Speakers:

• Ramón Espinasa, Lead Oil and Gas Specialist in the Energy Division, Inter-American Development Bank (Download his presentation.)
• Eric Farnsworth, Vice President, Americas Society/Council of the Americas

Council of the Americas's Energy Action Group held a briefing by Ramón Espinasa, senior oil and gas specialist at the Inter-American Development Bank, on their new extractive sector initiative. The recently launched initiative aims to raise awareness about the challenges and opportunities in the sector, improve access to information, and build partnerships that enable the necessary conditions for responsible investment in the hemisphere's extractive industries. In his presentation, Espinasa provided insights on the potential for extractive industries to drive broader sustainable economic development in Latin America and the Caribbean. 

Learn about the Energy Action Group.

Speakers:

• Marc Frishman, Managing Director, Global Power & Energy Infrastructure, Barings
• Luisa Palacios, Managing Director, Latin America, Medley Global Advisors, LLC
• Germán Ríos, Corporate Director of Strategic Affairs, CAF - Development Bank of Latin America (moderator)

"If you've been to Havana recently, you know all the work that needs to be done in infrastructure," said Baring's Marc Frishman in a panel on energy in Cuba. Frishman estimates the island needs some $4 billion of investment in energy infrastrucutre and $1 billion for developing renewables. In addition, Cuba is suffering a deficit in supply after oil shipments from Venezuela fell from 90,000 barrels per day to 50,000, according to Medley Global Advisor's Luisa Palacios.

• Learn about the AS/COA Cuba Working Group.
• ​Watch more videos of our Cuba conference "The United States and Cuba: A Snapshot of Current Collaborations."