The Legal 500 Green Guide: Latin America

The Costa Rican team regularly advises clients on sustainable finance: a team including Vivian Liberman and Pablo Umaña recently assisted Corporación Multi Inveresiones with the largest ever green debt tap made by a renewable energy company in Central America and the Caribbean, valued at US $1bn. In support of the Costa Rican government’s plan to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050, a team, including Liberman and Luis Hernández, also advised Agence Française de Développement (AFD) in the structuring and negotiation of its sovereign loan of $150m to the government of Costa Rica.

In the renewable energy space, the firm was involved in the financing of the largest hydroelectric facility in Central America. It has also advised IDB Invest on multiple battery energy storage and solar power projects.

In 2008, the firm established the BLP foundation to coordinate its pro bono efforts, such as its continued support to the Agua Tica Fund which protects water sources in the Grande and Virilla Rivers sub-watersheds through public-private collaboration.

The firm was appointed as consultant by Expertise France for the E2050 decarbonisation strategy in collaboration with the Ministry of Environment and Sustainable Development of Colombia. This pioneering strategy aims to decarbonise the country’s economy by 2050 in alignment with the Paris Agreement and was presented at COP26 as a key milestone in Colombian policy.

Director of the environment and sustainable business team and co-leader of the firm’s ESG and impact team, Guillermo Tejeiro Gutiérrez is highly active in the country’s growing carbon credits market. His team regularly advises clients from a regulatory perspective, such as Biofix Consultoria on various conservation projects in the Colombian Amazon.

The team also conducted due diligence for Latam Airlines for its project ‘CO2BIO’ which focuses on the conservation and rehabilitation of forests, wetlands and grasslands over a 200,000-ha area of flooded savannah as well as sustainable production activities for the local communities. This constitutes part of the client’s 2050 carbon-neutral goal.

A UN Global Compact signatory, the firm’s annual reporting is GRI compliant, and the firm has received a Bronze Sustainability Rating from EcoVadis. The Santiago-based team operates out of a LEED Gold certified building, and the firm’s endeavours also extend to procuring resources from ISO 9001 and 14001 certified suppliers.

Alfonso Ugarte and Josefina Yávar in Santiago have wide-ranging experience in the renewable energy sector: Ugarte is advising Edgeconnex on a renewable PPA with Enel; Yávar is collaborating with the firm’s Peruvian and Colombian offices to assist Yinson with the acquisition of nine PV projects. Ugarte also handled commercial agreements for NotCo, a unicorn Chilean food-tech company producing plant-based products. Notable for his experience in the e-mobility sector, Tomás Kubick advised VFS Chile on the tender process to supply Red Metropolitana de Movilidad with a bus fleet containing electric buses.

Pro bono work across the firm is organised through the Fundación Cuatrecasas, with Chilean pro bono matters primarily handled via  the Fundación Pro Bono, chaired by Macarena Ravinet.

Notably, the firm also participates in the Campaign for Greener Arbitrations through which it aims to reduce carbon emissions connected with disputes resolution.

Sebastián Ramos holds the position of Secretary to the Board for the UNGC in Uruguay and is involved in major renewable transactions. He led the Uruguayan team advising IDB Invest in its role as lender to state-owned power company UTE in a project to strengthen the national electric power transmission via renewable sources. He also represented Renovables del Sur S.A. and Renovables del Este in the refinancing of a credit line to develop, build, operate and maintain two wind farms with a combined capacity of 100 MW.

Moreover, the team has actively facilitated Uruguay’s energy transition through its advisory role to UNIDO regarding the structuring, implementation and administration of the Renewable Energy Innovation Fund (REIF).

The firm assists several clients in this regard including Parex Resources’ investment in the first geothermic energy project in Colombia. The firm also advises Greenmovil on the energy efficiency tax benefits applicable to the acquisition of a fleet of 400 electric buses to be launched as part of Bogota’s public transport system in 2022.

Managing partner, Oscar Iván González is highly influential in public policy pertaining to sustainability and green energy. He was appointed as director of the Rax Research Centre by the Colombian Institute of Tax Law engaging in analysis of tax benefits in Colombian legislation, and has also worked closely with the mining and energy planning unit of the government of Colombia to implement recent tax benefits.

Due to his expertise, González was also appointed as key speaker for the Colombian Tax Congress in June 2022 to discuss carbon taxation.

The firm assists several clients in this regard including Parex Resources’ investment in the first geothermic energy project in Colombia. The firm also advises Greenmovil on the energy efficiency tax benefits applicable to the acquisition of a fleet of 400 electric buses to be launched as part of Bogota’s public transport system in 2022.

