Author: Ana Filipa Santos

Under the topic “The contribution of climate finance mechanisms to accelerating the energy transition in the CPLP Member States”, the 2nd CPLP Energy and Climate Seminar will focus mainly on the role of climate funds. The event, which will take place on 17th October 2024, in Praia, Cape Verde, will be held on the sidelines of a High-Level event on “Financial mobilization for climate resilience of Large Oceanic States – the case of Cape Verde”, promoted by the Government of Cape Verde, with the support of the Climate Action Programme, which also has the support of Luxembourg Cooperation (LuxDev).

Bringing together members of government and financiers in a debate on the energy transition in CPLP Member States, the 2nd CPLP Energy and Climate Seminar will focus on:

• the outlook for COP 29, to be held in November, when a new Collective Quantified Target for climate finance is expected to be set;
• the strategies for mobilizing climate finance to accelerate the energy transition, presented by the representatives of the Ministries of Finance of the CPLP Member States;
• the national climate funds (e.g. resources from bilateral debt conversion agreements) and international funds (such as the Green Climate Fund).

The 2nd CPLP Energy and Climate Seminar is being promoted by the Government of São Tomé and Príncipe, which holds the Presidency-in-Office of the Community of Portuguese-Speaking Countries (CPLP), together with the Energy Thematic Committee of the CPLP Consultative Observers, coordinated by ALER and RELOP.

International experiences focusing on the 2030 Agenda and SDG 7 – Clean and Affordable Energy and energy poverty were presented

On June 20, the working group of the Association of Energy Regulators of Portuguese-Speaking Countries (Relop) held a virtual workshop on Agenda 2030 and SDG 7 – Clean and Affordable Energy. The Association’s members are energy regulators from Angola, Brazil, Cape Verde, Portugal, Mozambique and São Tomé and Príncipe.

The coordinator of the Energy Transition Working Group (GTE), Djane Melo, opened the event. In her speech, Djane emphasized the importance of the energy transition for the social development of the countries and encouraged interaction between the participants, promoting discussions on access to energy and new technologies.”

During the workshop, the head of the Water and Energy Unit of the Natural Resources Division of the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC), Rayen Quiroga, spoke about access to sustainable and modern electricity, the energy transition as a vector for transforming regional development and progress towards the 2030 Agenda. She pointed out that Brazil stands out in Latin America in the use of renewable energies and the need to strengthen public policies to promote the energy transition.

The director of the Department of Universalization and Social Policies for Electricity at the Ministry of Mines and Energy, André Dias, then presented some of the public policies carried out in the country that contribute to the fulfillment of SDG 7. Among the public policies developed in Brazil to combat energy poverty, the programs Luz para todos (Light for All), created in 2003 to promote universal access to electricity and combat energy poverty, and Tarifa Social de Energia Elétrica (Social Electricity Tariff), which addresses consumers’ ability to pay through discounts for low-income families, were highlighted.

At the end of the workshop, there was a presentation by the Portuguese entities: the Entidade Reguladora para o Setor Energético E.P.E (ENSE), represented by Emanuel Delgado, and the Entidade Reguladora dos Serviços Energéticos (ERSE), represented by Miguel Alves. During their presentations, they discussed the challenges faced and the measures adopted to combat energy poverty. They also explained how the social tariff works in the country, benefiting the most vulnerable families economically.

Agenda 2030 and the electricity sector in Latin America and the Caribbean

The 2030 Agenda established 17 goals, 169 targets and 231 global indicators to monitor progress. Brazil is one of the signatory countries of the 2030 Agenda and ANEEL has created the ‘ANEEL SDG 7 Project’ to develop solutions for the issue.

ECLAC is monitoring and analyzing the implementation of the SDGs of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development in Latin American and Caribbean countries. The Commission carried out a survey and found that 16 million people still don’t have access to electricity.

According to ECLAC data, 69% of the energy matrix in Latin American and Caribbean countries is made up of non-renewable sources and only 31% of renewable sources.

RELOP’s role in shaping regulatory policies

The Association of Energy Regulators of Portuguese-Speaking Countries is an international organization focused on promoting professional training and knowledge sharing among experts and professionals from member entities.

The Association’s objective is to promote cooperation and the sharing of experiences, inspiration and innovation with the aim of guaranteeing the protection of present and future consumers through a robust regulatory policy, integrating the entire Lusophone community on the basis of the Portuguese language.

The Government of São Tomé and Príncipe, which holds the Presidency of the Community of Portuguese-Speaking Countries (CPLP), together with the Energy Thematic Committee of the CPLP Consultative Observers, coordinated by ALER and the Association of Energy Regulators of Portuguese-Speaking Countries (RELOP), and with the institutional support of the CPLP, will promote a Series of Energy and Climate Seminars to discuss the contribution of climate finance mechanisms to accelerating the energy transition in the CPLP Member States.

