The EU has pledged to almost double its financing for sustainable investments in Latin America and the Caribbean, as the bloc seeks to keep pace with China’s rapidly growing presence in the region.

On a visit to Brasília on Monday, Ursula von der Leyen, the president of the European Commission, announced the EU would make €10bn available for green projects as part of its Global Gateway infrastructure initiative.

Part of this will go to investments in the Amazon basin, which — despite being a crucial buffer against climate change — has been devastated by soaring levels of illegal deforestation in recent years.

The EU launched Global Gateway in late 2021 as a rival to China’s Belt and Road Initiative, the massive foreign policy investment programme key to Beijing’s geopolitical influence.