by The Associated Press
Brazil, Nicaragua and Panama are the Latin American countries with the best conditions to attract investments in clean energy, according to a report released during the meetings prior to the Rio+20 Summit.
He Climascope index The study evaluated 26 countries in the region in four different categories. With scores ranging from 0 to 5, Brazil tops the list with a score of 2.6, followed by Nicaragua with 2.13 and Panama with 1.97.
Climascopio was developed for the first time this year by the Multilateral Investment Fund, the Inter-American Development Bank's (IDB) arm for supporting small businesses, and the energy information service Bloomberg New Energy Finance.
The list of the 10 best-rated countries is completed by Peru (1.73), Chile (1.72), Mexico (1.67), Colombia (1.63), Costa Rica (1.47), Guatemala (1.45) and Uruguay (1.38).
While the five worst rated are Haiti (0.44), Trinidad and Tobago (0.42), Guyana (0.38), Venezuela (0.37) and Suriname (0.29).
Ecuador is ranked 14th, with a rating of 1.14 points; below Honduras (1.28) and El Salvador (1.29); and above the Dominican Republic (1.07) and Haiti (1.02).
The study used four rating parameters: investment-friendly environment, investment in clean energy and financing of low-carbon projects, low-carbon businesses, and activities to manage emissions of greenhouse gases that cause global warming.
The fact that Brazil is ranked highest, with only 2.6 points out of a possible five, indicates that countries in the region have much room to improve in raising funds to invest in clean energy, the report said.
"For now, the sector needs smart support mechanisms and certainly needs several barriers to investment to be removed," said Michael Liebreich, chief executive of Bloomberg New Energy Finance.
Brazil is the leading country in the use of clean energy in Latin America, with 471 TP3T of its total energy matrix based on non-renewable sources, especially thanks to ethanol, a substance based on sugar cane that is used as fuel, and its hydroelectric plants.
Nicaragua, ranked second in the Climascope index, has more than 601 TP3T of its electricity generation based on thermal sources, which are highly polluting and non-renewable; but it ranks second for having a program in place to reverse this dependence and for the expansion of wind energy.
Brazil appears in the document as the only country that dominates the production chain for at least two clean energy technologies, from waste: biofuels and biomass.
Meanwhile, Mexico is on track to become the first country in the region with a complete production chain for solar and wind energy generation.
The document recorded investments of $ 90 billion in clean energy in Latin America and the Caribbean between 2006 and 2011. Nearly 80% of this total was allocated to Brazil.
The report highlights that technologies required to generate clean energy, such as solar energy harvesting cells, wind power towers and hydroelectric plants, are becoming more affordable for countries due to falling costs, while energy prices are rising due to increased demand.
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