Event

Wilson Center Conference on US-Chile Climate Action and the Energy Transition

Monday, November 6, 2023 | 9:30 a.m. - 5:30 p.m. (CLST)

Date & Time

Monday

Nov. 6, 2023

7:30am – 3:30pm ET

Location

Centro Cultural Gabriela Mistral (GAM), Avenida Alameda Libertador Bernardo O’Higgins 227, Santiago, Región Metropolitana, Chile

Event Sponsors

Latin America Program

Brazil Institute

Environmental Change and Security Program

The Wilson Center’s Latin America Program, in partnership with the US Department of State, the US Embassy in Santiago, the Inter-American Development Bank, and the UN Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean, will host a full-day conference on Monday, November 6, 2023 in Santiago, Chile to highlight opportunities for greater cooperation between the United States and Chile to accelerate the global energy transition.

Monday, November 6

07:30am – 08:10am ET

Opening & Keynote Remarks

Benjamin Gedan, Director, Latin America Program, Wilson Center
María Florencia Attademo-Hirt, General Manager Southern Cone and Country Representative in Chile, Inter-American Development Bank
Jose W. Fernandez, Under Secretary for Economic Growth, Energy, and the Environment, US Department of State
José Manuel Salazar-Xirinachs, Executive Secretary, Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean
Gloria de la Fuente, Undersecretary, Foreign Affairs, Chile

08:10am – 09:15am ET

Panel 1: Emerging Leaders in Climate Action: Achieving a Sustainable Future Together

Sebastián Benfeld, Founder and President, Fundación Escazú Ahora
Ismaela Magliotto, Executive Director, Uno.Cinco
Isis Riquelme, Co-Founder and COO, Fundación Tremendas
Bernadette M. Meehan, US Ambassador to Chile (moderator)

09:15am – 09:45am ET

Coffee Break

Coffee Break

09:45am – 11:00am ET

Panel 2: The Future of Critical Minerals in South America

Jose W. Fernandez, Under Secretary for Economic Growth, Energy, and the Environment, US Department of State
Patricio Hidalgo, Chief Executive Officer, Anglo American Chile
Ignacio Mehech, Vice President, External Affairs LATAM, & Country Manager, Chile, Albemarle
Nicolás Rivera, Vice President, Mining Resources, Development, and Innovation, CODELCO
Sebastián Miller, Lead Economist, Inter-American Development Bank
Mario Larenas, Country Manager, Chile, Freeport-McMoRan
Mónica Rincón, Journalist, CNN Chile (moderator)

11:00am – 12:15pm ET

Lunch Break and Networking

Lunch Break and Networking

12:15pm – 12:30pm ET

Keynote Remarks

Diego Pardow, Minister of of Energy, Chile

12:30pm – 02:00pm ET

Panel 3: Net-Zero Electricity: Growing Renewable Energy at Scale

Alfredo Solar, General Manager, Chile, Atlas Renewable Energy
John Ferland, President, Ocean Renewable Power Company (ORPC)
Macarena Álvarez, Director, Community Affairs and Best Practices, Generadoras de Chile
Matías de Lorenzo, Vice President, Omnichannel Supply Chain, Walmart Chile
Benjamin Gedan, Director, Latin America Program, Wilson Center (moderator)

02:00pm – 02:10pm ET

Keynote Remarks

Jane Nishida, Assistant Administrator, Office of International and Tribal Affairs, US Environmental Protection Agency

02:10pm – 03:10pm ET

Panel 4: The Role of Civil Society in Fostering Climate Action

Jane Nishida, Assistant Administrator, Office of International and Tribal Affairs, US Environmental Protection Agency
Gloria Lillo, Head, Just Socioecological Transition Office, Ministry of Environment, Chile
Bárbara Saavedra, Director, Wildlife Conservation Society Chile
Ezio Costa Cordella, Professor, University of Chile; Executive Director, ONG FIMA
Anders Beal, Senior Associate, Latin America Program, Wilson Center (moderator)

03:10pm – 03:30pm ET

Closing Remarks

Benjamin Gedan, Director, Latin America Program, Wilson Center

Watch Part 2 of this Conversation

The dialogue, featuring senior US and Chilean officials and private sector leaders, will address public policies to attract investment–including for critical minerals, renewable energy, green hydrogen, and clean energy technologies–and to maintain high environmental standards and empower civil society actors.

