Latin America

An aerial view of Santiago, Chile

In Chile’s metropolitan region, we partner with local organizations to improve water management practices and address water scarcity.

Credit:

Natalia Catalina/iStock

Latin America boasts some of the world’s most spectacularly varied landscapes and wildlife, as well as diverse cultures, traditions, and political systems. But many countries in this region face the same challenges, like how to achieve their economic development goals and supply enough energy, food, and services to their citizens, all while protecting fragile wildlands, waters, and forests and limiting greenhouse gas emissions.

With the impacts of climate change already being felt across the region, the urgency is mounting to implement sustainable solutions both in rural communities and in rapidly expanding cities. Fortunately, Latin America is a hub for climate solutions across sectors, including energy, transportation, conservation, and finance. Chile, Costa Rica, Colombia, and Mexico have also emerged as a progressive force for global climate action.

NRDC joins forces with a broad spectrum of partners to address the region’s environmental challenges and build on its potential as an incubator of sustainable solutions. Together we promote robust policies to help Latin American countries grow toward a low-carbon, climate-resilient future while protecting important natural resources and communities. Throughout our work, we uphold the fundamental right of all communities to have a say in the decisions that affect their health and environment. With a particular focus on clean energy issues, our work includes technical and economic analyses, policy studies and recommendations, public outreach and engagement, and collaborative processes.

  • NRDC collaborations promote a clean energy transition grounded in the region’s renewable energy resources and energy efficiency potential. For example, we worked with the Chilean Renewable Energy Association to assess the economic and social benefits of adding more renewables to the country’s power grid.
  • To address chronic air pollution problems in cities like Santiago, Chile, and Mexico City, we advocate for sustainable transportation technologies, including cleaner diesel fuels, tougher vehicle emissions and efficiency standards, and electromobility.
  • NRDC experts are developing innovative financial solutions to spur investment in a low-carbon and climate-resilient future. In Mexico and Chile, we work with key financial institutions to apply lessons from the green bank model and advance domestic leadership on green finance.
  • In step with our local allies, we defend iconic landscapes and species under threat. Among our efforts: our engagement in the decades-long fight to keep Patagonia’s wild rivers from being yoked by massive hydroelectric dams.
  • In Chile’s metropolitan region, we partner with local organizations to improve water management practices and address water scarcity so that everyone in the region can have access to clean, potable water.

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