Evaluation of Public Policies for Energy Transition and Sustainable Regional Development
A Comparative Analysis of Chile, Brazil, and Mexico
Keywords:
Public policy, energy transition, sustainable development, regional development, program evaluationAbstract
The transition to low-emission energy systems is necessary but insufficient for sustainable regional development. This article comparatively evaluates public policies in Chile, Brazil and Mexico to identify the institutional, financial and territorial arrangements that transform national energy targets into lasting regional capabilities. A structured, focused comparison was conducted using laws, plans, official reports and specialized literature, with the documentary corpus updated through June 2026. The analysis combines relevance, coherence, effectiveness, efficiency, impact and sustainability with spatial equity, subnational capacity and participatory quality. Chile presents the most explicit territorial approach through plans linked to coal phase-out, although financing and infrastructure gaps remain. Brazil combines a highly renewable electricity mix, industrial scale and public development banks, but faces fragmented multilevel governance and tensions between climate leadership and hydrocarbon expansion. Mexico renewed its legal framework in 2025 and strengthened binding planning and energy justice, yet effectiveness will depend on grid expansion, investment capacity and regulatory stability. The article recommends territorial transition contracts, regional diversification funds, benefit-sharing standards, independent observatories and fossil-investment coherence tests.
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