The potential impact of energy efficiency measures is enormous. In fact, the International Energy Agency has called energy efficiency the world’s “first fuel,” based on its cumulative impact. In its Energy Efficiency Market Report 2014, the agency said “avoided energy use” was larger in 2011 than the supply of oil, electricity, or natural gas.

Yet, according to CAF, investors in the region often have difficulty in gaining access to financing for energy efficiency projects, due to factors that include scarcity of long-term financing instruments for such projects, the level of sophistication needed to structure the financing, and high transaction costs per operation. Through this program, CAF is offering several types of financing instruments: loans to finance energy efficiency projects related to the generation, production, transmission, and distribution of electricity; lines of credit for climate change mitigation projects undertaken by companies on different scales; a technical assistance fund; and resources to assist financial institutions in preparing relevant financial instruments.

The Regional Energy Efficiency Program is open to participants from both the public and private sector. For more information on how to apply, please contact Juan Cruz Monticelli (jmonticelli@oas.org) or Carolina Peña (cpena@oas.org) from the OAS Department of Sustainable Development.

In addition to the OAS, the following organizations are working together on this effort: the Latin American Integration Association (ALADI), ARPEL (Regional Association of Oil, Gas and Biofuels Sector Companies in Latin America and the Caribbean), the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC), the Regional Committee for Electrical Integration (CIER), the Latin American Energy Organization (OLADE), and the World Energy Council (WEC).