Climate urgency enables political alignment for Latin American power integration

Climate urgency enables political alignment for Latin American power integration | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Article Climate urgency enables political alignment for Latin American power integration Luis Ramírez, Gerardo Blanco, Rodrigo Moreno, Felipe Sepulveda, and 2 more This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-7547364/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Under Review Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract Political fragmentation continues to block urgently needed power integration in Latin America, despite the region’s vast renewable energy potential. Using the Multiple Streams Approach (MSA), we argue that the escalating climate crisis now acts as a focusing event, aligning a pressing energy problem, viable integration solutions, and growing political will. This alignment signals that a policy window is currently open. We combine MSA with system modeling to quantify overlooked political costs of inaction—specifically, geopolitical tensions and erosion of trust—offering new leverage for policy entrepreneurs. Simulations for 2025–2050 show that continued fragmentation increases system costs by up to 7%, reduces resilience to hydroclimatic shocks, and concentrates benefits within narrow cooperating blocs under low-trust conditions. These measurable and rising costs underscore that regional energy integration is no longer just a technical or economic issue—it is a political imperative. Bold leadership must act now to seize this fleeting window of opportunity. Earth and environmental sciences/Environmental social sciences/Energy and society Social science/Politics and international relations Scientific community and society/Energy and society/Political economy of energy Earth and environmental sciences/Environmental social sciences/Climate-change policy Scientific community and society/Energy and society/Energy policy Regional Energy Integration Latin America Multiple Streams Approach Climate Crisis Policy Window Political Costs Energy Policy Power System Modeling Full Text Additional Declarations There is NO Competing Interest. Supplementary Files SupplementaryInformation.pdf Supplementary Information for “Climate urgency enables political alignment for Latin American power integration” Cite Share Download PDF Status: Under Review Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. Our growing team is made up of researchers and industry professionals working together to solve the most critical problems facing scientific publishing. Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-7547364","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":514036329,"identity":"8ef34ee6-2be3-4442-815f-2cfef5144489","order_by":0,"name":"Luis 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