8 June 2012: The Latin American Energy Organization (OLADE) and the Union of South American Nations (UNASUR) have launched a joint publication on energy integration in South America and the role that UNASUR might play in that integration.

Titled “UNASUR: A Space that Strengthens Energy Integration,” the publication was officially launched at a ceremony held 7 June 2012, in Quito, Ecuador, by UNASUR Secretary-General Maria Emma Mejia and OLADE Executive Secretary Fernando Ferreira.

The publication is divided into five parts. The first outlines the role UNASUR is developing for itself in energy integration, including the work of its South American Energy Council, as well as the Guidelines for South American Energy Strategy, the Plan of Action for Regional Energy Integration and the outline of the South American Energy Treaty. All three were approved at the UNASUR extraordinary presidential summit held in Los Cardales, Argentina, in 2010.

The second section describes the current energy sector situation among UNASUR member states generally, and in five specific areas: crude petroleum, natural gas, coal, nuclear energy and renewable sources. The third section offers a brief reflections on UNASUR’s role in energy integration and on the challenges the region faces in energy policy.

The fourth section reviews developments in 2010 in UNASUR’s work on energy, and general developments, regarding: hydrocarbons, electricity, renewable sources, energy efficiency, natural phenomena, energy and the environment, and climate change. The final section reviews 2010 developments among UNASUR members regarding energy legislation, regulation and policy regarding regulatory institutions, the electric sector, hydrocarbons, renewable energy, energy and the environment, and international agreements.

Although signed by Heads of State in 2008, the UNASUR Constitutive Treaty did not come into effect until 2011. The 12 UNASUR member States are Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Guyana, Paraguay, Peru, Suriname, Uruguay and Venezuela. [OLADE Press Release] [UNASUR Press Release (Spanish)] [Publication: UNASUR: Un espacio que consolida la Integración Energética]