AGP Executive Report

Amazon oil backlash: Brazil’s President Lula called Petrobras’s new hydrocarbons find near the mouth of the Amazon a “passport for the country’s future,” despite environmentalists warning it could threaten biodiversity and worsen climate impacts. Indigenous rights: Greenpeace Brasil says Indigenous communities’ rights could be sidelined by Amazon extraction plans. Microplastics in the Amazon: A new report finds microplastics in wildlife even inside protected areas, with contamination moving from forest waterways to the Amazon River system. Climate-linked disease risk: Scientists warn warming is extending mosquito seasons, raising dengue risk as new cases are detected in places like Hawaiʻi after international travel. Blue economy jobs: Trinidad and Tobago is expanding training for fisheries and maritime careers through a “blue economy” youth program aimed at sustainable ocean livelihoods. Urban climate wins: Mexico’s Hermosillo was recognized by WWF for clean energy, reforestation, and city climate action. Water protection fight: Earthjustice sued the U.S. to stop deep-sea mining lease plans off American Samoa, arguing habitat and endangered-species rules weren’t properly followed.

Amazon Oil Push: Brazil’s Petrobras confirmed hydrocarbons in the Foz do Amazonas/Amapá offshore frontier, with Lula calling the find a “passport to the future” as environmentalists warn drilling in a sensitive zone could intensify biodiversity and spill risks. Indigenous Rights vs Mining: Brazil’s Supreme Court shifted attention by suspending appeals tied to the “Marco Temporal” land doctrine while also upholding provisional rules for mining involving the Cinta Larga, keeping a long-running fight over Indigenous territory protections and mineral extraction in the spotlight. Climate-Linked Disasters: Colombia’s earthquake response remains politically fraught, with criticism after a housing minister was seen on a beach while people slept outdoors, as relief and rebuilding efforts struggle to keep up. Sargassum Pressure: Miami-Dade’s seaweed cleanup shows how El Niño-linked conditions can worsen Caribbean and Gulf sargassum surges, with thousands of tons removed and ongoing impacts on beaches and wildlife. Sanitation Gap: A UN/WHO-UNICEF report finds only 40% of healthcare facilities worldwide meet basic sanitation standards, underscoring a major public health and climate-vulnerability issue across the region. BRICS Environment Track: BRICS environment ministers in New Delhi unveiled compendiums on fire management, sustainable lifestyles, landscape greening, and circular economy—aimed at practical climate resilience cooperation.

Amazon Oil & Climate Debate: Brazil’s Lula called Petrobras’s new offshore find near the mouth of the Amazon a “passport to the future,” even as environmental and Indigenous groups keep suing to stop drilling over licensing, spill risks, and climate impacts. Border Wall vs. Nature: The Trump administration paused Big Bend National Park border construction after backlash from environmental groups and locals, with CBP saying it will assess impacts on sensitive desert landscapes and wildlife. Drought-Resilient Farming: Venezuela’s agricultural leaders say a “Let’s Go with Sorghum” push is expanding sorghum acreage to cope with severe heat and drought that are hurting traditional crops like corn. El Niño Watch: Coverage highlights how a fast-strengthening “super El Niño” could reshape rainfall, heat, and storm patterns across the Americas, with major knock-on effects for fisheries and agriculture. Sargassum Forecasting: NOAA’s updated tool now helps track smelly seaweed risk for beaches across the Caribbean and parts of South America, aiming to improve planning for coastal communities. Water Stress in the Caribbean: Trinidad and Tobago faces worsening water security as rainfall patterns shift, pushing calls for long-term resilience beyond emergency rationing. Venezuela Energy & Crypto: Venezuela’s PSUV says cryptocurrency mining is banned to save electricity amid the “Super Child” climate emergency.

Amazon Deforestation: A new analysis using MapBiomas links Amazon clearing trends to El Niño-era climate stress, warning that biodiversity and carbon impacts could intensify as drought and heat reshape ecosystems. Climate Risk: NOAA and other forecasters are flagging a possible “super” El Niño, with knock-on effects for rainfall, drought, and wildfire risk across Latin America, including food and water security pressures. Disaster Response (Colombia): Colombia’s earthquake recovery is being strained by a “double disaster” of wildfires and heavy rain alerts, complicating rescue and relief operations. Water Stress: Puerto Rico is facing drought-driven rationing affecting hundreds of thousands, underscoring how climate extremes are hitting basic services. Fertilizer & Food Prices: India’s urea squeeze is tied to energy and shipping disruptions, a reminder that fertilizer shocks can ripple into higher food costs—an issue Latin America watches closely. Brazil Policy: Brazil’s Senate has advanced incentives to expand domestic fertilizer production, aiming to cut import dependence and stabilize supply chains. Mining & Critical Minerals: Brazil Potash’s new Senate-backed fertilizer framework could unlock construction funding, while Brazilian Rare Earths is preparing a pilot plant in Bahia to move rare-earths from discovery toward customer testing.

