In a panel discussion held on Sunday (16) at the TED Countdown House, in Belem (Pennsylvania), former President of Colombia Juan Manuel Santos said that the lack of unity among Latin American leaders affects climate and environmental issues in the region.
The event, whose theme was “Moral Courage in Leadership,” saw the participation of Mary Robinson, former Irish president, and moderation by Lindsay Levine, co-founder of TED Countdown, an initiative dedicated to accelerating solutions to the climate crisis.
The former president, who won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2016, said of the peace agreement with the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, “Latin American leaders are fighting among themselves on an almost daily basis. The region has never been so fragmented. And what is the result of that? It is that we are not working together to save the Amazon, to save ourselves, and to be relevant to this great existential challenge of stopping climate change and doing the right thing.”
The Colombian called for the need to hold a “constructive dialogue” in the region. “It is absolutely essential in this effort to make peace with nature. We have to convince Latin America that they have to work together if we want to be relevant in the discussion on how to save the planet. We have enormous potential. We have the Amazon.”
Former Irish President Mary Robison said Brazil provides good leadership in climate discussions. “The country is trying to combat inequality and other social issues, and this is very important because we need a fair and equitable transition. We need the move towards renewable energy to be affordable and accessible to everyone,” he said.
For her, who was also the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, climate and environmental issues must be addressed at the societal level. “We can’t leave everything in the hands of the government, it has to be something people can empathize with. The lower we get to the community level, the cheaper and more practical the solutions become.”
Both praised the Brazil-led Tropical Forests Forever Fund (TFFF), which is creating a new model for climate finance: countries that preserve their tropical forests will be financially rewarded through a global investment fund.
“This will be one of the tangible outcomes of COP30, because it is very important,” Santos said. “As well as the inclusion of indigenous communities in decisions to save the Amazon. They are the ones who know best how to protect the forest. They live in it and know how to protect it. We must not only give them money, but we must also allow them to participate in the decisions.”
Mary positively highlights the “direct access that indigenous communities will have to the TFFF.” “This Conference of the Parties is very important, and it is the most important since the Paris Conference in 2015,” he said.
Both former presidents are members of The Elders, which was founded in 2007 by Nelson Mandela (1918-2013), who was South Africa’s post-apartheid president. It is an independent group of global leaders working for justice, peace, human rights and a sustainable planet.
“We call for leaders to think in the long term, not just about the next election,” Santos told the committee on Sunday.
Mary said the organization also calls for shared decision-making between different generations. “We need more intergenerational discussions because each generation has a different way of thinking. We at Elders feel lucky to have opportunities to connect with other generations, especially to talk about climate and nature.”
According to the former president, members of the organization learn as much as they contribute. “Many of you are involved in social media and have innovative and impactful ideas. Younger generations should be more involved in discussions.”
Mary is also a co-founder of the Dandelion Project, a women-led global campaign for climate justice, launching in 2023. The initiative brings together activists, indigenous leaders, artists and philanthropists.
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