BRAVO Symposium 2024: Key Imperatives for the Region's Clean Energy Transition

Speakers:

• Juan Ignacio Rubiolo, Executive Vice President and President, International Business Unit and Infrastructure, The AES Corporation
• Jairo Lorenzatto, CEO Latin America, Smurfit WestRock
• Shannon Kellogg, VP of Public Policy, Americas, Amazon Web Services
• Elizabeth Robberechts, Division Chief of Infrastructure and Energy, IDB Invest 
• Carlos Barrera, CEO, Atlas Renewable Energy (Moderator)

"Latin America is the most sustainable region in the world, when it comes to energy. We generate roughly 65 percent of our energy from renewable sources. So we are not coming from scratch. We need to continue evolving and continue transitioning toward a much more sustainable environment,” said Juan Ignacio Rubiolo of The AES Corporation at the 2024 Council of the Americas Symposium. During a panel entitled "The Key Imperatives for the Region's Clean Energy Transition," Rubiolo and the other panelists outlined the region's progress on alternative energy generation and looked at how it can cement its place as a producer and consumer of green fuels.

Jairo Lorenzatto of Smurfit WestRock agreed with Rubiolo, saying, "Latin America is not just yet globally recognized as a truly highly sustainable region in terms of the products and the energy matrix that it provides." Lorenzatto continued that the region needs to enhance its renewable energy supply change to generate more clean fuel. "To me, it will circle back, and it will over time attract more capital and more investment," he said.

Carlos Barrera of Atlas Renewable Energy, the panel's moderator, asked Shannon Kellogg Amazon Web Services about the challenges the private sector faces in guaranteeing a clean energy supply in the region. Shannon said that when thinking about building data centers in Latin America, companies need to feel confident that they will have clean energy. "I do believe in the potential of the region. I think there's going to be a lot of growth. I think there are going to be a lot of places that become AI centers, but let's have the long-term strategy and plan to get there,” he said. 

Barrera asked Elizabeth Robberechts of IDB Invest about the opportunities she sees for accelerating the energy transition in Latin America. She spoke of key minerals abundant in the region, like lithium and copper, as well as opportunities in green hydrogen and hydropower. She also added, “We have seen quite a bit of growth in the circular economy... utilizing your own resources to create energy.”