El Niño’s Marine Hit: NASA reports a drop in phytoplankton in the eastern Pacific linked to El Niño, with knock-on risks for the marine food chain and fisheries, including Peru’s anchovy operations being suspended in key zones. Ocean Plastics, Measured Better: The IAEA-backed NUTEC Plastics platform is standardizing microplastics monitoring across 65 countries, training 400 specialists and pushing shared sampling protocols to make ocean data comparable. Land Degradation Focus: COP17 on desertification opens in Mongolia, with rangelands and pastoralist knowledge highlighted as crucial for carbon storage and drought resilience. Community Ecotourism Skills: In Mexico’s Celestún, 25 guides complete a 200-hour environmental interpretation and ecotourism training to better protect mangroves and wildlife while raising service standards. Argentina’s Transparency Gap: A stalled bill would force public disclosure of commercial fishing fleet data, but critics say Argentina’s secrecy blocks oversight compared with more open neighbors. Brazil Politics & Climate Ties: Lula launches his campaign for a fourth term, while Indigenous leaders warn energy transition plans can’t become “colonial violence.”

Water Security: Puerto Rico has started rotating 48-hour water shutoffs for about 180,000 properties as drought leaves the Carraízo reservoir nearly depleted, with residents lining up for tanker deliveries while officials say they’re still assessing when rationing will end. Climate Outlook: A strong El Niño is forecast to peak by late 2026, with NOAA-style warnings that it could drive major rainfall and storm shifts in parts of the Americas while worsening drought risk elsewhere. Biodiversity Under Pressure: Florida reports record sea turtle nesting numbers, but conservationists warn that rollbacks to the Endangered Species Act could slow recovery. Energy & Environment: Brazil’s Petrobras says it has found oil and gas at the Morpho wildcat in the Foz do Amazonas basin, with drilling continuing and environmental safeguards emphasized. Regional Adaptation: Guatemalan Xinca communities in the Santa María Xalapán mountains are tackling plastic waste and combustion through local cleanups and training led by researchers. El Niño + Food Systems: Scientists warn “super El Niño” conditions could intensify heat, drought, and wildfire risks across Latin America, threatening crops and recovery efforts after disasters.

El Niño Watch: NOAA says there’s a 95% chance El Niño will become very strong by late 2026, with major knock-on effects for rainfall, farming, and water across Latin America. Climate Signals: NASA reports early satellite signs of El Niño already shifting Pacific marine conditions, including lower chlorophyll that can ripple through fisheries. Biodiversity Under Pressure: Leonardo DiCaprio is backing a Chile-Argentina power line route change to protect the critically endangered Pehuenche spiny-chest frog, warning that poorly sited infrastructure can push fragile habitats closer to collapse. Renewables Push: Saint Lucia proposes a five-year VAT zero-rate on solar panels, batteries, inverters, and installation to speed clean power adoption and cut exposure to imported oil price swings. Energy Justice (Rio): A field study maps electricity access and public lighting in Rio’s Morro do Sereno favela, linking infrastructure and everyday safety. Illegal Mining Crackdown (Darién): Panama’s Senafront says it’s targeting a Clan del Golfo-linked gold-mining network in the Darien jungle after operations captured dozens, though mining camps keep reappearing.

Earthquake & Tsunami Risk (Indonesia): A 7.7-magnitude quake struck off Flores, triggering tsunami warnings and evacuations, with aftershocks reported and alerts for parts of eastern Indonesia. Wildfire Surge Amid El Niño (Colombia): Colombia faces a wildfire escalation after a recent earthquake, with hundreds of municipalities on red alert as heat and dry conditions linked to El Niño persist into 2027. Oil Exploration Near the Amazon (Brazil): Petrobras says it detected hydrocarbons off Brazil’s Amazon coast, raising fresh debate over environmental risks near a highly biodiverse region. Water Scarcity & Adaptation (Puerto Rico): Puerto Rico’s drought has led to rationing, while experts point to underused rainwater harvesting as a practical resilience option. Indigenous Rights vs Rail Project (Brazil): Xavante leaders say a railway project threatens sacred sites and was pushed without prior informed consent, taking the dispute to UN mechanisms. Digital Education Push (OECS): The OECS, with UNICEF support, unveiled a regional child policy and advanced software development for post-secondary education platforms.