This series of four seminars aims to boost cooperation and dialogue between public and private entities in CPLP countries; highlight national strategies for the energy transition; identify opportunities for climate finance and; discuss the regulatory role for implementing energy transition projects.

The CPLP Energy and Climate Seminar Series aims to bring together members of the government, leaders of energy companies, financiers and other interested parties in a space for debate. On the sidelines of the events, there will be consultation meetings, namely the CPLP Energy Focal Points Meeting, which will be convened by the relevant authorities in São Tomé.

The first seminar will take place on July 2, 2024, in the Auditorium of the CPLP headquarters in Lisbon (Portugal), and will focus on private investment. First, in addition to sharing national strategies for the energy transition, the importance of the regulatory framework for attracting investment will be highlighted. Concrete cases of private sector climate investment in the various Portuguese-speaking countries will then be presented, highlighting the role of national banks and the business sector in projects that promote the energy transition.

The second seminar, scheduled for October 10, will take place in Praia (Cape Verde), on the sidelines of a high-level event on Climate Finance, organized by the Cape Verdean government, and will focus mainly on strategies for mobilizing climate funds for the energy transition.

This will be followed by a third seminar, on November 22, as part of the 1st International Seminar on Carbon Credit Regulation, in Rio de Janeiro (Brazil), where advances in the regulation of national carbon markets will be presented.

Finally, the fourth and last seminar in this series, to be held in March 2025 in São Tomé and Príncipe, will launch the “Lusophone Energy Transition Roadmap for COP30”, which will compile the energy transition and climate finance strategies of each CPLP country; identify points of cooperation between them; and help define a strategy for the articulated participation of CPLP member states in COP30.

The CPLP Energy and Climate Seminar Series also has the institutional support of the Ministry of Infrastructure and Natural Resources of São Tomé and Príncipe, the Ministry of Energy and Water of Angola, the Ministry of Mines and Energy of Brazil, the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Energy of Cape Verde, the Ministry of Energy of Guinea-Bissau, the Ministry of Mineral Resources and Energy of Mozambique and the Ministry of Environment and Energy of Portugal.

Energy models from Portuguese-speaking countries to be discussed during workshop

The current energy transition is a process of transforming the energy matrix towards a low-carbon economy. This environmental aspect of the energy transition comes against the backdrop of the urgency and challenges posed by rapid climate change, a phenomenon linked to global warming and the accelerated emission of greenhouse gases (GHG).

Continuing the workshops organized by RELOP’s Energy Transition Working Group, the energy models of the Portuguese-speaking countries that are part of RELOP will be presented in April.

The aim is to understand the particularities of each country’s energy matrix, how the generation and consumption segments work and how they are planned, as well as to understand each country’s challenges in their respective energy transitions.

The event will take place online, via Teams, on 24/4/24, at 10am (Brasília time).

Several workshops will be held between now and July to discuss the effects of the energy transition on member countries of the Association of Energy Regulators of Portuguese-Speaking Countries (RELOP).

“Energy Efficiency: challenges, opportunities and solutions”. This is the theme of the second workshop to be held by the RELOP working group on energy transition next Wednesday (27/3), exclusively virtually and for RELOP participants. With one workshop per month until July, the working group aims to be an enriching forum for discussion and to encourage the sharing of knowledge and experiences among participants. The first workshop was entitled “Integrated Strategies for the Energy Transition” and was held on February 29th.

The event will open at 1 p.m. (Portugal time) with a brief “Framework on the importance of energy efficiency in the national contexts of the RELOP countries’ energy transition”. The aim is not only to inform, but also to inspire, in the implementation of initiatives and good practices, adapting them to the specific context of each RELOP country’s reality.

At 1:10 p.m., there will be a panel on energy efficiency myths and barriers. The following topics will be discussed: What is energy efficiency? Main concepts, barriers, instruments for promotion and multiple benefits of energy efficiency, highlighting good practices and successful initiatives. At 1:40 p.m., there will be a panel on ANEEL’s work in the field of energy efficiency, in which the Energy Efficiency Program regulations will be presented.

At 2:10 p.m., an interactive dialog will take place, with discussions on topics such as: identifying common challenges and opportunities in each RELOP country; discussing how energy efficiency can be adapted to the specific contexts of the RELOP countries; discussing the specific experiences of the participants and how they can implement an energy efficiency policy and, finally, a question and answer session. The event closes at 14:45, with a summary of the main points discussed.

At the end of the workshop, the aim is not only to gain a deeper understanding of the energy transition, but also to form a solid basis for future collaboration and initiatives within the Working Group.