Alfonso Blanco Bonilla is the Director of the Energy Transition & Climate Program at the Inter-American Dialogue and a leading expert in the energy and climate sectors across Latin America and the Caribbean. He served as Executive Director of the Latin American Energy Organization (OLADE) from 2017 to 2023, where he advanced regional decarbonization efforts and strengthened the organization’s role in supporting countries’ climate and energy agendas. From 2005 to 2013, he led Uruguay’s national strategy for energy efficiency and biomass-based electricity generation, implementing measures that helped the country achieve 98% renewable electricity. He has worked as a senior advisor to the World Bank, IDB, CAF, the United Nations, and multiple companies and organizations on regulatory issues, energy policy, energy transitions, climate diplomacy, business development, and financing models. He also served as inter-institutional coordinator of the Regional Energy Efficiency Program under the Regional Energy Agenda, led by ECLAC and CAF. Blanco holds a degree in Mechanical Industrial Engineering, an MBA, a Postgraduate Diploma in Economics, and a Public Policy Certificate from Harvard Kennedy School. He is the author of academic publications and book chapters, a lecturer and professor, a columnist in Latin American media, a former member of Uruguay’s Observatory of Energy and Sustainable Development, and the co-founder of Ivy Foundation.
Alfonso Blanco
Director, Energy Transition & Climate Program