Energy Policy in Developing Countries: The Argentine Case

RECALDE, MARINA YESICA

Ciudad del Cabo, Sudafrica

Workshop; International Energy Workshop 2006; 2006

International Energy Agency (IEA); Energy Research Centre (ERC) University of Cape Town; Energy Modeling Forum (EMF) Stanford University; International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA)

The aim of this paper is to analyze the energy policy and its implications for developing countries, taking into account the crucial rol of energy chains in the development process. The empirical evidence is provided by the argentine case. Argentina is currently undergoing a serious energetic problem. Critical points are hydrocarbons supply and energy transport. The main problem is the lack of private investment: agents seem no to receive enough positive investing signals. There is an urgent need for sustainable and active energy policies. Sustainable energy policy must be constituted by long and short-term tools. Proposals for the first case could be: looking for regional energy integration (there are mutual benefits from a regional integration); rearranging regulation schemes; and promoting the use of new, renewable sources. A few of the possible short-term tools are: promoting the exploration of new areas; capturing a portion of hydrocarbons rent and reinvesting it in exploration and promotion of renewable sources; besides, it would be very important to endorse the rational use of energy.