Institute of Energy Economics (Argentina) (Global Warming)

The instituto de Economi’a Energetica asociado a la Fundacion Bariloche (IDEE/FB), or the Institute of Energy Economics associated with the Fundacion Bariloche (Bariloche Foundation) is an institute in Argentina that works to promote environmental awareness and education of environmental economics. It is independent, although strongly allied with the Bariloche Foundation.

The Bariloche Foundation is a nonprofit, private institution, allied with the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) and other international organizations. Scientists and busi-nesspersons at a conference in the city of San Carlos De Bariloche, Argentina founded it on March 28, 1963. The goal of the Bariloche Foundation is to facilitate and foster research, innovation, training, technical assistance, and the dissemination of information and knowledge. Its purpose is "to promote teaching and research in all branches of science, based on a solid, humanist culture and in accordance with the democratic principles contained in the Argentine Constitution." The Bariloche Foundation headquarters are located in San Carlos de Bariloche, with a business office in Buenos Aires, Argentina. The IDEE/FB is based in San Carlos de Bariloche.

The Bariloche Foundation has four major programs: Energy, Environment, Philosophy, and Quality of Life. The Energy program evolved in 1978 from the Bari-loche Foundation’s previous Department of Natural Resources and Energy, founded in 1967. This program employs agronomists, computer specialists, economists, diverse engineers, mathematicians, and statisticians, and is chiefly in charge of the IDEE/FB. The Environment program studies climate change, energy and the environment, natural resources accounting and other environmental issues, and rational energy use.


The Philosophy program fosters international collaboration and conflict analysis and resolution. Researchers study gender research, history of philosophical ideas, metaphilosophy, philosophy and history of science, philosophy of social sciences, practical and theoretical aspects of conflict analysis and resolution, and rationality. The Quality of Life program began as a project in 1989, and matured into a complete program five years later in 1994. This program monitors social equity and environmental sustainability in the San Carlos de Bariloche region as well as greater Argentina; and also the qualities of life experienced by residents of these regions as globalization continues.

The Bariloche Foundation’s Energy program focuses on Argentina and Latin America, as well as in the global economic marketplace and international energy. Research, consulting, economic assistance, and other IDEE/FB services are focused on energy production and use, and how they relate to the economy, the environment, economical and environmental policy-making, and economic and environmental planning.

A major educational initiative of the IDEE/FB is the Latin American Postgraduate Course on Energy and Environment Economics and Policies. This course is a four-month long immersion course that has been conducted annually since 1969, and has trained more than 600 Latin American professionals. People who enroll in the course represent all sectors: energy companies publicly or privately funded, universities, and governmental or nongovernmental organizations from around Latin America, for example.

Additionally, the IDEE/FB offers the MEPEA, a Master’s Program in Energy and Environment Economics and Policies. This program lasts for two years and meets every Friday and Saturday. It is assisted by the University of Comahue’s Faculty of Economics and Administration, and is held in Argentina’s city of Neuquen. The MEPEA has been in operation since 1999.

The major research foci of the IDEE/FB are: Energy Policies in the sense of institutional and managerial strategies, prices and tariffs, rational use of energy, regional integration, regulation, the sector’s institutional structure, and technological progress; Energy and Environment in terms of emissions mitigation, and impact caused by each level of the energy chain, including sustainable development; Development of Methodology and Models for studies of energy in the fields of supply, demand, financing, and sources; Integrated Energy Studies for Different Geographical Areas; Economic, Technical, and Environmental Studies for various natural resources; and Sectorial Energy Studies for various energy-demanding sectors.

Next post:

Previous post: