Latin America: A Pragmatic Approach and a Modest Contribution

Abstract

Across the past two decades, the EU has attempted to transmit its conception of sound environmental practices throughout the developing world. In the context of Latin America, however, the contribution of the EU has been limited. This chapter argues that this is due to the comparatively minimal economic and political sway of the EU in the region, the region’s pre-existing commitment to implementing international environmental norms, internal demands for better environmental standards, and strong bilateral environmental cooperation with the United States. Though the EU policies are broadly effective in their stated objectives, they are comparatively underwhelming in funding, constituting but one of several nuances which contour the formation of national environmental policies throughout the region.