Amazon mining crackdown: Peru deployed the military to hit illegal gold mining camps in the Tambopata National Park area, burning equipment and detaining women and a child for questioning, underscoring how deforestation and violence follow extractive booms. Food safety probe: U.S. FDA investigators visited Taylor Farms’ Mexico site tied to a cyclospora outbreak, focusing on how produce was grown and processed—another reminder that weak oversight can turn into public health crises. Climate adaptation: A new push for managed retreat is gaining traction as sea-level rise and erosion make “stay and defend” less viable, with communities weighing relocation as a mainstream adaptation tool. Border wall impacts: Protests and legal fights are intensifying over U.S. border barrier work in Big Bend National Park, with critics saying environmental safeguards were bypassed. Renewables shift: Solar overtook wind in global electricity generation in 2025, with solar driving most renewable growth—good news for decarbonization timelines. Desertification diplomacy: Brazil will join COP17 desertification talks in Mongolia, highlighting land degradation risks for biodiversity, food, and water.

Regional Climate Diplomacy: Belize is hosting the 75th CCAD Council of Ministers, bringing together environment and climate leaders from 8 SICA states to set priorities for regional cooperation through the end of 2026. Amazon El Niño Risk: New reporting warns El Niño could peak at the worst time for the Amazon—during the driest months—raising fire and drought threats for forests, rivers, and food systems. Water Security in Brazil: A study highlights Brazil’s shrinking aquifers, warning of long-term ripple effects for agriculture and even hydropower if depletion continues. Biodiversity & Conservation Funding: A new $200m Phoenix Species Project will support recovery for 100 critically endangered species, including Mexico’s Charco Azul pupfish. Pollution in Protected Areas: Research finds microplastics in Mexican howler monkeys living in the Los Tuxtlas UNESCO biosphere reserve, pointing to poor local waste handling. Energy Transition Signals: A global energy snapshot shows solar overtaking wind for the first time in annual growth, underscoring how renewables are reshaping electricity supply. Lithium Supply Chain Pressure: New analysis flags financial risks for lithium-linked industries across the “Lithium Triangle” from disruptions tied to politics, labor, and infrastructure.

Climate Risk & El Niño: NOAA says El Niño is strengthening fast, with a 69% chance it becomes the strongest since 1950, but flooding risk depends on timing, not just total rain. Venezuela Ecosystem & Disaster Response: Venezuela’s MINEC says it controlled two vegetation fires in Mérida, including one linked to a high-voltage cable, with unified command teams and investigations underway. Caribbean Resilience & Investment: CARICOM education ministers met in Guyana under a theme of “educating for life,” while Grenada’s CDB and World Bank reviewed 11 projects spanning coastal protection, water, renewable energy and climate-smart agriculture. Caribbean Finance Push: Barbados launched the Caribbean Investment Forum 2026 to attract sustainable investment across green economy transition, agribusiness, logistics and digital transformation. Biodiversity & Land Use: A satellite study finds tropical forests respond differently to heat and drought across continents, reshaping how we estimate carbon storage and climate impacts. Food & Health: Kansas reported cyclosporiasis cases rising to 748, as regulators track exposures and recalls linked to iceberg lettuce. Tourism Pressure: Mexico doubled a cruise “no-resident duty” fee for foreigners, with further increases planned through 2028.

Amazon Soy Ruling: Brazil’s Supreme Court upheld state actions that effectively ended the soy “moratorium,” clearing the way for soy tied to Amazon deforestation—after traders pulled out when tax benefits were revoked. Super El Niño Watch: Reuters reports Latin America is bracing for what could be the strongest El Niño on record, with drought risk rising in the north and heavier rain in the south—raising stakes for crops, energy and the Panama Canal. Flood Memory in Brazil: Porto Alegre’s communities are still coping after 2024 floods, and residents are bracing for renewed extreme rainfall tied to El Niño. Marine Conservation Funding: The Bahamas Protected Areas Fund will open grant applications Aug. 31 for up to $50,000 to support local marine groups, with training workshops in August. Caribbean Connectivity: CAN­TO says the Caribbean needs more regional integration, harmonized rules and sustained investment to attract new telecom players. Marine Heat & Sargassum: A record sargassum bloom is threatening Caribbean beaches and tourism, while marine heatwaves are also flagged as a growing health risk.

