Mapping out a path to a sustainable energy future in Bolivia

Bolivia is at a defining crossroads in its energy transition. For years, the country’s electricity system has relied predominantly on thermal power plants that burn natural gas. Today, a decline in domestic gas resources is exposing structural vulnerabilities in the country’s energy system, increasing pressure on public finances and raising critical questions about long-term energy security.

Against this backdrop, accelerating the energy transition is no longer only a climate objective; it is an economic and strategic necessity. It is at this juncture that the Pledge to Impact Programme, supported by the International Climate Initiative (IKI), steps forward.

An energy sector roadmap as part of efforts to implement NDCs

In 2025, with support from the “Pledge to Impact” Programme, under UNDP’s flagship Climate Promise initiative, Bolivia developed an energy sector roadmap as part of recent efforts to implement its Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC). Developed through a comprehensive and participatory process, the roadmap provides a clear and actionable pathway to diversify the energy mix, reduce structural vulnerabilities, strengthen energy security and mobilize public and private investment.

Prepared in close coordination with the Ministry of Hydrocarbons and Energy, the Plurinational Authority of Mother Earth, and the Vice Ministry of Energy Planning and Development, the roadmap helps align Bolivia’s NDC climate commitments with national development strategies and sectoral priorities, ensuring coherence between climate ambition, energy planning and economic objectives. 

Furthermore, through the development of subnational energy balances, the roadmap reveals regional asymmetries in energy supply and demand that can support evidence-based decision-making at departmental and municipal levels and link national climate targets with local development priorities.

 

Five actions for building a sustainable energy future

As a new government took office in November 2025, this timely guidance will be essential to defining the country’s future energy policy. Here are five recommendations that the roadmap puts forward for building a sustainable energy future for Bolivia:

1. Deploy sustainable energy as a driver of development
Bolivia’s energy transition is about doing two things at once: cutting greenhouse gas emissions while ensuring reliable and affordable energy for people and productive sectors across the country. The roadmap brings these objectives together in a clear long-term vision for 2035 with more precise NDC targets for the energy sector.

Among other things the roadmap prioritizes a decisive shift toward sustainable energy, promotes more flexible and decentralized energy solutions, and looks to emerging technologies to further propel the transition.

2. Pursue regulatory reform to unlock investment
The roadmap recommends a set of reforms aimed at creating an enabling environment for investment. These include strengthening the legal framework for public–private partnerships, introducing long-term power purchase agreements to provide certainty, modernizing regulations to incorporate energy service companies (ESCOs), and deploying climate-aligned financial and fiscal incentives such as green bonds, concessional loans and risk guarantees.

3. Reform fossil fuel subsidies for a fairer energy market
Bolivia’s long-standing diesel subsidy has distorted market signals and placed significant pressure on public finances. In line with the roadmap’s recommendations, the government recently ended more than two decades of subsidized fuel pricing, moving toward market-based prices for gasoline and diesel.

4. Mobilize finance to turn ambition into tangible results
The roadmap includes a robust resource mobilization strategy that identifies national and international financing opportunities including public–private partnerships, climate bonds, blended finance instruments and access to global funds such as the Green Climate Fund and the Adaptation Fund.

5. Place energy security at the core of the energy transition
Strengthening energy security is at the heart of Bolivia’s energy transition. Diversifying the energy mix and expanding renewable generation is fundamental for this. The subnational energy balances directly support this objective by identifying vulnerabilities in energy supply and informing strategies to reduce import dependence and leverage locally available renewable resources.

A unique opportunity to transform Bolivia’s energy sector

Through regulatory reforms, responsible subsidy management and the mobilization of green finance, Bolivia has a unique opportunity to transform its energy sector, deliver on its climate commitments and strengthen its energy security. To ensure implementation and accountability, the roadmap includes a monitoring framework to track progress over time.

By showing the tangible investments and results on the ground, Bolivia can ultimately position itself as an attractive destination for sustainable and climate-aligned investment and turn its clear, evidence-based and consensus-driven vision of a sustainable energy future into reality.

We are publishing a shortened version of the original article, which was published on the website of UNDP´s Climate Promise initiative in March. The full‑length article can be found here.