What Would 'Peak Oil' Mean for Latin America?

Energy & Natural Resources attorney Inés Elvira Vesga was interviewed by The Dialogue's Energy Advisor about how rising demand for oil presents opportunities and challenges for Latin America. The International Energy Agency recently revised its timeline for reaching "peak oil," finding demand will continue to rise until 2050 under current government policies. Ms. Vesga said the extended horizon for oil demand creates short-term economic opportunities for major regional producers such as Brazil and Guyana while also raising the potential for exacerbating current vulnerabilities as a result of continued reliance on hydrocarbons without economic diversification or energy transition planning. With regard to climate change, she noted extreme weather events will also lead to economic losses as well as social impacts, calling for countries to take additional steps to improve resiliency.

"Across the region, renewable energy adoption is growing but remains insufficient to offset long-term declines in fossil fuel income, underscoring the need for accelerated transition planning," she said. "...Latin America is particularly vulnerable to the effects of climate change and at the same time has very significant social development needs; therefore, it must take advantage of its natural resources and exploit them without ceasing to accelerate the transition."

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