From Fossil Fuels to Low Carbon Energy Transition: New Regulatory Trends in Latin America

Focusing on five key themes - hydrocarbons, electricity, mining, social license to operate, and arbitration/dispute resolution- via in-depth country and regional case studies, this book seeks to capture the contrasting and sometimes conflicting trends in energy governance in Latin America as it wrestles with a dependence on fossil fuels whilst shifting toward a low carbon future.

Energy transition continues to sit at the centre of the Latin American policy debate as the world continues to push for carbon neutrality by 2050. Latin America is undergoing a renewable energy transition, with substantial reserves (solar, wind, hydro, geothermal) and many countries in the region setting ambitious renewable energy policies, laws, and regulations to address climate change. However, recent initiatives to promote renewables must be placed in context. Historically, Latin America has developed and improved its economic and social standards due primarily to an economy based on the extractive industries and fossil fuels. This places renewables at the crossroads of multiple drivers, as the region seek to ensure security of supply, attract investment, and facilitate a low carbon energy transition.

Dr. Juan Felipe Neira-Castro works at the Colombian energy regulator, Regulatory Commission for Gas and Energy (CREG). Previously, Juan was a Lecturer in Energy Law at the Energy and Mining Law Department at Externado University, Bogotá, Colombia. Juan Felipe Neira holds an LLM in Petroleum Law and Policy, an MSc in International Oil and Gas Management and a PhD in Energy Law from the Centre for Energy Petroleum and Mineral Law and Policy (CEPMLP) at the University of Dundee. He has published in areas such as gas regulation in Colombia and on unconventional hydrocarbons regulation. He has advised companies in the energy sector that operate throughout Latin America, as well as international organisations on energy law, policy, and regulation.

Geoffrey Wood is a Lecturer in Energy Law at Stirling University. Actively involved in energy and environmental research with a focus on energy transitions, he has published over 40 articles, books, book chapters and other publications.