the
environment
fulcrumTHE
of Our New Relationship in the Americas:
CLIMATE CHANGE & ENERGY
by John F. Kerry
Senator John F. Kerry
is Chairman of the Senate Foreign
Relations Committee, a five-term
U.S. Senator and a decorated
Vietnam veteran. He was the
2004 Democratic Nominee for
President of the United States.
44 Americas Quarterly FALL 2009
Ever since President John F. Kennedy launched the Alliance for Progress in 1961, every new U.S. administration has pledged to dedicate itself to our common hemispheric agenda. Too ften, our efforts have fallen short. Today, a truly galvanizing challenge—the threat of catastrophic climate change—
offers the United States a chance to break that pattern
and reengage with Latin America. Just as climate
change presents the U.S. and Latin America with a common threat, the need to develop secure, sustainable
sources of energy represents a shared opportunity.
Today, the global climate change agenda is rightly
focused on make-or-break talks in Copenhagen this
EL UNIVERSAL/GE T T Y; MARY SCHWALM/AP(KERRY);
LUCIA GODINEZ/EL UNIVERSAL/GETTY IMAGES
