Between October 16th and 17th, Andrea Freites, an ICLAC thesis student and PhD candidate in Political Science at UC, participated as a representative of the ICLAC Millennium Nucleus in the workshop “The New Geopolitics of Clean and Just Energy Transitions: Latin American Perspectives and the Industrial Policies of the U.S., China, and the EU.” The event took place in Mexico City and was organized by Dialogue Earth in collaboration with the Heinrich Boll Foundation..
In the panel “China: Industrial Policy and Its Implications Abroad,” Freites co-authored the presentation with Francisco Urdinez, director of the ICLAC Millennium Nucleus. They discussed the progress of China's industrial policy focused on green technologies, examining the drivers of change in China, the implications for Europe and the U.S., and the potential opportunities and challenges for Latin America in the context of a just energy transition.
During her intervention, Freites emphasized the importance of leveraging the opportunities offered by China’s industrial policy to “move toward a model that strengthens local institutions, promotes transparency, and centers the voices of communities.” Her approach highlighted the need for sustainable development that encourages active participation from local actors in the clean energy transitions in Latin America.
The event also featured ICLAC Associate Researcher Juliana González Jauregui from FLACSO-Argentina, as well as distinguished scholars such as Alicia García Herrero and Rubén González, moderated by Paul Kohlenberg. Activists, government officials, and journalists from various countries also participated, exploring China’s role and its implications in the context of energy transitions and global industrial policies in depth.