
Lula seen leading LatAm’s climate financing push

The environmental agenda of Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula de Silva will this year take center stage in Latin America’s climate financing push, according to experts from the World Resources Institute (WRI).
After his October election victory, Lula quickly raised expectations by setting an ambitious environmental agenda with a strong focus on fighting deforestation, especially in the Amazon, said Craig Hanson, WRI’s managing director and executive VP for programs.
“When Lula was at COP27 it really was the hot ticket to be at, giving rock & roll bands a run for their money, and I think the question for us is how do we leverage the next six months to actually take advantage of that,” Hanson said during a WRI webinar analyzing the main climate issues to watch this year.
“His party didn’t win congress so he’s going to need to show quickly and early the promise of reversing deforestation,” he added.
The international community must therefore lend a hand to Lula in the form of financing so that there is progress to show by the time COP28 arrives, said Hanson.
COP28 will be held from November 30-December 12 in the United Arab Emirates.
There are other Latin American leaders with strong deforestation agendas, such as Colombia’s Gustavo Petro, but because of Brazil’s political, economic and environmental weight in the region, Lula’s moves will be observed more closely, WRI’s CEO Ani Dasgupta said at the same event.
“Lula has to figure out how to enforce existing law. 98% of deforestation in Brazil is illegal. And finally, much more funds are required to protect the forests,“ said Dasgupta.
Another major concern for the region is the level of financing and for Latin America to reach its mitigation financing needs by 2030, the has to be a six-fold increase, according to Dasgupta.
A big problem for developing countries today is high interest rates, with some countries having borrowing costs that are above 10% and making some projects unviable, he said.
It remains to be seen if the effects of Russia's war in Ukraine will speed up the global energy transition or slow it down as investments keep going to natural gas, according to Dasgupta, who said that Russia has carried out a “weaponization of energy.”
Subscribe to the most trusted business intelligence platform in Latin America. Let us show you our solutions for Suppliers, Contractors, Operators, Government, Legal, Financial and Insurance.
News in: Water & Waste (Mexico)

Mexico makes US$760mn El Cuchillo II aqueduct a priority
The 100km pipeline to take water to Monterrey from the Cuchillo dam will be divided into 10 contracts to offer to companies in a tender, in which o...

Nuevo León plans new water treatment plants to combat drought
A local official from the Mexican state tells BNamericas about the project’s details.
Subscribe to Latin America’s most trusted business intelligence platform.
Other projects in: Water & Waste (Mexico)
Get critical information about thousands of Water & Waste projects in Latin America: what stages they're in, capex, related companies, contacts and more.
- Project: Efficiency Improvement Service Project for Turbines 5 and 6 of the Infiernillo Hydroelectric Plant
- Current stage:
- Updated:
1 year ago
- Project: Modernization of the Ángel Albino Corzo hydroelectric plant (Peñitas)
- Current stage:
- Updated:
1 year ago
- Project: Comprehensive Improvement of Water Management in La Paz, BCS
- Current stage:
- Updated:
3 years ago
- Project: El Sarape waste-to-energy plant (Mexico City)
- Current stage:
- Updated:
1 year ago
- Project: 0904 Intermunicipal Project for the Comprehensive Management of Urban Solid Waste in the La Ciénega Region, Michoacán
- Current stage:
- Updated:
2 years ago
- Project: Centenario canal - First stage
- Current stage:
- Updated:
1 year ago
- Project: Bordo Poniente IV power generation plant
- Current stage:
- Updated:
1 year ago
- Project: Picachos-Mazatlán Water Pipeline
- Current stage:
- Updated:
1 year ago
- Project: El Zapotillo-Los Altos de Jalisco-León aqueduct
- Current stage:
- Updated:
1 year ago
- Project: Churubusco-Xochiaca water tunnel
- Current stage:
- Updated:
1 year ago
Other companies in: Water & Waste (Mexico)
Get critical information about thousands of Water & Waste companies in Latin America: their projects, contacts, shareholders, related news and more.
- Company: Litoclean Mexico
-
Litoclean Mexico is an environmental engineering firm involved in the development of soil research and decontamination projects, which proposes time- and cost-efficient solution...
- Company: H. XVI Ayuntamiento de La Paz
- Company: Carso Infraestructura y Construcción, S.A.B. de C.V. (CICSA)  (CICSA)
-
Carso Infraestructura y Construcción (CICSA) is a Mexican company belonging to Grupo Carso's infrastructure and construction division. The firm is involved in the development of...
- Company: Comanseraf, S.A. de C.V.
- Company: GEOBIOS Consultoría Ambiental
- Company: Grupo CONSAMIN, S.A. de C.V.
- Company: Cisco Consultores Ambientales
- Company: Aguas Tratadas del Valle de México S.A. de C.V.  (Aguas Tratadas del Valle de México)
-
Aguas Tratadas del Valle de México S.A. de C.V. (ATVM), a consortium made up of Spanish Acciona Agua, Mexico's water infrastructure firm Atlatec, infrastructure solutions compan...