The European Union has taken a decisive step in its global energy diplomacy, signing a landmark memorandum of understanding with the Latin American Energy Organisation (OLADE) aimed at deepening cooperation on clean energy, innovation, and the global fight against climate change.
The agreement, signed today by EU Commissioner for Energy and Housing Dan Jørgensen and OLADE Executive Secretary Andrés Rebolledo, marks a strategic alignment between two of the world’s most resource-rich and populous blocs.
The pact not only formalises Brussels’ permanent observer status within OLADE but lays the groundwork for a sweeping programme of mutual cooperation.
Together, the 27 EU member states and the countries of Latin America and the Caribbean account for over one billion people, 21% of global GDP, and a full third of UN member states – a formidable coalition in shaping global energy policy.
While the announcement in Brussels was wrapped in the expected green rhetoric of “shared goals” and “just transitions”, the underlying significance is more strategic. It represents an assertive European pivot towards Latin America in a bid to secure reliable, long-term energy partnerships and counterbalance the mounting influence of China and other global players in the region.
Speaking at the signing ceremony, Commissioner Jørgensen said: “The EU and Latin America and the Caribbean are building on an already strong partnership to enhance our political dialogue and trade while promoting green and digital transitions. This important memorandum will help integrate regional energy efforts and strengthen collaboration between Europe and Latin America and the Caribbean – also crucially at the expert level.”
The memorandum outlines cooperation in several areas, including European stakeholder engagement in OLADE governance, knowledge-sharing on energy policy and innovation, and technical assistance for joint energy projects. It also commits both regions to implementing the key outcomes of COP28 – notably the Global Pledge to triple renewable energy capacity and double energy efficiency by 2030.
This is not the first time Brussels has turned to Latin America in its green drive. At the 2023 EU-CELAC summit in Brussels, the EU inked similar energy memoranda with Argentina and Uruguay. That summit, widely seen as a diplomatic reboot of EU-Latin America relations, also launched a substantial investment agenda under the EU’s Global Gateway programme, aimed at funnelling green infrastructure funds to developing nations as an alternative to Beijing’s Belt and Road Initiative.
Jørgensen emphasised that the new OLADE agreement reinforces that commitment, stating that both regions were “transitioning away from fossil fuels, ensuring sustainable energy security and quality, and tackling energy poverty so that no one is left behind.”
Yet, this cooperation is not purely altruistic. The EU’s aggressive climate targets – enshrined in the Green Deal – hinge not only on reducing emissions at home but also on securing strategic alliances abroad. Latin America offers abundant renewable energy potential, from Brazil’s hydropower dominance to Chile’s solar capacity and Argentina’s wind corridors. Meanwhile, European expertise and capital offer Latin America the tools to turn those resources into reality.
The EU-OLADE agreement also includes a pledge to curb methane emissions – a key but often overlooked contributor to global warming – in agriculture, fossil fuel extraction and transport. This initiative will be coordinated through existing regional and global observatories, including OEMLAC and the International Methane Emissions Observatory (IMEO).
The collaboration signals Brussels’ growing willingness to engage more deeply with multilateral organisations across the Atlantic as it seeks to shape the post-COP28 climate agenda. Partnerships with the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), the International Energy Agency (IEA), and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) are also part of the deal.
The next test of this renewed transatlantic energy partnership will come at the EU-CELAC summit in November 2025 in Santa Marta, Colombia. Expectations will be high for concrete outcomes and investment commitments, particularly as developing countries grow impatient with what they perceive as Western climate promises long on vision but short on delivery.
In the meantime, this weeks’s memorandum is a clear signal that Brussels intends to be a serious actor on the global energy stage – not only by cutting carbon at home but by exporting its green ambitions abroad.
As energy politics becomes inseparable from geopolitics, Europe’s choice to anchor itself more firmly in Latin America’s energy future may prove prescient – if it can back its rhetoric with results.
