Eco-Briefs

	LATIN AMERICA
	Decline in Renewable Energy

MEXICO CITY, May 21 (Tierramérica).- The generation of energy from renewable sources in Latin America dropped from 25 percent of total output in 1990 to 23 percent in 2009, according to the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC).

“The big challenge is the development of renewable energies. Half of the world’s renewable energy potential is in the developing countries, and Latin America has great potential,” Hugo Ventura, head of the energy and natural resources unit at the ECLAC subregional headquarters in Mexico City, told Tierramérica.

Ventura was one of the speakers at the Mexican International Renewable Energy Congress, held May 15 and 16 in the Mexican capital.

“We need to analyze the cost of the environmental impact of alternative energies, especially in light of a global scenario in which the economy is moving towards lower-carbon solutions,” said Ventura.

	BRAZIL
	Greenhouse Effect of Amazon Hydro Dams Revealed

RIO DE JANEIRO, May 21 (Tierramérica).- The planned construction of 22 hydroelectric power plants in the Amazon region over the next eight years will cause the emission of 153 million tons of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, a new study reveals.

The construction of dams and reservoirs for these hydro plants will require the deforestation of 1,500 sq km in seven environmental preservation areas (APAs), a combined area equivalent in size to the southern Brazilian city of São Paulo, reports a study by the Amazon Institute of People and the Environment (Imazon), released May 11.

This deforestation has been authorized through a provisional decree which is now being studied by Congress on its way to becoming a law. But according to Imazon, the environmental impact assessments required for the execution of these projects were not carried out.

“Reducing the size of APAs without these assessments and public consultations is a violation of environmental legislation and establishes a precedent for future cases,” researcher Elis Araújo of Imazon told Tierramérica.

	LATIN AMERICA
	Mega Cities in Search of Climate Leadership

BUENOS AIRES, May 21 (Tierramérica).- Representatives of civil society, political organizations and the private sector from Buenos Aires, Mexico City and São Paulo, the three most populous cities in Latin America, met in the Argentine capital to promote leadership around the climate change issue.

“Our goal is to foster a multi-sectoral discussion among the cities that will help pull the climate change debate out of its current stagnation,” Juan Carlos Villalonga of the Argentine environmental organization Los Verdes told Tierramérica.

The conference “Towards a Joint Agenda Between the Cities of Buenos Aires, Mexico D. F. and São Paulo: Promoting Climate Leadership and Citizenship” was held May 16-20, organized by the Environment and Natural Resources Foundation of Argentina, the Brazilian Association for Leadership Development, and the Institute of Biology of the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM).

*Source: Inter Press Service.