ECLAC supports the energy transition process and the modernization of mining policy in Guatemala

The Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC), through the Division of Natural Resources (DRN), initiated technical assistance to the Ministry of Energy and Mines of Guatemala to identify and analyze challenges in governance and institutional capacities to implement strategies and policies that strengthen the mining sector and the energy transition.

Between September 9 and 11, 2024, ECLAC officials participated in working groups with authorities and officials of the Ministry of Energy and Mines of Guatemala. The meetings addressed the main challenges of the mining sector and the energy transition in Guatemala and defined the support mechanisms and tools with which ECLAC will contribute to strengthening the institutional capacities of the Ministry of Energy and Mines.

Minister Victor Hugo Ventura highlighted the importance of ECLAC collaboration to achieve the strategic objectives of Guatemala’s mining and energy policy. Among these, the environmental and social sustainability of mining and the energy transition, universal access to energy services, the need to expand the coverage of rural electrification and reduce energy poverty, the modernization of mining legislation and policy, and strengthening institutional capacities.

Among the issues prioritized by the Ministry of Energy and Mines of Guatemala in the energy field for ECLAC to provide technical assistance to the country, are: updating the energy policy, future tenders for the expansion of the transmission system infrastructure electricity and, in general, the strengthening of institutional capacities.

Furthermore, part of ECLAC’s work agenda focused on the preparation of the next meeting of Regional Energy Transition Dialogues for Latin America and the Caribbean, which will be held in coordination with the Ministry of Energy and Mines of Guatemala between the 26th. and on November 29, 2024, in Guatemala City. Likewise, ECLAC will accompany Guatemala in the development of policies and plans to address its national energy challenges, but will also promote dialogue and regional cooperation on this matter in the country.

On the other hand, the technical support sought to gather information with key actors to diagnose the state of the metal mining situation in Guatemala and make a proposal to modernize the regulatory and policy framework, with special attention to governance, concessions and licenses, extraction and exploitation, production scales and the tax and royalty system.

To this end, work meetings were held with various actors in the mining industry and with the Ministry’s technical teams responsible for mining policy. Representatives and officials of the Vice Ministry of Energy and Mines participated; of the Vice Ministry of Sustainable Development; of the General Directorate of Mining and its Departments (Mining Rights, Mining Control, Legal Management, and Mining Development); from the Directorate of Environmental Management and Natural Resources of the Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources -MARN-; of the Directorates of Environmental Management and Geospatial Analysis of the National Council of Protected Areas; from the Center for Higher Studies of Energy and Mines (CESEM); from the Faculty of Engineering of the San Carlos University of Guatemala; of the Organization for Women in Science for the Developing World (OWSD/UNESCO); of the Extractive Industries Observatory (OIE-OXFAM); and the Union of Natural Resources, Mines and Quarries (GRENAT).

ECLAC committed to continue supporting the government of Guatemala, in line with its work of technical assistance to the countries of the region, in order to strengthen governance, policies, management and the sustainable and inclusive use of natural resources. .