The economic and social effects that the COVID-19 pandemic and the associated measures to address it are having in Latin America may lead to serious long-term consequences that would affect the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals. In this article, the collaboration of environmental economists from eight countries in the region discusses the possible effects of the pandemic on air pollution, deforestation, and other relevant environmental aspects related to the SDGs. In addition to presenting an account of some of the initial effects of the health crisis on the environment, the paper discusses potential effects in terms of environmental regulations and public policy interventions. Finally, the paper presents an agenda on new research topics that arise due to the pandemic or have gained greater importance due to it, including the impacts on the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals. Briefly, this paper is a novel view of the sustainable development in Latin America and the Covid-19 impacts on this process.

Environmental regulation is one of the most important subsets of social regulation. Regulation is a framework for implementing the rules adopted in society, and legal standards guarantee this framework. Thus, if the legislation prohibits the dumping of waste on public waterways and imposes a penalty for its violation, this prohibition can be interpreted as an expression of society's public commitment to environmental protection and public condemnation of polluting behaviors. On the other hand, it can be said that the destruction of the environment is morally wrong, and therefore the legal prohibition of these behaviors can be interpreted as an expression of this moral claim. This research is based on library studies and descriptive-analytical methods and has an innovative approach. The purpose of this study is to explain the role of law as a facilitator of the executive structure of environmental regulation inappropriate conditions in line with social interaction. It also seeks to explain the importance of regulation and regulation. Regulation is one of the most important social standards and guarantees the strong implementation of legal obligations in society. This fundamental standard has been established in public law and seems to be an important approach to protecting the environment and citizens' adherence to environmental obligations.