Managing partner, Oscar Iván González is highly influential in public policy pertaining to sustainability and green energy. He was appointed as director of the Rax Research Centre by the Colombian Institute of Tax Law engaging in analysis of tax benefits in Colombian legislation, and has also worked closely with the mining and energy planning unit of the government of Colombia to implement recent tax benefits.

Due to his expertise, González was also appointed as key speaker for the Colombian Tax Congress in June 2022 to discuss carbon taxation.

The firm is also heavily involved in conservation efforts. Managing partner, Martín Santa María and leading partner of the water law department Sebastián Abogabir head up the  team advising Fundación San Carlos de Maipo on the conservation of the Batuco Wetland, which would have otherwise disappeared due to real estate developments and lack of water in the area. This project entailed approval from the Supreme Decree to consider the wetland a nature sanctuary.

The firm’s strong commitment to pro bono work is reflected in its membership in the Fundación Pro Bono. A particular highlight was the project “El Agua Mi Patrimonio” led by Abogabir, environmental law and renewable energy associate Antonia Ibarra and students from la Universidad de La Frontera: Within the context of a new irrigation canal subsidised by the State, the team ran educational workshops for indigenous communities in promotion of water rights and sustainable water use.

The energy and natural resources team led by Patricia Arrázola Bustill specialises in renewable energy projects including exploring new clean energy sources such as hydrogen. The group was key advisor on Innova Solar Colombia’s photovoltaic floating project and assisted Colibri Energy with its renewable project facilitating clean, self-generated energy for all of beer producer Bavaria’s production plants.

The firm’s compliance and energy teams also work closely together advising clients on compliance with relevant regulations and ensuring sustainability and best practices for their operations.

In the sustainable finance space, a group assisted Acciones y Valores with the structuring of the ‘Emission Reductions Market Fund FORE’, which is the first of its kind in Colombia focusing on investment in carbon reduction projects and carbon credits.

The firm also has a strong pro bono practice and regularly makes donations to non-profits focused on environmental conservation. It is a member of the Affinitas Alliance which facilitates regional collaboration on ESG in the Latin American legal market.

Firm founder and head of the environmental and sustainability practice, Romina Santroni is also legal director of ECORED, an association promoting sustainability in business. As such, she was heavily involved in the drafting of a proposal on Dominican waste legislation.

Santroni and Guily Shemer have deep knowledge of sustainable development and environmental regulation in the luxury resorts and hotels industry, and advise an array of clients on compliance in this field, including Amanera Resort, Playa Grande Golf and Ocean Club, and Hotel Casas del XVI. In addition to their extensive work in the luxury resorts market, Santroni and Shemer are advising WCG Energy on regulatory matters concerning the installation and operation of 120MW of PV capacity, as well as conducting environmental impact assessments for a number of entertainment facilities, Moon Palace Resorts, and the DP World Caucedo port.

The firm has made significant contributions to conservation and environmental protection efforts across the country. Fernanda Jiménez, who heads up the environmental team, drafted a key proposal for the redesign of the Payment for Ecosystem Services Program of Costa Rica, which entails the expansion of the scheme to include mangrove and coastal locations in its protection.

Jiménez and managing partner Javier Escalante together also provided advice to Lafarge Holcim on how to run a sustainable industrial operation, including specifically dealing with issues concerning emissions standards as well as the handling of illegal logging on its property. The corporate law team furthermore contributed to the protection and recovery of Costa Rica’s bee population by assisting Fundación Selva Negra with setting up the non-profit, designing the corporate governance framework of the organisation and advising on the tenure of protected land.

The firm’s real estate practice has also played a significant role in facilitating the sustainable development of the tourism sector in the country, advising foreign clients on regulations and limitations, and promoting a people-planet prosperity model.

One of the firm’s current key clients is Paracel. Head of the environment practice Rodrigo Fernandez leads the team assisting the company with its state-of-the-art cellulose plant, which constitutes the largest private investment in Paraguay’s history. The team is advising on Paracel’s compliance with the highest green and environmental standards for the plant, which will dually serve as a clean source of energy for the national grid. The matter also includes an ambitious reforestation project of nearly 150,000 hectares of land in the north of the country, and the firm is advising the client before the Ministry of Environment to extend native forest areas to be preserved on its land.

In the sustainable finance space, the firm acted as counsel in Paraguay to J.P. Morgan Securities LLC and Santander Investment Securities INC as initial purchasers of Banco Continental’s $300m notes, the first-ever sustainable notes issued by a Paraguayan company. 

Internally, the firm has focused on minimising paper use and waste generation and achieved a reduction of over 70% within one year.