This new alliance between the Latin American Energy Organization (Olade) and REN21 will boost cooperation between diverse actors at global, regional and local levels, working towards the decarbonization of different sectors in Latin America and the Caribbean.
REN21 is a global network of stakeholders from science, governments, NGOs and industry committed to the adoption of renewable energy. Ren21 warned in June about the slow pace of the energy transition, noting that the proportion of fossil fuels in global energy demand over the last decade remains unchanged and that due to the increase in world population, more fossil fuels are consumed today than 10 years ago.
In this regard, the Executive Secretary of Olade, Alfonso Blanco, in relation to the alliance with REN21 mentioned that “cities are where 75% of emissions are generated. There are many opportunities for local governments to be leaders in climate change mitigation. REN21’s experience in facilitating debate at the regional and local level will be vital in bringing stakeholders together to achieve change.
Rana Adib, Executive Director of REN21, spoke of the strength of the new partnership between REN21 and OLADE, stating that “we believe it is important to understand the barriers and opportunities to realizing the ambition of reaching zero emissions. With the addition of OLADE to REN21 we hope to drive action in the Latin American and Caribbean region by bringing together diverse actors”.
Furthermore, she mentioned “if we look at transportation, worldwide the sector runs 95.7% on fossil fuels. A decade ago it was 97.1%”.
In the Latin American transport sector, only 2,000 buses, less than 1% of the region’s fleet, were electric by 2020, despite continued interest and the fact that Santiago, Chile, has the most electric buses of any city outside China (400 added in 2020 for a total fleet of more than 800). Bogota (Colombia) added 470 electric buses in 2020 and placed an order for 596 more.
Here you can watch the full dialogue between Olade’s Executive Secretary and REN21’s Executive Director.
More information about REN21: https://www.ren21.net/