The EU has pledged to virtually double its financing for sustainable investments in Latin America and the Caribbean because the bloc seeks to maintain tempo with China’s quickly rising presence within the area.

On a go to to Brasília on Monday, Ursula von der Leyen, the president of the European Fee, introduced the EU would make €10bn accessible for inexperienced tasks as a part of its International Gateway infrastructure initiative.

A part of it will go to investments within the Amazon basin, which — regardless of being a vital buffer towards local weather change — has been devastated by hovering ranges of unlawful deforestation in recent times.

The EU launched International Gateway in late 2021 as a rival to China’s Belt and Highway Initiative, the huge international coverage funding programme key to Beijing’s geopolitical affect.