Nicaragua among best countries for clean energy investments

MANAGUA, Nicaragua - Nov. 4, 2013 - PRLog -- The 2013 Climatescope was recently launched in Central America during the conference “Clean Energy Investment Opportunities in Central America” held in Managua, Nicaragua. This event was hosted by the Multilateral Investment Fund of the Inter-American Development Bank and Bloomberg New Energy Finance, along with PRONicaragua, the official investment and export promotion agency of Nicaragua, and with the support of the Canadian Trade Commissioner Service.

In the 2013 Climatescope, Nicaragua placed third after Brazil and Chile, while being the only Central American country to make it among the top 10 positions. According to the report, this was thanks to the high penetration of renewables in its power matrix and significant flow of investment relative to the size of its economy.

Nicaragua not only improved its overall score from 2.13 to 2.26 (out of a total of 5.0), but also placed first in Latin America in two of the four parameters assessed, something that had yet to be achieved by any country in the Climatescope. Nicaragua topped the list of the two most heavy-weighted parameters in the global score: Enabling Framework, with a score of 2.49, and Clean Energy Investments and Climate Financing, with a score of 3.02.

The event brought together government representatives, multilateral institutions, private energy companies, suppliers and financing sources from across the region. Among them were General Álvaro Baltodano Cantarero, Presidential Delegate for Investments of Nicaragua; Emilio Rappaccioli, Minister of Energy and Mines of Nicaragua; Carlos Melo, Country Representative of the Inter-American Development Bank; Carrie McKellogg, Chief of Access to Basic Services and Green Growth of the Multilateral Investment Fund of the Inter-American Development Bank; and Mazen Mahfouz, Commercial Counselor and Senior Trade Commissioner of the Embassy of Canada.

The one-day event included a conference program with the participation of public and private sector experts that discussed regional topics such as clean energy regulation, financing of renewable energy projects, and low-carbon business and clean energy value chains. Furthermore, the event offered the unique opportunity of business matchmaking sessions between clean energy suppliers, developers and financiers of Nicaragua and the region.

Climatescope is a report, index and interactive online tool that provide and updated assessment of the business environment for climate-related investment in Latin America and the Caribbean that is released annually. It profiles 26 countries in the region and evaluates their ability to attract capital for low-carbon energy sources while building a greener economy.