Roadmap from Latin America and the Caribbean for a Just Energy Transition

The roadmap advocates for a phased exit from fossil fuels in Latin America and the Caribbean, emphasizing a transition that integrates climate justice, economic diversification, and the recognition of nature's rights. It categorizes countries by their hydrocarbon profile—booming production, mature production, or importing with refining capacity—to tailor phase-out strategies. Key goals include achieving a net-zero electricity system by 2050, decarbonizing industrial and transport demand, and reforming financial systems to reduce debt-based climate finance. The document also calls for the criminalization of ecocide and the exclusion of climate policies from investor-state arbitration mechanisms.

• The region exhibits a structural dependence on fossil fuels, with approximately two-thirds of the energy mix relying on them and oil's share exceeding the global average. However, the electricity sector is relatively clean, with renewables accounting for nearly 60% of generation, and exceeding 90% in countries like Costa Rica, Paraguay, and Uruguay.
• The roadmap identifies a critical gap in current transition models: they focus on reducing fossil fuel consumption (demand side) but lack explicit targets for phasing out exploration, production, and refining (supply side), which risks creating stranded assets and lock-in effects.
• To achieve a net-zero electricity system by 2050, the roadmap proposes a phased exit from thermal power plants, the integration of distributed generation (targeting 20% of capacity from community/individual sources by 2050), and full regional electricity interconnection by 2045.
• Economic diversification is presented as a necessity to move beyond the primary export-oriented model. The roadmap argues that without deliberate industrialization and value addition, the region risks remaining a mere supplier of raw materials and critical minerals for the Global North.
• Current climate finance in the region is deemed insufficient and problematic, with 80% provided as loans, which perpetuates debt. The roadmap calls for a shift toward public resources, carbon pricing, and the reform of regional development banks to include fossil fuel exclusions.
• The document proposes radical legal transformations, including the recognition of nature as a subject of rights, the criminalization of ecocide, and the removal of climate-related disputes from international investor-state arbitration mechanisms like ICSID.
• Decarbonizing 'hard-to-abate' sectors requires specific technological shifts: the cement sector must scale low-clinker materials; the steel sector must expand electric arc furnaces; and the fertilizer sector must transition from fossil gas to green hydrogen and biomethane.

APA

Transforma (2026). Roadmap from Latin America and the Caribbean for a Just Energy Transition. https://transforma.global/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/2606-Roadmap-LAC_JET.pdf

Chicago

Transforma. Roadmap from Latin America and the Caribbean for a Just Energy Transition. 2026. https://transforma.global/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/2606-Roadmap-LAC_JET.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Transforma |title=Roadmap from Latin America and the Caribbean for a Just Energy Transition |date=June 2026 |url=https://transforma.global/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/2606-Roadmap-LAC_JET.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{transforma2026roadmap, author = {{Transforma}}, title = {{Roadmap from Latin America and the Caribbean for a Just Energy Transition}}, institution = {Transforma}, year = {2026}, month = jun, url = {https://transforma.global/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/2606-Roadmap-LAC_JET.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }