The upcoming Conference of the Parties (COP30), to be held in Belém do Pará in November, represents a decisive moment for Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC), not only because the region will host the planet's most important climate summit, but because it arrives with a unique position: an energy matrix cleaner than the global average, vast potential of strategic natural resources, and a growing conviction that sustainable development must be the axis of its future.
LAC will have a prominent role in this Summit, especially in energy matters, where significant steps have been taken in reducing GHG levels due to decarbonization processes developing in the sector.
Ten years after the Paris Agreement, our region exhibits important achievements: i) renewable energies in electricity production in LAC increased from 53% in 2015 to 70% in 2025, ii) whereby the sector considerably reduced its carbon footprint (40%) from 276 kg CO2/MWh to 172 kg CO2/MWh in a decade, and iii) as a consequence, the energy sector in the region represents 44% of total GHG emissions, compared to 70% of the global average.
However, some challenges still persist in the region. First, integration: our energy systems were designed in autarky. Greater integration will allow scaling the efficiency of our generation infrastructure, thus generating a virtuous circle of renewable energy investment. Base generation, whether nuclear, geothermal, or fossil, in turn, if conceived as regional infrastructure will function as a pillar for process multiplication, ensuring security within the framework of transition. On the other hand, demand-side efforts are fundamental; we must continue betting decisively on the decarbonization of key sectors such as industry and transport. Thus, promoting electrification, which today represents 19% of energy consumption, implies reducing fossil emissions.
Other lines for advancing toward targets correspond to strengthening energy infrastructure to guarantee reliable services and avoid losses; having storage systems while improving infrastructure and digitalization of processes; as well as deepening the development roadmap for new fuels. Joint planning will be a key dimension for all these efforts.
From OLADE we observe this meeting with hope and responsibility. LAC can be a protagonist of the global energy transition, not only for its lithium, copper, or renewable resource reserves, but because it has demonstrated that it is possible to grow with cleaner, more equitable, and secure energy. The challenge now is to consolidate this comparative advantage into a true regional strategy that combines integration, financing, technological innovation, and social justice. We not only have the least carbon-intensive energy matrix and the carbon sink that sustains the global geophysical balance; if we achieve the necessary agreements, we can provide solutions for global decarbonization. We are a regional solution.
COP30 will be a showcase to display advances, but also a platform to claim a new international cooperation pact. Our region needs fair access to climate financing, effective technology transfer, and global rules that recognize the efforts made by developing countries. It is about building fair partnerships that accelerate global decarbonization without compromising human development.
In this regard, we must continue promoting a common agenda that strengthens the Latin American and Caribbean voice in international negotiations. Let us promote a just energy transition that takes into account social realities, institutional capacities, and investment needs of each country. Let us also work to consolidate a more interconnected and resilient regional energy market that leverages the complementarities between our nations.
COP30 gives us the opportunity to reaffirm that energy is not just an economic input, but the heart of sustainable development. Achieving an orderly transition implies guaranteeing universal access, strengthening energy security, and advancing toward more efficient and clean systems.
Belém must be the starting point of a decade of regional climate action. LAC has everything to lead a sustainable, inclusive, and distinctive energy model. COP30 can and must be the moment when the world recognizes the strategic role of our region in the fight against climate change.
Andrés Rebolledo
Executive Secretary
Latin American Energy Organization - OLADE
