Energy Transition and Climate Justice After Paris Agreement: Achievements and New Goals in South America

Abstract

The objective of the chapter is to analyze the evolution of the decarbonization process of electricity generation in South America after the Paris Agreement in terms of climate justice, taking into account that this is a region with a low level of historical incidence of greenhouse gas emissions (GHG), particularly in terms of emissions from the energy sector, and also a high degree of vulnerability to the impacts of climate change. The gathering of information and analysis techniques are based on documentary research, using two types of secondary sources of information: on the one hand, quantitative data on installed power, electricity generation and sectoral emissions to analyze the relative position of the region and its recent evolution; on the other hand, qualitative data from the Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs), in order to examine the goals, sources and obstacles to achieve electricity decarbonization.The findings corroborated the working hypothesis, because the region as a whole has rapidly increased the incorporation of low-carbon sources in its electricity generation in relation to the group of the six highest emitting countries, despite the fact that South America started from a higher level in the decarbonization of the electricity mix and that climate change is affecting the generation capacity of its hydroelectric power plants. Likewise, nuances should be noted when analyzing the cases at the national level, given that the fast progress of some countries compensates for the slower speed of others.