Latin America Advisor
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Can ‘Green Bonds’ Boost Bolivia’s Lithium Industry?
Bolivian Economy Minister Marcelo Montenegro said the government is considering offering “green bonds” to spur the country’s lithium industry. // File Photo: @EconomiaBo via X.
Bolivian Economy Minister Marcelo Montenegro said in an interview that the Bolivian government is in talks with Wall Street to offer up to $1 billion in “green bonds,” Bloomberg News reported last month. Bolivia plans to sell the debt earmarked for its mining of lithium, which is a crucial resource for the production of electric vehicle batteries. Would Bolivia see success in selling these bonds in New York? How might the proceeds from these bonds fuel Bolivia’s lithium industry? What is holding back the development of Bolivia’s lithium mining, and are these bonds a potential solution to the nation’s slow progress on expanding its mining of the resource?
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Patricia I. Vasquez, global fellow at the Wilson Center: “In spite of sitting on the world’s largest lithium resources, Bolivia has so far failed to develop large-scale lithium production. The problem is one of erroneous policies and lack of transparency more than of lack of monetary resources. Under the constitution, state-owned Yacimientos de Litio Boliviano (YLB) is solely responsible for developing the whole lithium value chain. But a lack of resources and know-how doomed YLB’s attempts and, in 2021, the company switched gears and launched an international call for investors to develop lithium in Bolivia. Chinese and Russian companies were picked to design pilot projects using direct lithium extraction (DLE) technology instead of the traditional pond method being used by…”
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A sister publication of the Inter-American Dialogue’s daily Latin America Advisor, the weekly Energy Advisor captures fresh analysis from business leaders and government officials on the most important developments in oil and gas, biofuels, the power sector, renewables, new technologies, and the policy debates shaping the future of energy in the Western Hemisphere and beyond. To subscribe or for more information, contact Gene Kuleta, editor of the Advisor, at gkuleta@thedialogue.org.
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