RG-T2319 : Support to Energy and Climate Partnerships

The objective of the two proposed Ministerials is to move forward on regional energy integration and climate change activities by addressing political and logistical barriers to their implementation through high-level, ministerial dialogues. Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) confront a critical energy situation. While the region, on average, has large oil reserves and significant hydroelectric generation capacity, these resources are unevenly distributed and some countries are not able to keep pace with the growing demand for energy to fuel economic growth and development. The high price of oil and natural gas has increased the energy bills for the majority of the countries in the region. Unlike previous energy crises, this one has the added dimension of an environmental challenge: all countries are vulnerable to the potential significant impacts of climate change which are expected to materialize under various scenarios. The poorest countries in LAC are usually the most vulnerable. At the same time, LAC has sources of non-conventional renewable energy, which have largely been untapped (i.e., geothermal, biomass, wind and solar, among others), and energy efficiency, which remains the cheapest and least utilized source of energy.