News Americas, New York, NY, 22 August 2024: Latin America and the Caribbean have received a larger share of US development aid during the Joe Biden administration, with significant impacts in the environmental sector. According to a BBVA report, environmental funding has moved from third place to second place in the budget allocation under Biden, reflecting a shift in priorities compared to the Trump administration.
While the government and civil society sectors remained a top priority under both Trump and Biden, environmental aid has seen an increase in its share of funding under the current administration. In particular, the Biden 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 aid in this area — over 10 percentage points more than Trump, who allocated 48.5%. Under Trump, agricultural policy and rural development received 38.2% of environmental aid, while water and sanitation activities accounted for 8.9%. Together, these areas represented 47.1% of environmental aid in the previous administration.
Biden has shifted priorities, reducing the share of agricultural policy and rural development to 18.1% of environmental aid. Biodiversity funding has risen to third under Biden, accounting for 9.6% of environmental aid, up from fourth under Trump. Multisectoral aid has also gained importance under Biden, now representing 6.6% of environmental aid, while the focus on water and sanitation has decreased to 4.1%.
The distribution of aid in the country has also varied between administrations. During the Trump presidency, four countries – Haiti (20.2%), Colombia (16.2%), Guatemala (14.3%) and Honduras (7.4%) – accounted for two-thirds of environmental aid. Under Biden, six countries now account for two-thirds of 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% for government and society sectors, 18.6% for environmental assistance, 12.1% for emergency response, and 11% for conflict, peace and security.
The distribution of aid across sectors has also changed. Under Trump, Colombia received the most aid (33.2%), followed by Haiti (15.5%) and Mexico (10.4%). Under Biden, hemispheric projects have taken precedence, 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 dropped from third place under Trump to sixth place under Biden, reflecting the administration’s increased focus on Central American countries such as Guatemala and Honduras.
Furthermore, Colombia’s share of US aid has been significantly reduced, from 33.2% under Trump to 17.7% under Biden, underscoring a shift in US policy priorities in the region.
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