The role of renewables in smoothing the impact of oil and gas price shocks on inflation: The LAC experience

Abstract

This paper examines the role of renewable electricity adoption in mitigating the impact of international fossil fuel price shocks on inflation in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC), the region with the highest proportion of renewables in its energy mix. Utilizing data from 18 LAC countries spanning 2005 to 2021, we show that renewable electricity significantly reduces the transmission of fossil fuel price shocks to both energy-specific and overall inflation. Our findings indicate that countries with larger shares of renewable electricity generation experience notably smaller inflationary impacts in response to fluctuations in global oil prices. These results underscore the positive externalities of renewable energy investment, particularly its potential to reduce the transmission of global energy price volatility to local inflation.