PUNTA CANA, La Altagracia. - The Sixth Meeting of the Energy and Climate Partnership of the Americas (ECPA) came to a close with a ceremony led by Antonio Almonte, Minister of Energy and Mines. The summit had a significant impact on accelerating the energy transition in the region in an inclusive manner.
During the summit, the participants discussed crucial issues such as the transition to sustainable, clean, and renewable energy, the importance of the private sector, financing, climate change mitigation and adaptation, and energy integration and technological innovation.
The Minister of Energy and Mines (MEM) highlighted the importance of cooperation agreements between the Dominican Republic, the Republic of Chile, and Panama and between Chile and Panama. These agreements will facilitate exchanging experiences and best practices in areas of common interest, including universal energy access, energy efficiency, gender mainstreaming, green hydrogen, and sustainable mobility.
Several countries signed the CertHilac protocol to certify clean hydrogen in Latin America and the Caribbean. The protocol guarantees hydrogen's traceability and offers precise data on its origin, production methods, and environmental and social sustainability criteria.
Moreover, 16 countries in the region committed to achieving a 70% share of renewable energy in their energy mix by 2030. They have joined the Renewable Energy in Latin America and the Caribbean (RELAC) initiative, showing remarkable leadership in adopting renewable energy.
Another outcome of the Sixth Ministerial Summit is the call to action by OLADE and ECLAC, supported by the Ministry of Energy and Mines of the Dominican Republic, to accelerate just, inclusive, and sustainable energy transitions in the region.
Minister Almonte expressed his deep gratitude for the participants' significant contributions to developing the thematic and plenary sessions, which have been fundamental in addressing the great energy transition challenge. He also believes that their days spent at the summit were very productive.
The Minister of Energy and Mines praised the Organization of American States (OAS) for creating an essential energy governance and integration platform, such as ECPA. He believes that this forum is crucial in taking the energy debate beyond the markets and placing it in the strategic field of regional energy policy.
He also emphasized how privileged he felt to have spent time with everyone and saw that the energy transition was already a tangible reality in the Americas. It was gratifying to have their valuable presence in the Dominican Republic.
The event was held from the 14th to the 15th in the Convention Hall of the Barceló Palace Punta Cana. It was attended by Energy Ministers from several countries in the region, representatives of the United States government, the Organization of American States (OAS), the World Bank (WB), and the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), local government authorities from the energy sector, and entrepreneurs from the area. The summit's motto was "Renewable Energies of the Americas: Integration and Innovation."
The Vice President of the Republic, Raquel Peña, spoke at the opening about the Dominican government's efforts to encourage renewable energy production and accelerate the energy transition. The Foreign Minister of the Republic, Roberto Álvarez, analyzed the state's energy diplomacy and generation expansion progress.
What is ECPA?
ECPA is an initiative of the Organization of American States, which includes 34 countries. It was launched at the 2009 Summit of the Americas to promote sustainable energy development in the region through cooperation, political dialogue, technical exchange, and outreach.
In this sense, the promotion of cleaner energy sources, universal access to energy, the development of energy efficiency systems, the promotion of regional integration, the commitment to resilient energy infrastructures, the fight against energy poverty, and capacity building, research and implementation of innovative technologies and nature-based solutions that contribute to mitigating climate change stand out as pillars of ECPA.
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