The energy sector faces a critical challenge in both the European Union (EU) and the Latin American and Caribbean region: balancing the energy trilemma of ensuring access to energy, maintaining affordable prices, and advancing decarbonisation.
Access to Energy and Security of Supply: Ensuring universal access to reliable energy is a cornerstone of both regions. Geopolitical uncertainty makes it crucial to find “home grown” energy sources, to obtain a higher level of energy independence in our regions.
Affordable Prices: Managing energy costs is crucial to maintaining economic stability and ensuring that energy is affordable for all citizens. However, high energy costs are hurting citizens and businesses. For instance, energy poverty affects more than 46 million Europeans and electricity is about 3 times more expensive than gas in many European countries. The EU’s “Affordable Energy Action Plan”, was launched to tackle this and is based on 4 pillars: Lowering energy costs for all, completing the Energy Union, attracting investments and ensuring delivery, and being ready for potential energy crises.
Decarbonisation: Reducing carbon emissions and transitioning to a low-carbon economy is a central goal of the EU’s energy policies. For Latin America and the Caribbean, it is an opportunity to showcase their experience as the “greenest” continent. For the EU, its an opportunity to inform on its strategy, like how the “Clean Industrial Deal” outlines concrete actions to turn decarbonisation into a driver of growth for European industries. This includes lowering energy prices, creating quality jobs and the right conditions for companies to thrive.
Objectives
- All three elements of the energy trilemma influence the economic growth and the social stability in both regions.
- This event at COP30 seeks to explore and exchange lessons learned from both the EU and Latin America and the Caribbean on tackling this energy trilemma.
- By fostering a dialogue between policymakers, industry leaders, and experts from both continents, the session aims to identify collaborative pathways to a sustainable energy future.
Moderator
Ditte Juul Jørgensen. Director-General for Energy at the European Commission
Speakers
- Ditte Juul Jørgensen. Director-General for Energy at the European Commission
- Mar Fernández-Palacios. Ambassador of Spain to Brazil
- Dan Dorner. Head of Strategic Initiatives Office and Sherpa, International Energy Agency (IEA)
- Sergio Díaz-Granados. CEO, CAF (Development Bank of Latin America)
- Gloria Alvarenga. Director, Security of Supply, OLADE