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Add to Preferred SourcesThe International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) and the Latin American Energy Organization (OLADE) will boost ties to put the renewables driven energy transformation at the heart of Latin America and the Caribbean’s economic recovery following the COVID-19 outbreak.
Accelerating the development of sustainable energy could provide the Latin-American region with a long-term strategy to address social inequality, energy access, and energy security. Renewables can also stimulate the growth of clean technology utilisation within the industrial, agricultural, manufacturing and transport sectors, while reducing the carbon emissions in the region by 21 percent by 2030 compared to today’s levels, contributing towards global decarbonisation efforts in line with the Paris Agreement. In this context, OLADE and IRENA will promote renewable energy investment and financing, as well as energy integration in the region.
Under IRENA’s Global Renewables Outlook, accelerating the renewable energy-driven transformation in Latin America and the Caribbean could create more than three million jobs across the region by 2050, while offering economic returns of between USD $3 and USD $8 dollars on every dollar invested the energy transformation. Investment needs in the region are estimated at USD $45 billion per year between now and mid-century – an increase of more than 10 percent over current plans and policies.
“We stand together with OLADE in ensuring there is collective regional recognition of the socio-economic potential of a green recovery built around the energy transformation,” said Francesco La Camera, Director-General of IRENA. “While the region is diverse, all countries within it seek to benefit from higher shares of renewables, from enhanced energy security and lower system costs to widespread job creation, improved health and economic growth. The decisions made by policymakers today must seek to build a future of stability and prosperity, rather than prolong the unsustainable systems of the past.”
Latin American countries possess vast and untapped renewable energy potential. In addition, several countries in the region have developed robust electricity markets which results in an appealing destination for RE project developers and investors looking for geographical diversification and clean investments. Countries such as Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Costa Rica, Mexico, and Uruguay have grown renewable energy capacity significantly in recent years. In 2019, total regional capacity increased by around 12 gigawatts (GW) and IRENA’s recent ‘Future of Solar Photovoltaic’ report highlighted that the region’s solar energy capacity alone could grow by a factor of 40 by 2050 to more than 280 GW thanks to an abundant resource endowment and strong enabling policies. In addition, geothermal, wind, and bioenergy all play an increasingly important role in the region’s low-carbon energy mix.
Original source: IRENA
Published on 08 July 2020