EnergySecurityandClimateChangeinRelationsbetweentheEU , Chinaand 3 73 LatinAmerica:MajorChallengesandAreasforInternationalCooperation Besides , nuclearenergyisbeingpromoted — evenwithintheframeworkof theOrganizationofAmericanStates ( OAS )— asavalidsupplyoptioninLAC , giventhattheregionwillneedtosatisfyincreasingenergydemand , likelyto growby75percentby2030 , accordingtotheInterAmericanDevelopmentBank ( IADB )( Cruz2008:20 ) .Thisisacontroversialissueas , intermsofthe greenhousegasemissions ( GGE ) responsibleforglobalwarming , nuclearpower ischeaperthanfossilfueloptionsandlesspolluting. 2.2 LatinAmericanStrengths Inenergyterms , Latin Americaistheonlyoccidentalregioncapableof beingselfsupplying.Inthissense , itcanbeseenastheonly “ sovereignregion ”, asitdoesnotdependonexternalsupplies. Asalreadymentioned , ithaslargescaleresourcesintermsoffossilfuels , butalsorenewables.Inagriculture , ithasgreatpotentialforincreasingits cultureandproductivityperhectare.Furthermore , itsbiomassenergypotentialupto 2050couldrepresentbetween17and26percentofglobalenergy , largerthanany otherregionintheworld ( CEPAL2007:12 ) .Suitablelandavailabilityisoneofthe mainstrengthsofLatin Americancountries , complementedby waterresourcesand stable , warmtemperatures , concentratedinwettropicalzones , essentialforhigheryields insomekeyproductsusedforbiofuelsproduction , suchassugarcaneandpalmtrees. 2.3 LatinAmericanWeaknesses Butthegreatbenefitofhavingenormousnaturalresourcesis , atthesametime , Latin Americas Achilles heel , asitis extremely vulnerable to ecosystem transformationsresultingfromglobalwarming.Infact , LatinAmericaisoneofthe mostvulnerableregions , andisalreadysufferingfrom desertification , droughts , floods , thaws , aloweringoffreshwateravailabilityandexpansionoftropicaldiseases , amongotherthings.ThisismadeworsebythefactthatLACeconomiesaremostly dependantonrawmaterialsandnaturalresourcesforexportsandconsumption. AlthoughtheLACregionisenergyselfsufficient , about12percentofthe populationstilldonothaveaccesstoelectricityand33donotevenhaveaccessto drinkablewater ( WorldBank2010:58 ) .Besides , theregionisinefficientin energyconsumption — theEUusesonlyhalfasmuchenergyforproduction — and itisunabletosetcommongoals , toagreeonlongterm policiesortobuilda coordinatedenergy market.It makesuseofenergyresourcestopromotenational interestsandpayslittleattentiontoenvironmentaldegradation.Evenmoredisturbing isthefactthatgreenawarenessisverylowamongcitizensofLACcountries.
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China, the EU and Latin America : current issues and future cooperation
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