From ambition to implementation: delivering the energy transition and industrial transformation in 2026
Insight by Sandra Ghosh, Susanne Lein
Despite the urgency of Climate, Peace and Security (CPS) challenges in Latin America and Caribbean (LAC), the region is still not recognised as a priority within global CPS discussions. Gaps also remain in connecting local and traditional knowledge and experience to global CPS debates. This Practical Note aims to fill these gaps. It explores regional CPS challenges and, most importantly, identifies practical solutions stakeholders should prioritise to address these challenges.
The Latin America and Caribbean (LAC) region is at the forefront of many diplomatic and grassroots efforts in environmental and climate action, while also facing an interconnected crisis. Environmental degradation is intensifying through climate change-related droughts, hurricanes and floods, damaging infrastructure, disrupting economies, fuelling displacement and deepening social tensions. At the same time, the region faces chronic security challenges. LAC’s homicide rate is the highest in the world—three times the global average. Organised crime— including illegal deforestation, illegal mining and drug trafficking—threatens human lives and the biodiversity of vital ecosystems, including the Cerrado, Pan-Amazon and Maya Forests and the Gran Chaco. These dynamics fuel the climate crisis, undermine communities’ resilience to climate change impacts, amplify security risks, and obstruct the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals.
This Practical Note aims to centre LAC perspectives—including policymakers, human rights and environmental defenders, Indigenous leaders, and civil society organisations— within global Climate, Peace and Security (CPS) discussions. It is the result of collective knowledge shared during a workshop organised by adelphi global, the United Nations System Staff College (UNSSC) and the Igarapé Institute in October 2025 in Berlin, as an official side event of the Berlin Climate and Security Conference (BCSC). Building on outcomes from BCSC-Cali (October 2024) and BCSC-Rio (June 2025), the workshop convened civil society organisations, embassies, government representatives, UN agencies and donors to identify practical solutions for addressing climate, environment and peace challenges in the region.
For governments:
For international stakeholders:
For donors:
Download publication
Shared by
Download publication
Shared by