Politics and Climate Change: Exploring the Relationship Between Political Parties and Climate Issues in Latin America

Abstract

This article explores the politicization of climate issues in the Latin American context. In other words, to what extent climate change is a relevant issue for political parties and coalitions. This is a key aspect to analyze in order to have a better understanding of the opportunities and obstacles that affect the development of the climate agenda in a given political system. Specifically, the article addresses three key issues. First, it analyses the patterns of politicization of the climate problem prevailing among mainstream political parties and coalitions in countries of the region. Second, it addresses what factors influence the level of politicization of the climate agenda in Latin America. Finally, it explores the consequences of a greater or lesser level of politicization.

El cambio climático y el desarrollo energético sostenible en América Latina y el Caribe al amparo del Acuerdo de París y de la Agenda 203

“…En Venezuela la mayor parte de la producción proviene de yacimientos maduros. En 2018, la producción del país se registró en 1,5 millones de barriles por día, con una tasa de crecimiento del -4,3% en el periodo 2007-2017(BP, 2019. Por su parte, Argentina cuenta con las cuartas reservas más grandes del mundo de esquisto bituminoso, estimadas en 27.000 millones de barriles, localizadas en el yacimiento Vaca Muerta, que comprende cuatro provincias: Neuquén, La Pampa, Mendoza y Río Negro (WEC, 2016a).…”

Estrategias De Adaptación Y Prácticas De Cuidado en Comunidades Desplazadas Climáticas: Caso Colombiano

“…Desde un plano institucional, el desplazamiento climático se traduce en la ausencia de un aparato socio-administrativo capaz de minimizar los costos sociales de esta movilidad humana, que conlleva a una gestión improvisada de la atención humanitaria debido a la ausencia de políticas que atiendan a la dinámica migratoria y sus impactos sobre los territorios (Amar-Amar et al, 2014;Yamamoto et al, 2018). Esto último se relaciona con una incorporación de baja intensidad y alta gradualidad en la formulación de políticas de cambio climático, por ejemplo, en América Latina, donde a pesar de no encontrarse una fuerte oposición a la agenda climática, las decisiones se toman ante la coyuntura de eventos de impacto nacional o a condiciones de oportunidad económica (Ryan, 2017).…”

Greening up and the Political Manifestos: A Review of Political Party Manifestos on Issues of the Environment in Malawi

“…Now when a political party(s) prepares a manifesto, so defined as, a published declaration of intentions, motives, or views of political organizations which generally present the level of attention that a party, organization or an individual will pay to an issue and how to address it [20], must carefully consider environmental mismanagement and inequality currently at the hub of igniting current difficult to control risks. These are important and central elements for comprehending public policy development in relation to those matters by which that a political party, individual or organization, should be voted and trusted into power with and help it reduce the risks on its economy.…”

“…Just as many countries, Malawi as a country needs to experience sustainable economic growth and alleviate poverty by conserving its valuable environmental resources as the livelihoods of its population are largely dependent on natural resources [6]. Because of this, government must and has taken various measures to safeguard the country's natural resource base for example inter alia, the enactment of the According to Ryan (2017), political parties' main function is to articulate and represent the interests and visions of different social sectors and actors, with the expectation of impacting on government's agenda and policies [20]. Just as others, manifesto statements on environment, needs thorough articulation by political parties in Malawi as observed across the globe targeting numerous issues that are linked to potential dangers of the environment.…”

“…These parties' ideological frameworks can clearly be a range of possible policy instruments that are considered legitimate or more appropriate in addressing environmental and climate change issues [20]. According to Elischer (2012), party ideologies are not seen to differ much and most election campaigns are characterized by slogans with which anyone can empathize such as demands for better infrastructure, more inclusive health care and education facilities, and anticorruption statements but not much on the environment [8].…”