Climate Change in the Americas

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Photo: La Guajira, Colombia.
Current desertification rates reach up to 87.5% (Ana Bolívar/anabolivar.com)

As the planet heats up, severe consequences will occur throughout the Americas. The effects could be particularly tragic in Latin America where 80 million people depend upon water from glacier-fed rivers. As the Andean glaciers melt, these rivers will first flood and then dry up. In Peru, the National Commission on Climate Change has predicted that within the next few years, Peru will lose all of its glaciers below 18,000 feet in elevation. Beyond water scarcity, rising sea levels could displace hundreds of millions of coastal residents. And in hurricane-prone areas like the Caribbean and Baja California (Mexico), warming seas could lead to more frequent and powerful hurricanes. Yet perhaps the most devastating impacts will be on forests, fisheries, and agriculture—warmer, drier weather will likely trigger more forest fires, diminish crop yields, and create oceanic dead zones devoid of life (a trend that is already being observed).

AIDA is acutely aware that climate change threatens the habitat and survival of many Latin American plant and animal species, including homo sapiens. As part of our work on climate change, we participated in three important events in the fall of 2009.

In September, AIDA Co-Executive Director Astrid Puentes, along with AIDA Board Members, Rolando Castro and Gustavo Alanís, participated in the first training on climate change offered in Latin America, led by Al Gore and “The Climate Project.” The participants learned from Mr. Gore and other experts about ways to give dynamic presentations on climate change in their communities. Ms. Puentes and the board members are now incorporating what they learned into talks at universities and before public audiences in Mexico, Costa Rica, Colombia, and other countries.

The following month at a climate change conference in Colombia, AIDA Attorney Marcela Jiménez gave a presentation on taking climate change into account when conducting an environmental impact assessment (EIA). For example, when a company must conduct an EIA of a proposed project, it should predict the project's greenhouse gas emissions so that decision-makers can consider the climate change risks and deny approval or require adjustments as needed. Ms. Jiménez also discussed the need to pay special attention to ecosystems like mangrove forests that are vulnerable to rising sea levels. She further emphasized the need for decision-makers reviewing environmental impact assessments to weigh not only the direct effects of the project but the combined effects of the project and global warming.

Finally, in October, Ms. Puentes and AIDA Board Members, Martin Wagner and Daniel Taillant, spoke on climate change and human rights at a workshop at George Washington University in Washington, D.C. Their talk focused on the many links between climate change and human rights in the Americas, and the obligations of the states to consider these links and take appropriate action. Representatives of the Organization of American States (OAS), the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR), and various governments attended. The IACHR will incorporate material from this conference into an official report on climate change and human rights requested by the General Assembly of the OAS.

England’s Secretary for the Environment, Hilary Benn, said in 2008, "Climate change is the most serious long-term threat to development in poor countries.” Costa Rica recognizes the stakes—last year, it committed itself to becoming carbon neutral by 2021. AIDA applauds the efforts of nations like Costa Rica and pledges to educate affected communities, legal professionals, and lawmakers about the need to address this advancing crisis.