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Peer-reviewedCC BYNature communications

Climate urgency enables political alignment for Latin American power integration.

  • Luis Ramírez1
  • Gerardo Blanco2
  • Felipe Sepulveda3
  • Luiz Barroso4,5
  • Wilfredo C Flores6
  • Rodrigo Moreno7
7 affiliations
  1. 1Departamento de Ingeniería Eléctrica, Universidad de Chile, Santiago, Chile. [email protected].
  2. 2Escuela de Ingeniería Eléctrica, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Valparaíso, Valparaíso, Chile. [email protected].
  3. 3Departamento de Ingeniería Industrial, Universidad de Chile, Santiago, Chile.
  4. 4PSR, Río de Janeiro, Brasil.
  5. 5Instituto de Investigación Tecnológica, Universidad Pontificia Comillas, Madrid, España.
  6. 6Facultad de Ingeniería, Universidad Tecnológica Centroamericana, Tegucigalpa, Honduras.
  7. 7Facultad de Ingeniería y Ciencias, y Escuela de Negocios, Universidad Adolfo Ibáñez, Santiago, Chile.
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Abstract

Political fragmentation continues to block urgently needed power integration in Latin America, despite the region's vast renewable energy potential. Using the Multiple Streams Approach, this study argues that the escalating climate crisis now acts as a focusing event, aligning a pressing energy problem, viable integration solutions, and growing political will. This alignment signals that a policy window is open. This study combines the Multiple Streams Approach with system modeling to quantify overlooked political costs of inaction, specifically, geopolitical tensions and erosion of trust, offering actionable leverage for policy entrepreneurs. Simulations for 2025-2050 show that continued fragmentation increases system costs by up to 7%, reduces resilience to hydroclimatic shocks, and concentrates benefits within narrow cooperating blocs under low-trust conditions. These measurable and rising costs underscore that regional energy integration is no longer just a technical or economic issue; it is a political imperative. Bold leadership must act now to seize this fleeting window of opportunity.

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Cite

BibTeXRIS
BibTeX
@article{ramirez2026climate,
  title = {{Climate urgency enables political alignment for Latin American power integration.}},
  author = {Luis Ramírez and Gerardo Blanco and Felipe Sepulveda and Luiz Barroso and Wilfredo C Flores and Rodrigo Moreno},
  journal = {Nature communications},
  year = {2026},
  month = sep,
  doi = {10.1038/s41467-026-77772-x},
  url = {https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42897192},
  note = {CC BY},
}
RIS
TY  - JOUR
TI  - Climate urgency enables political alignment for Latin American power integration.
AU  - Luis Ramírez
AU  - Gerardo Blanco
AU  - Felipe Sepulveda
AU  - Luiz Barroso
AU  - Wilfredo C Flores
AU  - Rodrigo Moreno
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/09/17
JO  - Nature communications
DO  - 10.1038/s41467-026-77772-x
UR  - https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42897192
AB  - Political fragmentation continues to block urgently needed power integration in Latin America, despite the region's vast renewable energy potential. Using the Multiple Streams Approach, this study argues that the escalating climate crisis now acts as a focusing event, aligning a pressing energy problem, viable integration solutions, and growing political will. This alignment signals that a policy window is open. This study combines the Multiple Streams Approach with system modeling to quantify overlooked political costs of inaction, specifically, geopolitical tensions and erosion of trust, offering actionable leverage for policy entrepreneurs. Simulations for 2025-2050 show that continued fragmentation increases system costs by up to 7%, reduces resilience to hydroclimatic shocks, and concentrates benefits within narrow cooperating blocs under low-trust conditions. These measurable and rising costs underscore that regional energy integration is no longer just a technical or economic issue; it is a political imperative. Bold leadership must act now to seize this fleeting window of opportunity.
SN  - 2041-1723
ER  -