On Thursday 12 September, India's Minister of New and Renewable Energy, Farooq Abdullah, visited the headquarters of the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC), in Santiago, Chile, where he met with Executive Secretary, Alicia Bárcena, and other experts from the United Nations regional commission.
During the meeting, Minister Abdullah and his delegation joined ECLAC officials in analysing recent trends in the use of renewable energies worldwide and especially in Latin America and the Caribbean.
The ECLAC Executive Secretary thanked the Minister for his visit, and highlighted the importance of forging closer energy relations between India and Latin America and the Caribbean, particularly in order to discover and learn about India's experiences in this area.
According to Alicia Bárcena "We must convince our countries to be more proactive in the use of renewable energy, despite the financial or regulatory difficulties they may encounter".
In this sense, she highlighted that the progress of India (where almost 30% of energy comes from renewable sources such as the sun, water and wind) is very important and is an example that other world nations can follow.
Minister Abdullah stated that energy is vital for the survival of any nation, and is a fundamental part of future progress and peace. He said "God gave us the sun, wind, heat in the ground and water. Humans did not realize their potential and began to destroy and pollute the world through indiscriminate use of fossil fuels. We must therefore focus on using these sources that God has made available to us that do not pollute the Earth".
He explained that most of India's energy used to be imported from various countries in the form of oil, gas and coal. He explained "We realized that if we were more self sufficient in energy by using renewables rather than relying on other countries, we could spend most of this money for better education, better health and better future for our people".
Mr. Abdullah also described India's achievements in the use of wind power - with an installed capacity growing at a rate of 3,000 mega watts per year - as well as in geothermal and solar energy. He stated that there are many similarities between India and Latin American countries, in terms of geographical features and natural and human resources that would facilitate a regional application of techniques developed by India for renewable energies.
According to the Indian Minister "We must work together. It is a very small world, and we are here to achieve peace and prosperity".
During the meeting, ECLAC experts delivered a presentation on the current use of renewable energy in Latin America and the Caribbean, as well as the main initiatives of some of the region's governments to promote their use.
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