Cities and communities throughout Latin America and the Caribbean are already suffering the impacts of a changing climate. At COP 28 in Dubai, governments from around the world pledged to transition away from fossil fuels. Two years down the line, these promises ring hollow.
On the eve of COP 30, more than 190 oil and gas companies from 42 countries are exploring and developing new oil and gas reserves or building new fossil fuel infrastructure in Latin America and the Caribbean. We are still a region of open veins. And our own state-owned oil and gas companies such as Petrobras, YPF, Pemex and Petroperú are part of the feeding frenzy.
The majority of fossil fuel companies operating in Latin America and their financial backers are, however, headquartered in the Global North.
Fossil fuel expansion in our region is the continuation of a long-standing pattern of colonialism: Multinational corporations take control of our resources, harvest the profits and offload the costs on local populations. These are pushed aside, impoverished and left with a degraded and polluted environment. Climate justice cannot be achieved without dismantling this exploitative model.
This report shines a spotlight on companies that are exploring and developing new fossil fuel reserves or building new fossil infrastructure such as pipelines, liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminals and gas-fired power plants. And it reveals which banks and investors are backing the expansion of this dirty and dangerous industry across Latin America and the Caribbean.
All along the oil and gas frontier, local communities, Indigenous peoples and civil society organizations are fighting against new coal, oil and gas projects. Our message to financial institutions is simple: Fossil fuels cannot be worth more than our lives, our waters, our forests and our futures.