Event Co-Sponors

Website Logos - Wilson Center Conference on US-Chile Climate Action and the Energy Transition — Image Credit

Introductions

Benjamin Gedan

Director, Latin America Program // Director, Argentina Project

María Florencia Attademo-Hirt

General Manager, Southern Cone Country Department, Inter-American Development Bank

Keynote Speakers

Jose W. Fernandez

Under Secretary for Economic Growth, Energy, and the Environment, U.S. Department of State

Jane Nishida

Assistant Administrator, Office of International and Tribal Affairs, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

José Manuel Salazar-Xirinachs

Executive Secretary, Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean

Diego Pardow

Minister of Energy, Chile

Gloria de la Fuente

Undersecretary, Foreign Affairs, Chile

Moderators

Benjamin Gedan

Director, Latin America Program // Director, Argentina Project

Mónica Rincón

Journalist, CNN Chile

Anders Beal

Senior Associate

Panelists

Jose W. Fernandez

Under Secretary for Economic Growth, Energy, and the Environment, U.S. Department of State

Bernadette M. Meehan

U.S. Ambassador to Chile

Gloria Lillo

Head, Office of Just Socioecological Transition, Ministry of Environment, Chile

Patricio Hidalgo

Chief Executive Officer, Anglo American Chile

Nicolás Rivera

Vice President, Mining Resources, Development, and Innovation, CODELCO

Sebastián Miller

Lead Economist, Inter-American Development Bank

John Ferland

President, Ocean Renewable Power Company (ORPC)

Ignacio Mehech

Vice President, External Affairs LATAM, & Country Manager, Chile, Albemarle

Jane Nishida

Assistant Administrator, Office of International and Tribal Affairs, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

Bárbara Saavedra

Director, Wildlife Conservation Society Chile

Ezio Costa Cordella

Professor, University of Chile; Executive Director, ONG FIMA

Matías de Lorenzo

Vice President, Omnichannel Supply Chain, Walmart Chile.

Alfredo Solar

General Manager, Chile, Atlas Renewable Energy

Sebastián Benfeld

Founder and President, Fundación Escazú Ahora

Ismaela Magliotto

Executive Director, Uno.Cinco

Isis Riquelme

Co-Founder and COO, Fundación Tremendas

Macarena Álvarez

Director, Community Affairs and Best Practices, Generadoras de Chile

Mario Larenas

Country Manager, Chile, Freeport-McMoRan

Hosted By

Latin America Program

The Wilson Center’s prestigious Latin America Program provides non-partisan expertise to a broad community of decision makers in the United States and Latin America on critical policy issues facing the Hemisphere. The Program provides insightful and actionable research for policymakers, private sector leaders, journalists, and public intellectuals in the United States and Latin America. To bridge the gap between scholarship and policy action, it fosters new inquiry, sponsors high-level public and private meetings among multiple stakeholders, and explores policy options to improve outcomes for citizens throughout the Americas. Drawing on the Wilson Center’s strength as the nation’s key non-partisan policy forum, the Program serves as a trusted source of analysis and a vital point of contact between the worlds of scholarship and action. Read more

Brazil Institute

The Brazil Institute—the only country-specific policy institution focused on Brazil in Washington—works to foster understanding of Brazil’s complex reality and to support more consequential relations between Brazilian and U.S. institutions in all sectors. Read more

Environmental Change and Security Program

The Environmental Change and Security Program (ECSP) explores the connections between environmental change, health, and population dynamics and their links to conflict, human insecurity, and foreign policy. Read more

Thank you for your interest in this event. Please send any feedback or questions to our Events staff.