The Energy and Fuels Commission of the Panamanian Association of Business Executives (APEDE) organized, on February 7, the XII Energy Forum 2024 in Panama City under the theme “Energy and Fuels Agenda towards a Just and Equitable Energy Transition”.

The meeting was an important contribution to the discussion on the energy transition in Panama and future prospects, focusing also on the challenges and opportunities in the region.

Miguel Moyano, Senior Managing Director of Arpel was in charge of the opening speech, entitled “A realistic vision of just energy transitions in Latin America and the Caribbean”.

Moyano thanked APEDE and all key stakeholders in Panama for trusting Arpel to share its vision on the subject, hoping that the information and lessons learned at regional and international level that he shared would be of value to continue the energy transition process in this country.

Afterwards, he participated in a panel with Rosilena Lindo Riggs, Secretary of Energy; Julio Cohen, Senior Director of AES Corporation; Arturo Alarcón, Senior Energy Specialist of the Inter-American Development Bank and Cynthia Camargo, Director of Naturgy.

The panel covered a variety of energy transition issues including financing, technology, stakeholder participation, the regulatory framework and the importance of addressing the energy trilemma.

Rafael Jaén Williamson, member of the organizing committee, pointed out that fossil fuels dominate the energy matrix in Panama, so the real challenge to achieve the objectives of energy transition is to ensure the balanced coexistence between renewable and non-renewable sources to guarantee energy security throughout the process.