Energy-Water-Climate Planning for Development Without Carbon in Latin America and the Caribbean

The report examines 'development without carbon' (DWC) in Latin America and the Caribbean, focusing on hydropower's role. While hydropower provides 46% of the region's electricity and has significant untapped potential, climate change—specifically glacier retreat in the Andes and rainfall variability—threatens production reliability. The authors advocate for moving away from static planning toward flexible infrastructure and the use of integrated Water Evaluation And Planning (WEAP) and Long-range Energy Alternatives Planning (LEAP) tools to manage water-energy tradeoffs and climate uncertainty.

• Hydropower is a dominant electricity source in Latin America and the Caribbean, providing 46 percent of the region's electricity, which is significantly higher than the global average of 16 percent. However, only 21 to 38 percent of the region's hydroelectric potential has been realized.
• Regional hydropower production varies widely: the Southern Cone generates the most total electricity (484,458 GWh, or 68% of total production), while the Andean Group has the highest proportional reliance, with hydropower providing 71% (165,859 GWh) of its electricity.
• Climate change is impacting hydropower reliability through glacier retreat and rainfall anomalies. Critical glacial retreat in Bolivia, Peru, Colombia, and Ecuador has already affected water availability, and small Andean glaciers are expected to disappear within 15 years.
• Future temperature projections for the LAC region indicate a warming trend from 0.4°C to 1.8°C by 2020 and 1.0°C to 7.5°C by 2080, with the most significant warming expected in the Southern Cone and Andean Region.
• To address climate uncertainty, the report suggests integrating the Water Evaluation And Planning (WEAP) tool for freshwater management with the Long-range Energy Alternatives Planning (LEAP) system for energy policy analysis.

APA

Escobar, M., López, F. F., & Clark, V. (2011). Energy-Water-Climate Planning for Development Without Carbon in Latin America and the Caribbean. Stockholm Environment Institute. https://www.sei.org/mediamanager/documents/Publications/Climate/SEI-Development-Without-Carbon-Ph2-ES.pdf

Chicago

Escobar, Marisa, Francisco Flores López, and Victoria Clark. Energy-Water-Climate Planning for Development Without Carbon in Latin America and the Caribbean. Stockholm Environment Institute, 2011. https://www.sei.org/mediamanager/documents/Publications/Climate/SEI-Development-Without-Carbon-Ph2-ES.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Escobar |first1=Marisa |last2=López |first2=Francisco Flores |last3=Clark |first3=Victoria |title=Energy-Water-Climate Planning for Development Without Carbon in Latin America and the Caribbean |publisher=Stockholm Environment Institute |date=November 2011 |url=https://www.sei.org/mediamanager/documents/Publications/Climate/SEI-Development-Without-Carbon-Ph2-ES.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{escobar2011energywaterclimate, author = {Escobar, Marisa and López, Francisco Flores and Clark, Victoria}, title = {{Energy-Water-Climate Planning for Development Without Carbon in Latin America and the Caribbean}}, institution = {Stockholm Environment Institute}, year = {2011}, month = nov, url = {https://www.sei.org/mediamanager/documents/Publications/Climate/SEI-Development-Without-Carbon-Ph2-ES.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }