Republic of Panama joins growing list of countries committed to carbon-free energy 

Sustainable Energy for All (SEforALL) is delighted to announce that the Republic of Panama, National Secretariat of Energy has officially joined the 24/7 Carbon-Free Energy (CFE) Compact, marking its commitment towards the global fight against climate change and the transition to a clean energy future. 

The 24/7 CFE Compact is an ambitious global effort to accelerate the decarbonization of the world’s electricity systems to mitigate climate change and ensure access to clean and affordable electricity for all, in line with Sustainable Development Goal 7 (SDG7). Signatories like Panama commit to having their electricity consumption come from carbon-free energy sources, every hour of every day. 

Joining the 24/7 CFE Compact adds to Panama’s other Energy Compact commitments made towards Biomass and Waste Utilization, Innovation Contests to Promote SDG7, and as a part of the multi-stakeholder Renewable Energy for Latin America & the Caribbean (RELAC) Compact. 

Panama's National Energy Plan 2015–2050 sets forth a comprehensive long-term strategy for the development of the country's energy sector, with a particular emphasis on renewable energy sources. The plan outlines ambitious targets, aiming for 15 percent of Panama's generation capacity to be derived from renewables by 2030, and a significant increase to 50 percent by the year 2050.  

“The benefits of technological innovation and the digitalization of operational and administrative processes in the National Interconnected System are allowing greater security, sustainability, quality and better energy costs while moving away from coal as an energy source,” said Jorge Rivera Staff, National Energy Secretary of Panama.  

Recent figures [1] suggests that hydropower is the most important source of Panama’s electricity production, accounting for over 50 percent of the country’s generating capacity in 2020.  

As a new signatory of the 24/7 CFE Compact, Panama joins the governments of Iceland, Scotland, Vanuatu and more than a hundred other signatories. Founding signatories included AES Corporation, EDP, Google, Microsoft, Eurelectric, the Government of Iceland, Orsted, Statkraft and the US cities of Des Moines and Ithaca.  

The Compact also includes governments, academic institutions, and private sector companies who have formed an unparalleled global community of stakeholders, energy leaders and entities, committed to support the decarbonization of electricity systems worldwide.  

The Panama National Secretariat of Energy (SNE) is part of the Executive Branch of the Government attached to the Ministry of the Presidency. Its main goals are to guarantee energy supply security to all citizens while promoting energy efficiency measures and increasing the sustainability of the energy mix. Currently, one of the main focuses of the SNE is to further the Energy Transition Agenda, which was approved through the cabinet decree 93 of 24 November 2020.   

For further details or questions on the 24/7 CFE Compact, please contact EnergyCompact@seforall.org or visit GoCarbonFree.com and the United Nations Energy website. Follow us on Twitter: @247CarbonFree  

1 https://www.statista.com/statistics/1262876/panama-distribution-electricity-production-source/#statisticContainer