GEAPP’s GLC Members Drive Opportunities for Sustainable Energy Transition in Latin America and the Caribbean

• Latin America and the Caribbean’s leaders met to discuss energy transition challenges and opportunities.
• Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS) and Distributed Renewable Energy (DRE) initiatives provide political leaders and financing partners the opportunity to advance a regional energy transition that focuses on equity and justice.

MONTEVIDEO | November 10, 2023: This week, members of the Global Energy Alliance for People and Planet’s Global Leadership Council (GLC) participated in several events in the context of Latin America Energy Week — hosted by the Latin American Energy Organization (OLADE), Uruguay’s Ministry of Industry, Energy, and Mining (MIEM), and the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) —  as well the International Renewable Energy Agency’s (IRENA) Investment Forum to highlight opportunities to boost investment in renewable energy projects and accelerate the energy transition in the region.

“Latin America and the Caribbean have the opportunity to build on their existing strengths in clean energy to meet energy security and climate goals while positioning the region as a leader in the new global energy economy that is emerging rapidly,” said Fatih Birol, Executive Director of the International Energy Agency. “But it is essential for government policies to ensure that clean energy transitions in the region are fair and people-centered.”

Leaders of regional governments, financial institutions, and the private sector came together on political and strategic dialogue about energy issues as well as challenges and opportunities for the energy transition in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC). GLC members, including Fatih Birol, Francesco La Camera, Ilan Goldfajn, and Patricia Espinosa, called to put innovation, justice, and renewable energy options at the center of the region’s efforts to boost economic development and further reduce emissions.

The IEA this week released its first in-depth and comprehensive analysis of the region, the Latin America Energy Outlook, showing how it can play an increasingly influential role in the global energy sector, resulting in significant benefits for Latin American and Caribbean economies and people.

“We are at a critical juncture for Latin America and the Caribbean to build on their progress in adopting renewables by accelerating investments and strengthening regional collaboration,” said Francesco La Camera, Director General of IRENA. “Just a few weeks ahead of COP28, IRENA’s Latin America Investment Forum convened governments, project developers and financiers to mobilize investments and advance the region’s energy transition.”

Despite contributing less than 10% of worldwide greenhouse gas emissions, countries across Latin America and the Caribbean are some of the most vulnerable to climate-related challenges. Yet, the region is in a favorable position to seize climate-related opportunities and be a global leader on climate solutions. With an urbanization rate of 82% LAC can build innovation hubs and energy centers that will improve efficiency gains and create new jobs. The region also benefits from natural resources that can aid in decarbonization efforts, access to minerals crucial for clean energy technologies, and the wide availability of renewable energy sources like wind, solar, and geothermal.

“There is a need to mobilize more investments to the region,” said Ilan Goldfajn, President of the Inter-American Development Bank. “This week’s dialogues with political and private sector leaders are critical to inform how we effectively channel investments to have the most impact in the region.”

With an estimated 18 million people in Latin America and the Caribbean currently lacking access to modern electricity, regional leaders have shown growing interest in action to accelerate just transitions and support the eradication of energy poverty. GEAPP is working with partners in Latin America and Caribbean, such as RELAC, to increase the proportion of renewable energy in the region to 70% by 2030. As part of this effort, this week the Alliance led meetings on investment in new distributed renewable energy (DRE) projects. And by inviting countries in the region to join its new Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) Consortium, GEAPP is helping countries overcome barriers to large-scale renewable energy investment while making sure we are not leaving anyone behind and focusing on universal access.

“Support from financial institutions and the private sector to develop and deploy renewable energy initiatives like battery energy storage and distributed energy grids is crucial to creating resilient and inclusive economies and societies,” said Patricia Espinosa, Founding Partner and CEO of onepoint5 and former Executive Secretary for the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).

“Latin America and the Caribbean are committed to mitigating and adapting to climate change, while ensuring climate justice,” said Lourdes Melgar, Board Member of GEAPP. “By elevating the social side of sustainability, together we can redefine what a successful energy transition looks like.”

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About GEAPP:

The Global Energy Alliance for People and Planet (GEAPP) is an alliance of philanthropy, governments, technology, policy, and financing partners. Our common mission is to enable emerging and developed economies to shift to a clean energy, pro-growth model that accelerates universal energy access and inclusive economic growth while supporting the global community to meet critical climate goals during the next decade. As an Alliance, we aim to reduce 4 gigatons of future carbon emissions, expand clean energy access to one billion people, and enable 150 million new jobs. With philanthropic partners like the IKEA Foundation, The Rockefeller Foundation, and Bezos Earth Fund, GEAPP works to build the enabling environment, capacity, and market conditions for private sector solutions, catalyze new business models through innovation and entrepreneurship, and deploy high-risk capital to encourage private sector solutions and assist just transition solutions. For more information, please visit www.energyalliance.org  and follow us on Twitter at @EnergyAlliance.

About the GLC: 

The GLC is a high-level coalition of global leaders brought together by GEAPP and co-chaired by Jonas Gahr Støre, Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Norway, and Dr. Rajiv J. Shah, President of The Rockefeller Foundation. It includes leaders of multilateral development banks, development finance institutions, international agencies, NGOs, corporate executives, and government representatives. The Global Leadership Council was established in 2022 to effect collective action on a more ambitious and inclusive global renewable energy agenda and to ensure the philanthropic capital and aligned co-investments of the Global Energy Alliance for People and Planet (GEAPP) are deployed as fast as possible with optimal impact. For further information on the GLC and its members please see here.

Media contact:

Eric Gay
Global Energy Alliance for People and Planet (GEAPP
eric.gay@energyalliance.org