Energy security in Latin America and the Caribbean is urgent and a priority in the face of the fuel price crisis and the impacts of COVID-19

The Sixth Plenary Meeting of the Regional Forum of Energy Planners of Latin America and the Caribbean (FOREPLEN) was held on December 12 and 13 in Panama City, Panama, with the participation of representatives from 15 countries and 7 international agencies.

The meeting, whose main motto was “Towards a just and sustainable energy transition in Latin America and the Caribbean”, was organized by the Water and Energy Unit of the Natural Resources Division of ECLAC, in conjunction with the GET Cooperation Program .transform, from the German Cooperation (GIZ). It was held within the framework of the VII Energy Week, organized by the Government of Panama, the Latin American Energy Organization (OLADE) and the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB).

The meeting brought together heads, directors and those in charge of energy planning from Argentina, Brazil, Bolivia, Chile, Costa Rica, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, the Dominican Republic and Uruguay. On the other hand, the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), the Regional Energy Integration Commission (CIER), the Latin American Energy Organization (OLADE), the International Energy Agency (IEA) and the European Union (EU), actively expressed their willingness and technical capabilities to support the second phase of the Regional Forum of Energy Planners.

This Sixth Forum included a series of dialogues on the energy transition, electromobility and green hydrogen and had as its main challenge the relevance of achieving a fair and sustainable energy transition that has as a priority focus reducing inequality and energy poverty that especially affect the 17 million inhabitants of the region who do not have access to electrical service and the 67 million people who do not enjoy a clean cooking system.

The attending representatives concluded that energy planning needs to go hand in hand with the design of policies and investments to advance towards the energy transition in Latin America and the Caribbean, especially in the context of regional integration. They also emphasized that energy security for the region becomes urgent and a priority for energy planning, due to the crisis in fossil fuel prices and the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The event was opened by Guadalupe González, Director of Electricity of the National Energy Secretariat of Panama (SEN) and Roberto Valent, Regional Director for Latin America and the Caribbean of the United Nations Development Coordination Office. Both highlighted the importance of holding events to discuss the implementation of the Panama Communiqué -adopted at the ECLAC High-Level Meeting on Renewable Energies for Adaptation and Regional Integration, held on February 10, 2022- for the acceleration of the energy transition.

For her part, Rayén Quiroga, Head of the Water and Energy Unit of the Natural Resources Division of ECLAC, stressed that having bodies such as FOREPLEN allows us to learn about the experiences, realities and priorities of the countries in energy planning, which It is vital for the recovery of the region considering the harsh global context, where they have an opportunity to resume the path of growth through the energy transition, since energy is the engine of development. The official also thanked the logistical support provided by the SEN and OLADE to hold the event.

Laura Gutiérrez, Coordinator of Technical Assistance in Energy Planning and Integration of Renewables in the Grid, pointed out that improving access to electricity by promoting mini-grids is a priority of the technical cooperation that the GET.transform program can provide through FOREPLEN.

The international agencies included presentations by Arturo Alarcón, from the IDB; Tulio Machado, from CIER; Alejandra Bernal, from IEA; José Torón, from IRENA; Medardo Cadena, from OLADE; and Natalia Caldes, from the European Union. They all made available the capacities they have in their organizations to agree on a common sheet that allows the implementation of the Panama Communiqué in an efficient manner, thus avoiding the duplication of efforts in support of the countries.

During the development of the event, all the invited countries made presentations to share national energy planning experiences, which served to identify future priorities and challenges to be addressed in FOREPLEN 2.0, which will begin in 2023.

Among the conclusions and commitments adopted, ECLAC and the international organizations and agencies that participated (OLADE, IEA, EU, CIER, IDB, IRENA and Get.Transform) agreed to move forward jointly through coordination mechanisms that allow cooperation efforts to be added for the countries of Latin America and the Caribbean. Likewise, the commitment of FOREPLEN members to continue nurturing the space for discussion and sharing experiences for capacity building was strengthened, through different platforms, both face-to-face and virtual.

Similarly, the priorities identified by the region’s energy ministers through the Panama Communiqué were reaffirmed, among which the need to strengthen national and regional capacities in support of the energy transition stands out.

Finally, ECLAC presented the priorities for the implementation of FOREPLEN 2.0, based on a survey carried out by the Natural Resources Division among the members of the Forum. Among the topics chosen for future technical cooperation, electromobility and green hydrogen were identified. On the other hand, the members declared that regional events and technical studies are the best way to continue working together to achieve the regional energy transition.