Biden Administration Increased Environmental Aid to Latin America, Caribbean

News Americas, New York, NY, August 22, 2024: Latin America and the Caribbean have received a larger share of U.S. development assistance during Joe Biden’s administration, with significant impacts on the environmental sector. According to a BBVA report, environmental funding has moved from third to second place in budget allocation under Biden, reflecting a shift in priorities compared to the Trump administration.

While government and civil society sectors remained the top priority under both Trump and Biden, environmental assistance has seen an increase in its share of funding under the current administration. Notably, Biden’s administration has placed a greater emphasis on biodiversity, in contrast to Trump’s focus on agricultural policy, rural development, and water management.

Environmental protection policies have been a key focus for both administrations, but Biden has allocated 59.4% of environmental assistance to this area—over 10 percentage points more than Trump, who dedicated 48.5%. Under Trump, agricultural policy and rural development received 38.2% of environmental assistance, while water and sanitation activities accounted for 8.9%. Together, these areas represented 47.1% of environmental aid under the previous administration.

Biden has shifted priorities, reducing agricultural policy and rural development’s share to 18.1% of environmental assistance. Biodiversity funding has risen to third place under Biden, accounting for 9.6% of environmental aid, up from fourth place under Trump. Multisectoral aid has also gained importance under Biden, now representing 6.6% of environmental assistance, while the focus on water and sanitation has decreased to 4.1%.

Country distribution of aid has also changed between administrations. During Trump’s presidency, four countries—Haiti (20.2%), Colombia (16.2%), Guatemala (14.3%), and Honduras (7.4%)—accounted for two-thirds of environmental assistance. Under Biden, six countries now make up two-thirds of the aid: Colombia (17.6%), Guatemala (11.6%), Haiti (11.5%), Honduras (10.2%), Brazil (6.9%), and Mexico (6.4%).

Overall, U.S. aid to the region under Biden is distributed as follows: 29.7% to Government and Society sectors, 18.6% to Environmental Assistance, 12.1% to Emergency Response, and 11% to Conflicts, Peace, and Security.

The distribution of aid across all sectors has also shifted. Under Trump, Colombia received the most aid (33.2%), followed by Haiti (15.5%) and Mexico (10.4%). Under Biden, hemispheric projects have taken priority, accounting for 31.5% of aid, followed by Colombia (17.7%), Haiti (9.6%), Guatemala (5.3%), and Honduras (4.7%). Mexico’s share has decreased from third place under Trump to sixth place under Biden, reflecting the administration’s increased focus on Central American nations like Guatemala and Honduras.

Additionally, Colombia’s share of U.S. aid has been significantly reduced, from 33.2% under Trump to 17.7% under Biden, underscoring a shift in U.S. policy priorities in the region.