European Commissioner for Energy Kadri Simson visits Chile to strengthen cooperation on green transition and renewable energy sources

The official visit of European Commissioner for Energy Kadri Simson was part of the ratification process of the Advanced Framework Agreement with Chile. The representative held discussions with government authorities, business leaders and scientists on Europe’s global investment agenda “Global Gateway”, highlighting the progress made in Chilean production of renewable energy, green hydrogen and critical raw materials.

Energy Commissioner Kadri Simson visited Chile on 1 and 2 July. The visit was particularly important in the context of the ratification process of the EU-Chile Advanced Framework Agreement. Similarly, the visit took place in the context of the European Union’s Global Gateway strategy, which aims to promote public and private investment in infrastructure, green energy, education and research for sustainable development.

Commenting on the outcome of her visit, Commissioner Simson stressed that: “The energy cooperation between the EU and Chile is on solid ground, reinforced by the Advanced Framework Agreement, which includes a strong energy chapter. We want to maintain this strong link with Chile through our Global Gateway investment programme, where hydrogen is one of the priority areas, as reflected in the Team Europe initiative on renewable hydrogen. We discussed with the Minister how this initiative contributes to the recently launched Green Hydrogen Action Plan. We also discussed how to expand cooperation on clean energy production and electricity grids, storage and interconnections.”

On Monday, the Commissioner met with Energy Minister Diego Pardow and CORFO Executive Vice President José Miguel Benavente. They discussed ways to deepen energy cooperation between the EU and Chile, especially on hydrogen.

Regarding Commissioner Simson’s visit and the importance of EU cooperation on energy issues for Chile, Energy Minister Diego Pardow noted that “we share common goals with the European Union: the energy transition must be an opportunity for a fairer society that enables cleaner cities, but also high-quality jobs and more investment for our countries. I thank Commissioner Simson for visiting our country, as we were able to deepen our joint work on issues such as green hydrogen and storage.”

In addition, the visit included meetings with representatives of the public and private sectors in the field of renewable energy. These dialogues covered both best practices and lessons learned in the EU to address similar obstacles, such as the complexity of the green hydrogen market and the need to secure investments in this emerging sector.

The event at ECLAC headquarters in Santiago, which brought together experts around a panel discussion: “Navigating a Just Energy Transition: Green Hydrogen as a Catalyst for Sustainable Development in Latin America and the Caribbean”, facilitated the exchange of ideas and proposals to promote the use of renewable hydrogen as a driver for a just energy transition in Latin America and the Caribbean. At the event, Commissioner Simson and Minister Pardow were accompanied by ECLAC Executive Secretary José Manuel Salazar-Xirinachs, as well as representatives from the private sector and academia.

During his meeting with Foreign Minister Alberto Van Klaveren, Simson referred to the close cooperation on energy issues between the EU and Chile, which is based on the exchange of knowledge, the implementation of joint projects and the promotion of the development of renewable energy sources. It was a valuable opportunity to discuss the Advanced Framework Agreement and its chapter on energy and to explore possibilities for cooperation in this field.

For his part, Foreign Minister Alberto Van Klaveren stated: “We greatly appreciate the visit of the EU Commissioner for Energy to Chile, with whom we discussed the various possibilities offered by the Advanced Framework Agreement between Chile and the European Union. We hope to ratify this agreement soon in order to continue strengthening cooperation in the field of renewable energy sources, a just energy transition and green hydrogen. Chile and the EU have a wide path ahead of them to continue to cooperate closely in this area.”

Commissioner Simson concluded her visit to Chile with a visit to Viña Santa Ema, one of the winners of the “Ponle Energía a tu Empresa” competition, co-financed by the European Union through the Mitigation Action Facility and implemented by the Chilean Ministry of Energy. This initiative financed the implementation of renewable energy self-consumption systems with partial financing. This recognition allowed the company to install solar panels, which had a positive impact on the environment and the company’s competitiveness. During the visit to the winery, the Commissioner stressed the importance of international cooperation to promote the development of green opportunities in the business sector.