The Sixth EU-LAC Summit that was held in Madrid on May 18, 2010 was another key step in strengthening and deepening the strategic partnership between EU and Latin America and the Caribbean. The theme of the symposium "Towards a new phase of bi-regional partnership: innovation and technology for sustainable development and social inclusion" continues the debate started at the previous 2008 Lima Summit.
In preparation for the event, representatives from Germany, Peru and Saint Lucia met in Berlin last April, to discuss the challenges and perspectives associated with closer cooperation in the field of renewable energy and energy efficiency.
At the Berlin meeting, the Regional Manager for Latin America GVEP International, Pedro Gamio Aita, spoke of the importance of opening credit lines and of focusing technical cooperation on small and medium enterprises in Latin America.
"It is only possible to diversify the energy matrix and sustainable development of the region, if we incorporate the main stakeholders of the economies of our countries - small and micro enterprises - in the credit lines and technical assistance of multilateral agencies and the European Union" he said.
The Berlin forum, was an opportunity for 250 people among which policy makers, experts and representatives of high-level business, academic and civil society from both regions to exchange views and experiences.
Mr. Gamio spoke of Latin America as “a very diverse area both physically and culturally, one still marked by poverty and inequality, furthermore there is a significant lack of infrastructure.”
"Energy, health, transport and education are necessary to develop a strategy for mitigating climate change that integrates the rural environment."
"In this sense," said Mr. Gamio "renewable energies play a leading role, with technologies applied to each particular situation. Localised renewable energy solutions can accelerate access to the energy in rural areas, encouraging innovation and initiative.”
During his presentation in Berlin, Mr. Gamio explained how GVEP International is working successfully with different stakeholders in the coordination, exchange of information in order to empower the social capital. "Our efforts are targeted towards building rural market and microfinance models for energy access," he said.
“The 26 awarded projects of the 2009 IDEAS Energy Innovation Contest, are examples of potential energy initiatives which we aim to replicate throughout the region" he said.
There was consensus among the participants in the EU-LAC Forum that development and widespread utilisation of technologies for the generation and use of renewable energies, as well as for the enhancement of energy efficiency, are amongst the most effective means of stemming climate change. This can be accomplished by cutting emissions and helping to achieve sustainable economic and development models.
To this end, it was agreed that is necessary to achieve appropriate integration of the various levels of cooperation between the EU and the LAC such as economic cooperation, development cooperation, cooperative ventures in the field of climate protection, scientific cooperation and political dialogue.
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