While 2021 has been a year of transition for the energy sector in Latin America, it has also been a year of instability in the region’s political conditions and social environment. Under this context, industry experts, government officials and corporate representatives convened virtually to discuss the challenges, opportunities and changes in Latin America’s energy markets at the Fifth Annual Latin America Energy Conference.
Event Summaries ˙
˙ Fifth Annual Latin America Energy Conference
La región del Triángulo Norte es extremadamente vulnerable a los efectos del cambio climático y merece una atención especial. Los huracanes y muchas veces las sequías agravan las crisis humanitarias y económicas en Guatemala, Honduras y El Salvador. Lisa Viscidi compartió sus comentarios sobre las consecuencias del cambio climático en la región y lo que pueden hacer tanto los gobiernos del área como Estados Unidos para mitigar y adaptarse a los impactos climáticos.
El 14 de septiembre, el Banco de Desarrollo de América Latina (CAF) realizó un seminario web sobre la transición energética en Latinoamérica. En ello, Lisa Viscidi, la directora del programa de Energía, Cambio Climático e Industrias Extractivas, habla del estado de la descarbonización en Latinoamérica, y explica cómo la transición energética influirá en otras industrias de estos países.
Lisa Viscidi
Presentations ˙
˙ Banco de Desarrollo de América Latina (CAF)
Across the Latin American region, state governments are pursuing climate adaptation plans to stymie the pronounced impacts of climate change. In an interview with CGTV’s The Heat, Lisa Viscidi discusses current impacts of climate change on migration, economies and natural resources in the region. With COP 26 around the corner, questions of climate finance and international cooperation take on a new urgency.
On June 14, the Atlantic Council and the Energy Futures Initiative held a webinar on the role of natural gas in the transition to zero-carbon energy systems. Lisa Viscidi, director of the Energy, Climate Change & Extractive Industries Program at the Dialogue, spoke about financing natural gas infrastructure in Latin America.
Companies are increasingly under pressure from the public and regulators to both disclose and improve environment, social, and governance (ESG) metrics. Such regulations in Europe and the United States will nudge investors toward low emissions projects. All this capital has to be put somewhere, and Latin America and other emerging markets are well positioned to become big recipients of these increased climate-focused flows.
La Fundación Propagas, la Universidad Central del Este y el Diálogo Interamericano celebraron el jueves 3 de junio la Quinta Edición de la Cátedra Magistral Ambiental, dedicada a la señora Rosa Margarita Bonetti de Santana, destacada medioambientalista de la República Dominicana.
In an interview with The Science of Where Magazine, Lisa Viscidi, director of the Energy, Climate Change, and Extractive Industries Program, and Sarah Phillips, program assistant, discussed Latin America’s progress toward the energy transition and its geopolitical implications.
Lisa Viscidi, Sarah Phillips
Interviews ˙
˙ The Science of Where Magazine
Energy storage is a class of technologies that is diverse, complex, and rapidly evolving. Policymakers in Latin America and the Caribbean will need to acquire a strong grasp of the technical characteristics and benefits of these technologies, the services they can provide, and the most relevant regional and power market applications for each technology, according to this report authored by experts from the Inter-American Dialogue and the Inter-American Development Bank.
Lisa Viscidi, Nate Graham, Ariel Yépez-García, Edwin Malagón
Reports ˙
˙ Inter-American Development Bank
As the energy transition gathers pace and Latin American countries raise their emissions reduction targets, private companies are revising their business models to meet demand for renewable energy and other solutions. The United States has also reemerged as a partner on climate action in the region. This webinar explored the current and potential role of the private sector in Latin America’s energy transition and how the United States can provide support.
El 28 de abril, Lisa Viscidi, directora del Programa de Energía, Cambio Climático e Industrias Extractivas, participó en un evento de la Asociación Mexicana de Empresas de Hidrocarburos sobre el papel de la industria de exploración y producción en el desarrollo local.
Lisa Viscidi
Presentations ˙
˙ Asociación Mexicana de Empresas de Hidrocarburos
The Amazon rainforest, one of the world’s most important ecosystems, faces environmental impacts from hydroelectric dams, oil and gas drilling sites, and mining projects. A new database and analysis by the Inter-American Dialogue reveals that state-owned enterprises, as well as small and mid-sized international companies from a handful of countries, operate the largest share of such projects in the Amazon region, meaning these companies have a substantial influence over the implementation of environmental and social safeguards.
El 26 de abril, Lisa Viscidi, directora del Programa de Energía, Cambio Climático e Industrias Extractivas, participó en un evento de Fedesarrollo sobre la transición energética en Colombia y los desafíos que enfrenta. Viscidi aportó un contexto internacional, describiendo tres factores que afectarán la velocidad de la transición energética tanto global como en Colombia: innovaciones tecnológicas, los efectos de la pandemia sobre el comportamiento de los consumidores a largo plazo y cambios en las políticas y regulaciones.
In an interview with BBC’s Business Daily, Lisa Viscidi, director of the Energy, Climate Change, and Extractive Industries Program, discussed President Biden’s climate foreign policy, deforestation in the Amazon, and US-Brazil relations.
The energy markets of the United States and Mexico are deeply integrated, to the benefit of both countries and their economies. The new US administration has a clear interest in preserving and expanding this fruitful relationship while advancing its ambitious clean energy and climate goals, both at home and abroad. On March 11, the Inter-American Dialogue held a private roundtable on US-Mexico energy cooperation.