FES BRIEFING THE ESCAZÚ AGREEMENT Its Effect on Latin America’s Economy and Trade Policy Astrid Becker May 2022 BACKGROUND Besides large deposits of raw materials, Latin America has great biodiversity and ecosystems like the Amazon Basin that are significant for the world’s climate. However, the region’s wealth of resources – including ores and large amounts of pro­ductive agricultural land – has also meant that in the global di­vision of labour, Latin America primarily exports raw materials and provides cheap labour. The region now leads in invest­ments for raw material extraction through mining: In 2018, for example, 28 per cent of global investment went to Latin Amer­ican countries. To cope with the economic consequences of the Covid-19 pandemic, many governments will increasingly exploit mineral resources, such as copper, lithium, gold and oil. They will also clear more forest areas in response to the grow­ing global demand for ores and agricultural products, especial­ly soy and beef. This implies major infrastructure construction projects for dams, wind farms, ports and roads to ensure prop­er production and export. But new mines, infrastructure and agricultural land are destroying the habitats of local communi­ties and indigenous peoples, as well as numerous ecosystems. Large tourism projects and using farmland to produce renew­able energy, especially dams and solar parks, exacerbate this development. Although most Latin American countries have progressive environmental legislation, they often do not ob­serve environmental impact study guidelines or consider local residents’ interests and allow them to participate. In many cases, the economic advantages of investments at best marginally benefit local populations, raising the potential for conflict. Protests against large projects often turn into vio­lent clashes and are connected with the criminalisation of pro­testers, expulsions and human rights violations. One such case is the Peruvian“Las Bambas” copper mine protests conduct­ed since 2018, which have temporarily stopped mining opera­tions. The police and military violently intimidate and suppress protesters in numerous countries in the region, which for years has been one of the most dangerous for environmental activists. The NGO Global Witness reports that 227 environ­mental defenders were murdered worldwide in 2020, 165 of them in Latin America, mostly in Colombia and Mexico. THE MOST IMPORTANT POINTS IN THE ESCAZÚ AGREEMENT “The Regional Agreement on Access to Information, Public Participation and Justice in Environmental Matters in Latin America and the Caribbean” – generally known as the“Es­cazú Agreement” – entered into force in April 2021. Rati­fied by 13 countries thus far, the innovative, internationally binding treaty has created a new framework for environ­mental and human rights in Latin America. The four main pillars of the Escazú Agreement are: – access to comprehensible non-technical information on the environment, including in local languages, – establishment of a specialised judiciary and qualified staff, – new, far-reaching regulations for civil society participa­tion regarding investments that affect them, and – special mechanisms to protect environmental activists. The agreement specifically addresses existing problems and offers possible solutions. The European Aarhus Convention, which came into force in 2001 and regulates access to infor­mation, public participation in decision-making and access to justice in environmental matters, served as a model. The Escazú Agreement complements other international treaties such as the ILO Convention 169 on consultation with indig­enous and tribal peoples. The first international treaty to protect environmental activists, the agreement also set an example by involving civil society throughout negotiations. Civil society is expected to play a further role in the agree­ment’s implementation, as evidenced by the participation of elected representatives of civil society in the plenary ses­sions(Conferencias de los Partes, COP). Signatory states commit to creating a legal framework for implementing the rights and institutions agreed in the trea­ty. To date, 12 states, including major regional players like Mexico and Argentina, have ratified the Escazú Agreement. Chile signed in March 2022, becoming the thirteenth mem­1