International Energy Agency has published “Latin America Energy Outlook 2023”.

The report finds that Latin America and the Caribbean’s wealth of resources and experience developing them – from high-quality renewables to oil and gas to critical minerals – could make major contributions to global energy security and clean energy transitions with the right packages of policies, on top of powering the region’s own transition and generating major benefits for local economies after a decade of sluggish growth.

Renewables, led by hydropower, generate 60% of the region’s electricity, twice the global average. Countries in Latin America and the Caribbean hold about 15% of global oil and natural gas resources. And the region is highly significant for the production of minerals that are essential components in many of today’s rapidly growing clean energy technologies.

The authors note the low effectiveness of government policies to achieve zero emissions. Countries in the region are expected to continue to rely on fossil fuels to meet the bulk of their energy needs.

To facilitate the energy transition, experts recommend:

• Accelerating the introduction of renewable energy sources
• Carrying out electrification of industry and transport
• Increasing the energy efficiency of the food industry