Just transition: economic and sustainable resilience in Latin America

This briefing by the Stockholm Environment Institute examines the necessity of a just transition for Latin American economies reliant on fossil fuel extraction. The authors argue that delaying the shift toward sustainable, low-carbon pathways increases economic vulnerability, while warning that the transition to renewable energy technologies creates new risks associated with the increased extraction of critical minerals.

• Latin American governments often reinforced their reliance on oil, gas, and mining as revenue sources following the pandemic, despite the 2020 drop in fossil fuel demand and prices demonstrating the economic risks of such dependency.
• The transition to low-carbon technologies is expected to drive a massive increase in the production of critical minerals—including lithium, cobalt, graphite, nickel, aluminum, silver, and copper—with the World Bank projecting a roughly 500% increase in global production over the next 30 years.
• The shift toward 'new' extractive industries for renewable energy materials introduces significant environmental and social risks, including high water usage, greenhouse gas emissions, and threats to ancestral lands and waterways, often without adequate guarantees for community consultation.
• To achieve economic resilience, regional governments must diversify into sustainable, employment-intensive sectors like agriculture and agro-industries. Some entities, including Colombia, Costa Rica, and parts of Brazil, are utilizing bioeconomy strategies for economic recovery, though this requires increased investment in science, technology, and innovation.
• There is a growing divide in just transition planning; while South Africa is described as moving forward ambitiously, Colombia has had minimal national-level discussions regarding the reduction of fossil fuel dependency.

APA

Arond, E., & Trujillo, M. (2021). Just transition: economic and sustainable resilience in Latin America. Stockholm Environment Institute. https://www.sei.org/perspectives/just-transition-economic-sustainable-resilience-latin-america

Chicago

Arond, Elisa, and Mónica Trujillo. Just transition: economic and sustainable resilience in Latin America. Stockholm Environment Institute, 2021. https://www.sei.org/perspectives/just-transition-economic-sustainable-resilience-latin-america.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Arond |first1=Elisa |last2=Trujillo |first2=Mónica |title=Just transition: economic and sustainable resilience in Latin America |publisher=Stockholm Environment Institute |date=20 December 2021 |url=https://www.sei.org/perspectives/just-transition-economic-sustainable-resilience-latin-america |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{arond2021just, author = {Arond, Elisa and Trujillo, Mónica}, title = {{Just transition: economic and sustainable resilience in Latin America}}, institution = {Stockholm Environment Institute}, year = {2021}, month = dec, url = {https://www.sei.org/perspectives/just-transition-economic-sustainable-resilience-latin-america}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }