Just transition: economic and sustainable resilience in Latin America

The briefing examines the necessity of a just transition in Latin America, warning against the continued reliance on fossil fuel extraction. It highlights the risks associated with 'new' extractive industries for renewable energy minerals and advocates for economic diversification through bioeconomy strategies and investments in innovation and education.

• Latin American governments have often responded to post-pandemic economic recovery by reinforcing commitments to oil, gas, and mining as familiar revenue sources instead of planning for an energy transition.
• The transition to renewable energy technologies will significantly increase the demand for critical minerals—including lithium, cobalt, graphite, nickel, aluminum, silver, and copper—with the World Bank projecting a roughly 500% increase in global production of key minerals over the next 30 years.
• New extractive activities for minerals are creating environmental and social risks, including high water usage and greenhouse gas emissions, while governments have provided few guarantees to protect ancestral lands, waterways, or the rights of communities to consultation.
• To move beyond raw commodity exports, governments in Brazil, Colombia, and Costa Rica are utilizing bioeconomy strategies as a means of economic recovery, though this requires increased investment in science, technology, innovation, and education.

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} }