How Green is LatAm's Energy?
Brazil powers 86% of its electricity from clean sources, outperforming many global giants.
Even though there’s no denying that Latin America has a long way to go to become more sustainable, the continent is greener than you may think.
Perhaps the region owes a hat tip to Brazil: 86% of its massive amount of electricity comes from nuclear or renewable sources. Most of it comes from its rivers in the form of hydropower, a source with no greenhouse gases. Hydropower is also Latin America’s biggest electricity source. Whereas this energy source is not always perfect since it can be bad for some ecosystems, it’s still a means to progress towards the world’s ambitious plans of curbing global warming.
Not all countries are blessed with rivers, so they must look for their electricity elsewhere. Other clean sources of energy include wind, solar, and the more controversial, nuclear. Mexico, Brazil, and Argentina are the only countries in LatAm that generate some energy with nuclear power plants. While nuclear energy has been mostly abandoned around the world due to some catastrophic accidents, prominent figures like Bill Gates and Barack Obama have come to its defense in recent years.