Workshop - Regional Programme Energy Security and Climate Change in Latin America
Event Reports
In the workshop at ESIA participated Dr. Christian Hübner, Head of the Regional Programme EKLA-KAS; Mr. Francisco Javier Escamilla López, Director of Escuela Superior de Ingeniería y Arquitectura de México; and Dr. Miguel Garcia, Chairman of Centro de Investigaciones Geopolíticas en Energía y Medio Ambiente (Center for Geopolitical Research in Energy and Environment), who welcomed the guests and stated the purpose and importance of the workshop.
The expert panel consisted of: Dr. Alberto Justo Sosa, Founder of Asociación AMESUR from Argentina; Dra. María del Pilar Ostos, Member of Sistema Nacional de Investigadores (National Researchers System) from Mexico; Dra. Martha Márquez Restrepo, International Relations MA Program Director at Pontificia Universidad Javeriana from Colombia; MA Rafael da Costa Nogueira, Researcher at Centro de Estudios de Energía - FGV Energía (Energy Research Center) from Brazil; Dr. Daniel Romo, Chief of Graduate Research at Escuela Superior de Ingeniería y Arquitectura (ESIA) from Mexico. The moderator was Karina Marzano, Project Coordinator at Regional Programme EKLA-KAS.
From the presentations and the debate it was concluded that: The Pacific Alliance (Mexico, Colombia, Peru, and Chile) emerged from the idea of Latin America as a regional integration area to take advantage of its geostrategic position, carbon reservoirs, and water resources, so as to join as a major actor in the global energy geopolitics like the US, the NATO, Russia, China, the “new petro states” (Middle East), and the European Union.
Although MERCOSUR (Mercado Común del Sur) has legal and institutional integration frameworks regarding energy, there is still a predominance of nation-specific initiatives. Here, Brazil and Argentina stood out as key stakeholders in the energy integration development since the Acuerdo Tripartito (Tripartite Agreement) from 1979. This situation changed in the 90’s, when companies took the lead from governments, especially with the pipelines between Argentina and Chile, so as between Brasil and Bolivia. It is noteworthy that on 2005, all members except Bolivia and Peru signed the Acuerdo Marco de Complementación Energética (Energy Complementation Framework Agreement), which included renewable and alternative energies.
The Alternativa Bolivariana para América Latina y el Caribe - ALBA (Bolivarian Alliance for the Peoples of Our America ALBA) is based on the idea of the economic, social, and productive development of the region with a permanent overview at Caribbean countries and the South American axis conformed by Venezuela, Ecuador, and Bolivia. ALBA finances different multinational projects among its members through Banco del ALBA. Regarding the energy integration, its main measure is the oil sale at preferential rates controlled by the state-owned company Petróleos de Venezuela S.A. (PDVSA) in the so-called “Petrocaribe”. However, the sustainability of this kind of cooperation created by Venezuela is highly dependent of the government policies and the country’s economic situation, which currently faces high inflation rates and a severe fiscal crisis since the oil crisis in 2014. These crises menace the development in the Caribbean economies, especially Cuba.
For Brazil is expected an increase in the fuel demand for vehicles that may not be met due to the insufficient development of the gas field and the oil problems at national (few companies in the field and investor reduction) and international (low-price import and greenhouse emissions) levels. Regarding electricity generation, there are recent restrictions to the construction of hydroelectric dams in addition to the droughts that hurt production, making it necessary to take advantage of the hydrological complementarities of the South American countries as integration benefits. Environmental agreements between President Barack Obama (USA) and President Dilma Rousseff (Brazil) have also been announced, challenging Brazilian policy to change its consumption to emphasize energy efficiency and decentralized production.
In Mexico the national energy consumption is growing faster than its GDP. The energy mix is still focused on oil and gas, but the former has a low production crisis (mainly low prices) so the recent energy reform in Mexico is one of the greatest current attempts for opening the Mexican economy and attracting foreign investment. In parallel, wind and geothermal energies so as hydropower are being promoted and the bet is to bring these new technologies into the country
