and business leaders are attending the UN Conference on Sustainable Development, known as Rio+20, in Rio de Janeiro. The conference marks 20 years since the Earth Summit in 1992 concluded, when leaders—optimistic about a post-Cold … Read more
Beat the Heat
Extreme climate events are presenting a new and unexpected challenge to the private sector in Latin America. While attention understandably focuses on the ordinary citizens caught up in catastrophes such as the floods in Tabasco, Mexico and Hurricane Noel in the Dominican Republic, the painful economic effects on the hemisphere’s business community are often lost in the news coverage.
Does Ethanol Make Economic and Environmental Sense?
Bruce Dale: YES! Ethanol Will Reduce Our Dependence On Foreign Oil. Contrary to common criticism, ethanol will also help developing nations. Ethanol offers a huge reduction in petroleum consumption per mile driven and it can significantly decrease greenhouse gas generation compared to gasoline. Ethanol derived from cellulosic materials can also be produced at low enough … Read more