President Joe Biden sought on Thursday to step up action on climate at the Summit of the Americas, with hopes for at least small progress with Brazil, whose far-right leader will soon meet him for a potentially tense meeting.
About two dozen leaders have descended on Los Angeles, California, for the summit, where Mr Biden urged both the public and private sectors to show that democracy can work.
The summit comes as China makes rapid inroads in Latin America, long viewed by Washington as its turf, although Mr Biden has steered clear of big-dollar pledges and has instead sought co-operation in targeted areas.
“We stand at an inflection point. More is going to change in the next 10 years than has changed in the last 30 years in the world,” Mr Biden told business leaders on Thursday.
“I find no reason why the Western Hemisphere over the next 10 years is not developed into the most democratic region in the world.”
Mr Biden urged government and business leaders to make efforts to promote more equitable growth and "[kick] our action on climate change into high gear and [speed] our clean-energy transition”.
Both he and Vice President Kamala Harris will meet leaders of Caribbean nations that are particularly vulnerable to rising sea levels.
One outlier from the international chorus to battle climate change has been Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro, a champion of agribusiness amid erosion of the Amazon rainforest, which could disrupt a vital natural sink for the planet's carbon emissions.
Before Mr Biden's meeting with Mr Bolsonaro on Thursday, the White House said Brazil, Colombia and Peru would join a US-backed initiative to explore ways to reduce Amazon deforestation motivated by commodities industries.
The White House also said that Brazil and four other nations were joining a renewable energy initiative launched at last year's UN climate summit in Copenhagen.
In the pact, the countries promise to work towards a goal of 70 per cent renewables in their energy mix by 2030.
Despite coming under criticism over the Amazon, Brazil — the world's sixth most populous nation — has one of the least carbon-intensive economies for a major economy and already meets the goal on renewables, mostly through hydropower.
The meeting with Mr Bolsonaro could be awkward due to more than climate: the Brazilian leader was an ally of Mr Biden's predecessor Donald Trump and has appeared to follow the former president's playbook by claiming that Brazil's October elections are threatened by fraud.
On the eve of his trip, Mr Bolsonaro went further by backing Mr Trump's claims of irregularities in the 2020 US election — which was won by Mr Biden. There has been no evidence of widespread fraud.
“I do anticipate that the president will discuss open, free, fair, transparent democratic elections,” Jake Sullivan, Mr Biden's national security adviser, told reporters on Wednesday.
Mr Bolsonaro has trailed in early polls against his probable challenger, former president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, a major leftist figure who was jailed on controversial corruption charges.
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Thousands of migrants left southern Mexico on Monday with the intention of heading to the US. Pictured here is a makeshift camp in Huixtla, Chiapas state, Mexico, on June 8. AFP -
Nicaraguan migrants taking part in a caravan heading to the US. AFP -
Venezuelan migrants taking part in a caravan heading to the US wash in a river in Huixtla. AFP -
Migrants rest in Huixtla. AFP -
A man plays with his son while resting with fellow migrants. Reuters -
Migrants rest as they take part in a caravan heading towards the US-Mexico border. AFP -
Migrants taking part in the caravan. AFP -
Migrants rest in Huixtla. AFP -
Migrants prepare to journey to the US-Mexico border. AFP -
A man cools off in a river along with other migrants in Huixtla. Reuters -
Migrants headed to the US take a moment to cool off in the river in Huixtla. Reuters -
A couple kiss as they rest along their journey. Reuters -
Cooling off in the river in Huixtla. Reuters -
A migrant holds a Venezuelan flag as he naps at a sports centre upon his arrival in Huixtla. AP -
Migrants walk by Mexican National Guard personnel in the city of Huixtla. EPA -
Migrants walk past members of the Mexican National Guard on their way north in Huixtla. AP -
A Venezuelan migrant washes his hands in a puddle. AP -
Migrants from Latin America taking part in a caravan journey towards the US-Mexico border. AFP -
On the road in Huixtla. AFP -
Latin American migrants taking part in a caravan sleep in Huehuetan, Chiapas state, Mexico. AFP -
A Venezuelan migrant using crutches looks on as other Latin American migrants pass by in Huehuetan. AFP -
Migrants from Latin America hitch a ride in Huixtla. AFP -
A Honduran flag is displayed in Tapachula, Chiapas state. AFP -
Members of the National Guard keep watch in Tapachula. Reuters -
Migrants rest on the outskirts of Tapachula. Reuters -
The migrant caravan in the city of Tapachula. EPA -
A child sits on a man's shoulders as the migrant caravan moves north in Tapachula. Reuters
While promising to work with leaders across ideology, Mr Biden has held firm against inviting the leftist leaders of Cuba, Nicaragua and Venezuela on the grounds that they are autocrats.
His stance led to a boycott of the summit by Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, a crucial partner on addressing rising migration to the US.
Ms Harris started the week-long summit by announcing commitments of $1.9 billion by businesses in El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras in hopes of creating jobs and discouraging migration.
