Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) is home to some of the most biodiverse regions in the world. However, climate change is seriously impacting the hemisphere as rising temperatures, averaging a 0.2 degree Celsius increase per decade, cause surrounding oceans to become more acidic, Andean glaciers to melt, and more frequent floods and droughts, which affect food and water supply, housing, and public infrastructure. At the same time, the Nature Conservancy refers to LAC as “a beacon of hope for a planet facing a changing climate and growing demands for food, water and energy.” What role can LAC play in the global battle against the climate crisis? What areas of mitigation and adaptation should be prioritized in order to minimize the destructive effects of climate change? The Georgetown Americas Institute welcomed Paula Caballero, regional managing director for Latin America at the Nature Conservancy, to discuss the organization’s efforts in the region on sustainable development and nature-based solutions for climate adaptation.
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Paula Caballero is the Nature Conservancy's (TNC) regional managing director for Latin America. In this role, she leads a team of more than 300 staff across 16 countries, stretching from Mexico to Argentina, to deliver bold new strategies and partnerships to conserve the world’s most biodiverse region. Caballero has extensive experience in sustainable development. She is recognized as having created the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals concept, which is considered to be a “blueprint to achieve a better and more sustainable future for all.” For this work, she received the German Sustainability Award in 2019 and the Zayed International Prize for the Environment in 2014 for her contribution to “environmental action leading to positive change.”
Alejandro Werner (moderator) is the founding director of the Georgetown Americas Institute and a non-resident senior fellow at the Peterson Institute. He recently completed almost nine years as director of the Western Hemisphere Department at the International Monetary Fund. Prior to that appointment, he was undersecretary of finance and public credit in Mexico’s Finance Ministry and held several positions in that ministry and the Central Bank. He also taught at leading universities in Mexico, Spain, and the United States. He holds a Ph.D. in economics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and a B.A. in economics from Instituto Tecnológico Autónomo de México (ITAM).