Marine Heatwaves & Public Health: A new study argues ocean heat is already reaching people’s bodies and minds, not just reefs—highlighting links to stronger storms and coastal health harms. Food & Nutrition Security: Trinidad and Tobago faces a growing “healthy diet” access crisis as rising prices and import dependence leave hundreds of thousands unable to afford nutritious food. Electricity Demand Management: Venezuela’s acting president urged rational power use after a new consumption peak, tying demand pressure to heat and climate impacts while pushing grid recovery projects. Data Centers, AI & Water/Emissions Concerns: Commentary in Trinidad and Tobago questions whether AI data-center investment will deliver real value without worsening air pollution and straining power and water. Amazon & Soy Governance: Brazil’s Supreme Court upheld parts of the soy moratorium framework that deny tax incentives to farmers tied to deforestation, a key test for Amazon protection. Colombia Earthquake Response: Save the Children reports urgent needs for shelter, water, food, and child-focused safe spaces after a deadly 7.4 quake. Caribbean Tourism Research: CARICOM’s education and the CTO’s new Caribbean Tourism Research Forum both point to stronger planning and evidence-based decisions for climate-stressed regions. Water Crisis in Puerto Rico: Puerto Rico ordered rotating 48-hour water cutoffs as drought dries reservoirs, underscoring climate-driven risk to daily life. El Niño Storm Watch: Forecasts warn of active Atlantic development, with Potential Tropical Cyclone One-C expected to bring heavy, potentially life-threatening rain to Hawaii. Cocoa & Climate Risk: A UK “100% British” chocolate bar project spotlights how heat, pests, and disease threaten cocoa supply chains.

Amazon & Cerrado Under Pressure: Brazil has lost native vegetation at a pace that now leaves only 65% of the country covered by natural areas, upending resilience as El Niño intensifies and drought, floods, and fires loom. Wildlife & Guns: A new Brazil study links Bolsonaro-era easing of gun rules to a surge in illegal wildlife hunting, with thousands of animals killed across native species—especially in the Amazon’s deforestation arc. Colombia Earthquake Response: Colombia’s new government and rescue teams are racing to find survivors after a major quake and more than 100 aftershocks, as aid access and the critical early window strain operations. Coastal Conservation Spotlight: Humpback whales are returning to Rio de Janeiro waters, including sightings in Guanabara Bay, raising fresh questions about whether tourism will protect or disrupt recovery. Protected Areas vs. Security Works: Bulldozers have started border-security construction in Big Bend National Park, triggering lawsuits and backlash over damage to natural vegetation. Tropical Weather Watch: Forecasters are tracking Invest 92L and 93L in the Atlantic as conditions could turn favorable for development toward the Lesser Antilles.

Climate & Health: Brazil is moving to expand disaster medicine capacity, earmarking 9.8 billion reais through 2035 to strengthen field hospitals and rapid-response teams as El Niño and extreme weather loom. Natural Hazards: Colombia’s 7.4 earthquake response continues as officials report rising death tolls and thousands still missing, with search-and-rescue efforts stretching across multiple cities. Water Stress: Lake Mead has dropped to its lowest level on record amid the long drought gripping the U.S. Southwest, underscoring how water scarcity is reshaping regional risk. Tropical Outlook: Hurricane forecasters are tracking a developing Atlantic system that could become Cristobal, with possible impacts for the Caribbean and nearby islands. Biodiversity & Land Use: In the U.S., Texas lawmakers and conservation groups are pushing back against Big Bend border barrier work, warning of lasting damage to habitat and wildlife. Energy Transition Tension: A study flags global vegetable intake shortfalls and declining crop diversity, linking nutrition gaps to broader food-system sustainability risks. Regional Policy & Finance: Itaú and OpenAssets are testing tokenization of fixed-income securities in Brazil via an ANBIMA-led pilot.

Biodiversity Comeback: Conservationists in Brazil have released captive-bred Spix’s macaws back into the Caatinga after the species vanished from the wild for more than 20 years, a rare “return” story that hinges on habitat and anti-trafficking pressure. Earthquake Response: Colombia is still counting the dead after a 7.4 quake, with reports of more than 160 killed and hundreds injured, while authorities and international teams race to rescue survivors and assess damaged hospitals and homes. Food Safety & Climate Links: After a Cyclospora outbreak tied to lettuce grown in central Mexico, local black farms and growers are seeing more support from consumers seeking trusted sources, underscoring how climate-stressed food systems can amplify health risks. Marine Invasives: Colombia’s “cocaine hippos” problem is back in focus as a newborn hippo highlights how Escobar-era imports have turned into a large, unmanaged invasive population in the Magdalena River. Renewables & Risk: Swiss Re warns natural-disaster losses hit about $100B in the first half of 2026, with El Niño and wildfire risk still looming. Energy Transition Finance: Brazil Potash’s appeal wins keep its Autazes potash project’s environmental licensing on track, a reminder that mining approvals remain tightly contested.