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China, the EU and Latin America : current issues and future cooperation
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EnergySecurityandClimateChangeinRelationsbetweentheEU Chinaand 73 LatinAmerica:MajorChallengesandAreasforInternationalCooperation Besides nuclearenergyisbeingpromoted evenwithintheframeworkof theOrganizationofAmericanStates OAS asavalidsupplyoptioninLAC giventhattheregionwillneedtosatisfyincreasingenergydemand likelyto growby75percentby2030 accordingtotheInterAmericanDevelopmentBank IADB )( Cruz2008:20 .Thisisacontroversialissueas intermsofthe greenhousegasemissions GGE responsibleforglobalwarming nuclearpower ischeaperthanfossilfueloptionsandlesspolluting. 2.2 LatinAmericanStrengths Inenergyterms Latin Americaistheonlyoccidentalregioncapableof beingselfsupplying.Inthissense itcanbeseenastheonly sovereignregion asitdoesnotdependonexternalsupplies. Asalreadymentioned ithaslargescaleresourcesintermsoffossilfuels 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 Americas Achilles heel asitis extremely vulnerable to ecosystem transformationsresultingfromglobalwarming.Infact LatinAmericaisoneofthe mostvulnerableregions andisalreadysufferingfrom desertification droughts floods thaws aloweringoffreshwateravailabilityandexpansionoftropicaldiseases amongotherthings.ThisismadeworsebythefactthatLACeconomiesaremostly dependantonrawmaterialsandnaturalresourcesforexportsandconsumption. AlthoughtheLACregionisenergyselfsufficient about12percentofthe populationstilldonothaveaccesstoelectricityand33donotevenhaveaccessto drinkablewater WorldBank2010:58 .Besides theregionisinefficientin energyconsumption theEUusesonlyhalfasmuchenergyforproduction and itisunabletosetcommongoals toagreeonlongterm policiesortobuilda coordinatedenergy market.It makesuseofenergyresourcestopromotenational interestsandpayslittleattentiontoenvironmentaldegradation.Evenmoredisturbing isthefactthatgreenawarenessisverylowamongcitizensofLACcountries.