An Overview of the Andean Environmental Charter Toward Green Energy Production

The chapter analyses the Andean Environmental Charter signed in December 2021 as an initial step toward net-zero emissions. As shown, the Charter aims to promote coordinated actions within the framework of the Andean Community to address the problems arising from climate change. The chapter will provide evidence that the Charter's limitation in addressing energy transition as a core goal: The territories of Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru are extremely sensitive to climate change and biodiversity loss. However, these countries are also oil and natural gas producers, significantly impacting the Amazon rainforest ecosystem. The work reflects how the lack of an integrated regional climate change policy might affect the Paris Agreement goals. The late political crisis in the region has had a profound impact on moving forward with the reduction of oil and gas production for 2050. Natural resource extraction has also faced uncountable questioning due to its lack of transparency and corruption claims. Fossil fuel pays royalties that support the country’s finances, while the Oil rents {% of Gross Domestic Product (GDP)}—in Colombia, Peru, Ecuador, and Bolivia are between 0.2 and 4.4% (Oil rents (% of GDP)—Colombia, Peru, Ecuador, Bolivia (World Bank, CO2 emissions (metrics tons per capita). Accessed from https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/EN.ATM.CO2E.PC?end=2018&locations=BO-EC-CO-PE-1W&start=1960&view=chart , 2020). https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/NY.GDP.PETR.RT.ZS?end=2020&locations=CO-PE-EC-BO&name_desc=true&start=2020&view=bar ). The findings underscore the need for a cohesive framework that aligns national energy policies with climate goals, emphasizing sustainable development, regional cooperation, and the reduction of fossil fuel dependence. Both private and national oil companies have failed to reach positive impacts for their external stakeholders. Civil society also has a rooted narrative in which access to oil and gas is vital for the population. Governments are also failing to communicate to society that what is needed is universal access to clean and affordable energy. The chapter focuses on how a joint and integrated response is needed to strengthen regional governance for green energy production and a just transition to a decarbonised economy.