Europe and Latin America Towards More Ambitious Collective Climate Action

Will the international community manage to conclude a fair and ambitious global agreement in Paris in 2015?

In spite of the frustration with the slow progress of multilateral processes, civil society across the world continuously tries to push leaders to commit to meaningful climate action. An ambitious and fair global climate deal can only be reached, if alliances can be formed that go beyond the binary split between developed and developing countries.

The European Union plays a key role in international climate negotiations and should strengthen and build new alliances for an ambitious outcome in Paris. With the 2014 Climate Summit taking place in Lima, Latin America is put into the spotlight of the international climate scene. Based on shared history and values, Latin America and the European Union could strengthen their bi-regional partnership and develop new narratives that might help to overcome the North-South division.

This report provides an introduction to European and Latin American civil society perspectives on international climate change policy and politics. Europe and Latin America can learn a lot from each other and there is significant scope for deeper collaboration to increase climate ambition. By exploring the potential of joint demands and proposals, the report shows how Europe and Latin America can ally towards more ambitious collective climate action.

We hope this analysis inspires civil society organisations and democratic institutions to further explore the potential for collaboration between Europe and Latin America to tackle the global climate crisis.