An article published on February 7, 2017 on the website of the Atlantic Council claims that “Latin America is poised to take on a lead role on climate change and renewable energy in the global arena in 2017.”
The author Mae Louise Flato cites a range of statistics supporting this position. For example, she notes that “w)ith 53 percent of generation capacity from renewables, Latin America is already leading the global green energy movement. In 2016, Costa Rica ran purely on renewable power for months at a time, and Uruguay generated 92.8% of its electricity from renewables. “
According to the author, there is so much activity in Latin America “because the stakes are so high. The severe impact of climate change is visible across the region. In a 2015 Pew Research Center survey, 77 percent of Latin Americans—the highest in the world—reported being concerned about the immediacy of climate change. Moreover, although Latin America only accounts for 12.5 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions, according to the World Bank, if the Earth’s temperature rises more than 2°C, Latin America will be one of the regions most affected.”
You may read the article on the Atlantic Council internet site.