Energy transition in Latin America: Historic perspective and challenges in achieving sustainable development

ESTEBAN SERRANI; LIRA BENITEZ

Conferencia; Annual Conference Society for the Advancement of Socio-Economics (SASE). Socio-Economics in a Transitioning World: Breaking Lines and Alternative Paradigms for a New World Order; 2023

Society for the Advancement of Socio-Economics (SASE)

In Latin America, related to the energy transition, the change that has been made was from the use of oil towards greater share of gas as fuel for electricity generation, added to the scarce coal presence compared to the rest of the world. As a regional particularity, the weight of hydroelectric stands out, along with the diversification of energy sources with the participation of gas and renewables in the electricity mix. However, energy transitions in Latin America are a more complex process than a change in the energy system. It also needs to focus on people, their involvement and acceptance of decisions in the energy industry, how much of the income of consumers go to maintaining this service, how much it affects their ability to cover other expenses, and if energy production and supply are fair and sustainable that improve human welfare, especially in a vulnerable population. Furthermore, there is a need to incorporate the energy trilemma analysis into the more general framework of its specific problems, such as low long-term economic growth, the high participation of raw materials in its export structure, the sacrifice zones that are organized around these activities, the social structure marked by inequality in income distribution, and access to public goods. In this book, we present several challenges to achieve the energy transition and sustainable development goals in Latin America.