On December 3, President Nicolás Maduro held a referendum asking citizens whether the Essequibo region should be “reclaimed” as part of Venezuelan territory. Whether prompted by the 2015 discovery of abundant oil reserves, or the need to gain popularity before the 2024 presidential elections, Maduro ordered Petróleos de Venezuela, SA…Read more +
There is a new source of controversy around carbon offsets the role of governments. Nation-states are getting more involved in voluntary carbon markets (VCMs), and that is not necessarily a bad thing. Indeed, it was only a matter of time before governments began to participate, and, if done right, such…Read more +
Will Latin America's critical minerals spur a "green resource curse" this century? What kinds of policy tools are available to mitigate the risks?Read more +
Despite many challenges in implementation, RELAC presents an opportunity to transform electricity systems while improving energy equity region-wide.Read more +
To learn about the implications of the recent Eletrobras sale, the prospects of Petrobras privatization, and how both are affected by the likely return of Lula, the Dialogue's Energy & Climate Program spoke to Dr. Mark Langevin, adjunct professor and senior fellow at George Mason University and senior advisor to Horizon Client Access.Read more +
On June 30, 2022, the US Supreme Court issued a ruling that severely restricts the federal government’s ability to fight climate change via regulations.Read more +
Over the last few decades, China has become a major player in Latin America’s energy sector. As one of the world’s largest oil consumers, the Asian giant has provided oil-backed loans and equity investments in numerous countries with large oil reserves like Venezuela and Brazil. Yet increasingly, China has been expanding its footprint in the region’s renewable energy sector as well. Read more +
Chile’s initiative to fully phase out coal generation by 2040 will be critical for the Southern Cone country to comply with its Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) under the Paris Agreement. However, despite the urgency of slashing Chile’s emissions, ensuring that coal workers are not economically abandoned in the process exemplifies one of the main challenges for policymakers surrounding the just transition.Read more +
Nate Graham, Jamie Dorner, José Daniel Madrigal
˙
˙
Voces
Making climate change a central theme of a renewed US focus on the root causes of migration from the Northern Triangle presents an opportunity for the Biden administration to address its border dilemma while simultaneously advancing its climate-related foreign policy goals. Read more +
The economic damage wrought by Covid-19 in the Caribbean will have numerous implications for the energy sector. In this Q&A, Jed Bailey, managing director of Energy Narrative, discusses impacts for renewables, resilience, utilities, and more.Read more +
The perfect storm of the plummeting oil price and the Covid-19 pandemic could have dire consequences for oil-dependent Latin American economies, lead to a reduction in upstream investment, and damage the prospects for renewable energy projects.Read more +
Héctor Castro Vizcarra, Nate Graham
˙
˙
Voces
A private long-term power auction and changes to Clean Energy Certificate rules are major developments in a challenging new context for Mexico's renewable energy sector. Nate Graham, assistant for the Energy Program, asked non-resident senior fellow Héctor Castro Vizcarra about their implications.Read more +
For over a decade Colombians have been debating whether or not to allow oil companies to use hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, to produce oil and gas from shale rock, a technique that has been controversial in many countries. The high court’s decision last week to uphold a moratorium on fracking suggests the increasingly polarized debate is far from over.Read more +
Héctor Castro Vizcarra, Nate Graham
˙
˙
Voces
President Andrés Manuel López Obrador has shaken up Mexico’s energy industry even more than anticipated. Nate Graham, assistant for the Energy Program, posed some questions to non-resident senior fellow Héctor Castro Vizcarra to discern where the country’s energy sector is headed.Read more +