The Nation / Universal access to sustainable energy is one of the most ambitious goals, according to UNDP

The expansion of access to electric energy, the development of non-conventional renewable energies, the transition towards electromobility and the transformation into development of hydroelectric income are some of the challenges posed by the report on “Human Development Paraguay 2020-Energy and Development Human ”, presented by the United Nations Development Program (UNDP).

“The energy issue in Paraguay occupies a central place in any development project,” said Silvia Morimoto, UNDP representative in Paraguay, during the presentation of the report.

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Universal access to sustainable and clean energy is one of the most ambitious goals for the country, according to the UNDP representative. Three hydroelectric plants boost the Paraguayan economy and offer the opportunity to promote equity and sustainable development through socioeconomic policies that contribute to the empowerment of people, especially youth and women.

Morimoto indicated that Paraguay has many natural advantages in terms of energy and that it has made important development advances in recent years. Since 2017, it has been one of the countries with a high human development index; however, its great challenge is addressing the lack of equity. “Despite having the second largest hydroelectric plant in the world, a third of the population depends on firewood for cooking,” he confirmed.

Achim Steiner, UNDP administrator; Hugo Cáceres, from the Management Unit of the Presidency, and the National Chancellor José Antonio dos Santos also highlighted the importance of the report as a fundamental frame of reference for developing public policies.

“This document will help us create more comprehensive and equitable energy plans. In the social area, it will help us to generate public policies to guarantee social protection and promote labor insertion, especially for women and young people, ”said Minister Cáceres.

For his part, the Chancellor pointed out that “the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in alliance with other institutions and sectors of society, has assumed the challenge of contributing to the transformation of the energy sector by participating in different negotiations and in the elaboration of strategies. that intend to strengthen the capacity to use energy and its revenues ”.

The report presented is structured on the basis of the triple transitions: social, economic and energy, which, together with the human development approach –key for UNDP–, form a strategic axis when formulating public policies in a country. In the document, three other axes are central to the challenges that Paraguay must face: energy and equity; sectoral policies and State policies.

A proposal to promote equity is the reformulation of the social tariff with support for productive micro-enterprises. Regarding sectoral policies, the construction of small hydroelectric plants, the development of non-conventional renewable energies (especially solar energy), the transition towards electromobility of public transport and the development of specific policies for MSMEs are proposed.

Regarding State policies, the report proposes the creation of a Ministry of Energy, make effective the National Energy Policy 2040 and transform the hydroelectric rent from the current rate of electricity cost into development by creating a development bank that promote infrastructure, health and education, among other points.

For more details on the content of the report and its scope, Arnoldo Wiens, head of the MOPC; Liz Cramer, Itaipú Binacional councilor, and Cecilia Llamosas, researcher at the UNA’s Energy Systems Research Group, participated in a roundtable discussion.

Wiens highlighted that the country has a national energy policy, the objective of which is to address the energy trilemma: energy security, equity and environmental sustainability. Another goal is to generate sustainable mobility through the development of hydrogen as an energy vector for the transport sector.

Cramer pointed out that to the energy trilemma must be added the educational component “key to reach competitive levels in services and industry, all that taking care of social development and environmental sustainability.”

Llamosas, for his part, stated: “Despite producing clean and renewable energy, we increasingly import more volume of petroleum derivatives, which is 100% imported and less sustainable.” In addition, the first source of energy that feeds the country continues to be biomass (vegetable waste, firewood and coal), followed by petroleum derivatives and then by hydroelectricity. This position must be reversed.

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At the end of the presentation, Victorio Oxilia, PhD in Energy and professor at UNA, and Luis Felipe López-Calva, UNDP regional director for Latin America and the Caribbean took the floor. Both agreed to highlight the central role that energy occupies today in the country’s socio-economic development, being the pillar of recovery after the COVID-19 pandemic.

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