Energy Solidarity in Latin America: generating inclusive knowledge and governance to address energy vulnerability and energy systems resilience

logo for the eslatina projectESLatinA (Energy Solidarity in Latin America: generating inclusive knowledge and governance to address energy vulnerability and energy systems resilience) has been awarded over £1.3m in funding by UK Research and Innovation through the Global Challenges Research Fund (2020-2023).

The project responds to the urgent need for comprehensive and inclusive understanding, evidence and governance capacity on energy vulnerability in Latin America, with an in-depth focus on Colombia, Cuba and Mexico. Energy vulnerability occurs when a household is unable to attain socially and materially necessitated levels of domestic energy services, such as heating, cooling, and powering appliances. This extends beyond historical associations of energy poverty as a simple state of lacking access to electricity or clean cooking facilities, to a broader understanding of dynamics and processes that lead to this and other energy services insufficiencies. A shortfall in realised energy services can be caused by various socio-technical, institutional and environmental factors, including: unreliable or poor quality infrastructure; gendered differences in energy access and use; high energy prices; social isolation; and stressors caused by intensifying climatic changes.

ESLatinA brings together a multi-disciplinary team of academics, policymakers and civil society representatives, to generate bespoke local and national-level household surveys, participatory workshops, and proposals for new governance and legal frameworks. The project will also establish national monitoring Observatories and a pan-Latin American network and undertake national-scale energy systems vulnerability mapping and local-level assessment modelling. In culmination, the research will lead to cross-cutting capacity-building and socio-technical solutions - including a diagnosis toolkit, energy literacy workshops, community exhibits, and bespoke National and Local Action Plans - to aid decision-makers in alleviating energy vulnerability across the region.

People

Principal investigator

Harriet Thomson University of Birmingham, United Kingdom (h.thomson@bham.ac.uk)

Work Package Leaders

  • Manuel Martinez Fernandez - Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, México
  • Rosie Day – University of Birmingham, United Kingdom
  • Yanelys Delgado Triana - Universidad Central “Marta Abreu” de Las Villas (UCLV), Cuba
  • Karla Cedano Villavicencio - Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, México
  • David Díaz Florian - Universidad del Norte, Colombia
  • Karla Ricalde – óol CIC
  • Yamila Roque Doval - Universidad Central “Marta Abreu” de Las Villas (UCLV), Cuba

Members

  • Karla Filomena Palacio - Universidad del Norte, Colombia
  • David García Torres - Universidad del Norte, Colombia
  • Cesar Mercado - Universidad del Norte, Colombia
  • Manuel Rubio Rodriguez - Universidad Central 'Marta Abreu' de Las Villas (UCLV), Cuba
  • Victor Ocaña Guevara - Universidad Central 'Marta Abreu' de Las Villas (UCLV), Cuba
  • Anabel Díaz Hurtado - Universidad Central 'Marta Abreu' de Las Villas (UCLV), Cuba
  • José Grabiel Luis Cordova - Universidad Central 'Marta Abreu' de Las Villas (UCLV), Cuba
  • Jorge Freddy Milian Gómez - Universidad Central 'Marta Abreu' de Las Villas (UCLV), Cuba
  • Ernesto Yoel Farinas Wong - Universidad Central 'Marta Abreu' de Las Villas (UCLV), Cuba
  • Beatriz Lorenzo Yera - Universidad Central 'Marta Abreu' de Las Villas (UCLV), Cuba
  • Ernesto González Peña - Universidad Central 'Marta Abreu' de Las Villas (UCLV), Cuba
  • Diana Rosa Rodríguez González - Universidad Central 'Marta Abreu' de Las Villas (UCLV), Cuba
  • Lucrines Azcuy Aguilera - Universidad Central 'Marta Abreu' de Las Villas (UCLV), Cuba
  • Oscar Sánchez Santillán - Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, México
  • Tiare Robles Bonilla - Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, México
  • Juan Manuel Romero Bravo - Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, México
  • Nairo Ruperto Leon Rodriguez - Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, México
  • Natalia Martinez Tagüeña - Instituto Potosino de Investigación Científica y Tecnológica, México
  • Adolfo Mejia Montero - University of Birmingham, United Kingdom
  • Sofía Pacheco - Onergia Cooperativa, México