A New Energy Parnership: A place for energy democracy?

Over the past couple of weeks I have come across a large number of references to the New Energy Partnership of the Americas, an initiative originally raised by U.S. President (then candidate) Barack Obama in a campaign speech in Florida. Lately it has been referenced speeches by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.

Some analysts are predicting that this will be the Obama administration's new focus of social policy towards Latin America (http://www.miamiherald.com/news/columnists/andres-oppenheimer/story/859217.html)

Many in the cluster of industries loosely identified as "clean tech", particulary nonconventional energy (a category seems to be expanding to include coal and nuclear power) welcome this as new engine for dragging the economy out of the present crisis. For many, here is an ideal opportunity for building an hemispheric strategy aimed at consolidating energy security and re-energizing (literally) national economies. Some also welcome as an opportunity to reduce the quota of political power that Venezuela's President Hugo Chavez has acquired by "flexing his oilfields to entice other governmenst in the region".

But what of the new fresh air of democratic governance that U.S. social movements have been so excited about in President Obama's political discourse, will this be part of the New Energy Parthership? Will citizen engagement, environmental justice and societal consensus-building find their way to the guiding principles of the New Energy Partnership?

Foreseeably, many powerfull stakeholders in the energy sectors of the countries of the Americas will not be interested in becoming entangled in a discourse of participation and citizen engagement that, at best, they have been willing to pay ocassional lip service to, and at worst, they vigorously oppose. As a recent example, the United States and Canada vigorously opposed the inclusion of any language recognizing the rights of indigenous peoples and local communities in the text of the Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD) mechanism at the last Poznan Conference of the Parties of the UN Climate Change Convention, last December. ( http://www.tebtebba.org/index.php?option=com_docman&task=doc_download&gid=314&Itemid=27 )

So how will this new Energy Partnership fare in light of the emerging global call for more democratic and inclusive institutions? Much of it will depend on how closely the new social movements and stakeholders monitor this newly evolving instrument and push for it to develop along a path that is accountable and transparent.