Clean Energy Innovation in Latin America

Clean energy research and commercialization have taken off over the last decade. The annual number of clean technology patent documents more than tripled between 2000 and 2014,while venture capital (VC) investment in the clean tech sector overall doubled in 2010-2014 compared to the previous five years, with most clean tech research and investment focused on energy. But more needs to be done. Governments must triple annual spending on energy research and development (R&D) to more than $50 million to meet climate change mitigation goals, according to the International Energy Agency. This report examines clean energy technology development in Brazil, Mexico and Chile, which are among the Latin American countries with the greatest potential to expand clean energy research and commercialization. All three countries are part of “Mission Innovation,” a global initiative to accelerate public and private clean energy innovation, which was launched during the 2015 United Nations climate talks in Paris. Member countries have committed to double clean energy research and development spending over the five years to 2020.