20 November 2012: The Third Regional Political Dialogue on Energy Efficiency in Latin America and the Caribbean met to discuss the institutional and policy frameworks needed in the region to promote rational and sustainable energy use to guide mutual and international cooperative efforts in LAC on the issue.
The Dialogue, held from 15-16 November 2012 in Panama City, Panama, under the theme "Measuring Energy Efficiency," was organized by the UN Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC), the Latin American Parliament (Parlatino), the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) and Panama's National Energy Secretariat (SNE), with financial support from the German International Cooperation Agency (GIZ). In addition to representatives from national governments, regional organizations and UN agencies, the meeting included most of the national parliamentarians serving on Parlatino's Energy and Mines Committee.
The meeting was organized into six thematic dialogues on: result indicators for energy efficiency; energy efficiency standards and certification; new advances in national energy efficiency programs; smart grids; energy efficiency in transport; and normative and legislative changes for promoting energy efficiency. It closed with a roundtable on proposals and future steps to reinforce energy efficiency promotion and measurement initiatives in LAC.
At the end of the meeting, the Parlatino participants adopted a Declaration committing the legislators to work in their national legislatures to pass laws that, inter alia: correct price distortions that impede sustainable energy demand management; fund national energy efficiency programs; permit the introduction of performance indicators for energy efficiency programs; and promote the role of governments in energy efficiency as planners, promoters and regulators. They also created a Parlatino working group to track national initiatives.
The Dialogue was preceded on 12-13 November 2012 by a workshop convened in Panama City by ECLAC and ADEME of the six-nation (Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Paraguay, Uruguay) "Energy Efficiency Indicator Base" (known by its Spanish acronym BIEE) project. Workshop participants presented the results of national efforts to collect statistics related to energy efficiency and other issues as discussed at a May 2012 BIEE workshop. They then selected several indicators which all LAC nations may use, which were presented at the Political Dialogue. [ECLAC Release and Presentations(in Spanish)] [document: Parlatino Declaration on Energy Efficiency (in Spanish)] [IISD RS article on May 2012 BIEE workshop]
