The United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO), through its Global Energy Districts Programme (GEDP), and the Latin American and Caribbean Energy Organization (OLACDE) signed a cooperation framework to promote the development of energy districts in Latin America and the Caribbean. This partnership was signed by Andrés Rebolledo Smitmans, OLACDE’s Executive Secretary, and Rana Ghoneim, Director of UNIDO’s Energy and Climate Action Division, establishing a joint roadmap to strengthen the enabling environment, technical knowledge, and regional market around low-emission urban and industrial energy solutions.
This cooperation framework seeks to address structural challenges in the region, such as growing energy demand, the need to decarbonize industrial processes, the rapidly rising consumption of cooling in tropical climates, and the urgency of integrating renewable energy at a larger scale. Energy districts, which are integrated systems that combine efficient production, storage, and distribution of energy in urban or industrial areas, can improve efficiency by between 30% and 50%, reduce emissions, and optimize services such as heating, cooling, and industrial energy supply.
The new partnership will initially run from 2026 to 2027 and will focus on four lines of work: support for public policy and institutional frameworks; sustainability of knowledge and capacity building; market identification and analysis; and regional positioning through events and technical missions.
“We are taking a strategic step to scale up proven energy efficiency and decarbonization solutions in Latin America and the Caribbean. Through the Global Energy Districts Programme, UNIDO seeks to strengthen regulatory frameworks, technical capacities, and investment opportunities that will enable the region’s cities and industries to move toward more resilient, inclusive, and low-carbon energy systems,” said Rana Ghoneim, Director of UNIDO’s Energy and Climate Action Division.
“For OLACDE, this partnership represents an opportunity to provide our member countries with technical tools, regional guidelines, and cooperation spaces that facilitate the integration of renewable energy and the modernization of urban and industrial energy planning. Energy districts can become a pillar of the regional energy transition,” said Andrés Rebolledo Smitmans, OLACDE’s Executive Secretary.
Through this cooperation, OLACDE and UNIDO will build a regional knowledge hub, organize seminars and technical publications, promote engagement with universities, and facilitate public policy dialogues with member countries, contributing to regional energy integration and to meeting climate commitments. It is worth noting that GEDP’s accumulated experience in Colombia, which since 2013 has strengthened institutional capacities, promoted technical-economic studies, and catalyzed private sector-led projects, has been key to advancing the GEDP program in the Latin American region as well as in North Africa and Southeast Asia.
