Universidad del Pacífico Announces a New Initiative: “Capitalizing on the New Climate Economy in the Americas”
The initiative represents a collaboration between the Center for China and Asia-Pacific Studies (CECHAP), the Institute for New Structural Economics (INSE) at Peking University, and the Global Development Policy Center at Boston University. The initiative, which has a projected execution span of three years, is supported by the Ford Foundation and the Universidad del Pacifico.
The overarching goal of the project is to pursue the generation of new knowledge and foster dialogue with decision-makers in our region, in China, and with other international entities about the correct combination of policies that permit optimizing the benefits and mitigating the risks of the green transition, led by China. This initiative involves researchers from China, Argentina, Chile, Colombia, Peru, and the United States of America.
One of the main objectives of the workshop was to gain insights of China’s energy transition, its future projections, and the priorities of its development banks. Likewise, the aim was to exchange experiences from various countries in regards to the management of critical minerals, exploration of their own pathways towards energy transition, and the protection of rights for the most vulnerable communities. The participants involved acknowledged the urgent need to bring together different areas of knowledge; furthermore, they emphasized the importance of communicating with peers not only from China but also from neighboring countries.
The workshop commenced with welcoming words from Arlette Beltrán, vice-president for Research at Universidad del Pacifico, followed by the project presentation delivered by Rebecca Ray, senior researcher at Boston University’s Global Development Policy Center; Camilo León, representative of the Ford Foundation in the Andean Region; and Cynthia Sanborn, director of the Center for China and Asia-Pacific Studies (CECHAP).
From China, we had the presence of Teng Fei from the Institute of Energy, Environment, and Economy at Tsinghua University; Xu Jiajun, researcher at the Institute for New Structural Economics (INSE) at Peking University; Yang Zou, postdoctoral researcher at INSE; and Cheng Enjiang, representative of the Ford Foundation in China.
To contribute a regional analysis regarding the presence and impact of critical minerals and value chains, we had Martin Obaya, director of the Center of Research for Transformation (CENIT) at the Universidad Nacional de San Martín in Argentina, and Felipe Irarrázaval, researcher at the Institute of Urban and Territorial Studies of the Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile.
Chile’s vast experience in lithium management and its relations with China topics were shared by Miguel Atienza, Professor of Economics at the Universidad Católica del Norte, and Johannes Rehner, Professor at the Institute of Geography at the Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile. Representing Argentina, Juliana Gonzáles, researcher and Chair of The China Studies in International Relations at FLACSO Argentina, provided insights into recent experiences with Chinese investments in lithium extraction in her country. Similarly, coming from Colombia, Camilo Defelipe and Lorenzo Maggiorelli, Professors of International Relations at the Pontificia Universidad Javeriana, and Ivonne Lobos, Senior Expert in Sustainable Transitions at SEI Latin America—Bogota. Peru’s experience was presented by Cynthia Sanborn and discussed by Juan Luis Dammert, director of Latin America at the Natural Resource Governance Institute (NRGI).
