Today marks the beginning of the 2021 Earth Day celebrations. However, with increasingly precarious conditions in ecosystems across all continents, from increased rates of sea ice and glacier retreat in Antarctica, to coral bleaching in the Great Barrier Reef due to temperature increase in our oceans, the need to educate and get involved in initiatives to protect the environment is more important than ever. This goes hand in hand with the pandemic, a situation we have had to learn to live with and unite in order to tackle a problem that faces us all. Investment and residency opportunities in Latin America are now focusing on climate change, providing mutually beneficial programs in which environmental investors are able to obtain second citizenships in return for their assistance to save our planet.
Residency
If you are looking to obtain a visa in Panama, however you do not wish to invest in property or establish a corporation (we have recently published an article on the benefits of doing this), then perhaps the Reforestation Visa is for you. So, you may be wondering, how does it work? In fact, it is not much more complicated than gaining a visa or residency through investing in property. The requirements are:
1. Purchase at least US$80,000 worth of land
2. For the money invested, you must obtain at least 5 hectares
It is not a long list at all, and with the promise of residency and eventual permanent citizenship, the investment definitely seems worth considering. Let us go back to the theme of Earth Day for just a second, 2021, a year on from end of the wildfires in Australia, seeing the destruction of 5.4 million hectares of land, we can easily understand the necessity to start protecting as much land as possible across the globe, making this not just a good investment for yourself, but also future generations.
Eco-friendly investment
While projects such as the one in Panama present great opportunities with regards to the environment and personal benefits, investment in eco-friendly initiatives are not limited to schemes such as this. Green industries are booming, this includes electric vehicles, biodegradable alternatives to plastic and other pollutants as well as clean energy production.
Now, chances are one of these sectors has you interested, and Latin America is home to all of them. For example, by 2027, the Latin American market for biodegradable plastics will grow with a Compound Annual Growth Rate of 9.9%, showing potential for investors interested in this market space.
If you were tempted by the projected growth rate of the biodegradable plastics, the electric vehicle industry is supposedly set to grow with a Compound Annual Growth Rate of 14% until 2026 in the region, making it an attractive prospect for foreign investors as 23 nations in the continent get more involved with the intention of helping reduce air and sound pollution and becoming ‘net-zero’ with regards to carbon emissions by 2050.
‘Atlas Renewable Energy’ pointed out the growing middle class in Latin America and the increased energy demand that comes with it. If you are keen on protecting the environment in a time when we are all more aware of the effects of fossil fuels on our planet, investing in green energy initiatives such as Paso de los Toros in Uruguay, generating biomass and with an investment of US$2.7 billion shows you lucrative options are out there, saving the environment and diversifying your investment portfolio.
So, if you are looking to go green this Earth Day, look no further than Latin America, with an abundance of choices and massive potential gains, both personal and environmental. At Creimerman we would love to help you along the way, from deciding where to put your money, to assisting you once your investments are underway.