Blanca Llorente

External Expert in Public Policy and Quantitative Analysis

Economist from Pontificia Universidad Javeriana with experience in environmental and public health policy. She holds a specialization in Social Evaluation from Universidad de Los Andes and a Master’s degree in Public Health from the University of London. She has taught at Pontificia Universidad Javeriana, Universidad de Los Andes, and Juan N. Corpas University. With over 15 years of experience in tobacco control, she has served as a consultant for the World Bank, WHO/PAHO, and the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB). She is currently the Director of Research at Fundación Anáas, focusing on tobacco economics.

In 2023, she received the World No Tobacco Day Award from the World Health Organization in recognition of her contributions in the field. She has facilitated policy dialogues and designed stakeholder engagement strategies across public, corporate, and community settings. Since 2015, she has served as an Associate Researcher at CREER, focusing on human rights, social and environmental management, and environmental governance, particularly in contexts related to the oil and mining sectors.

Working Sector

Report from the meeting with workers and trade unions

Testimony from workers and trade unions

Closures and multi-stakeholder dialogue

Full document

Executive summary

Transitional minerals

The rapid expansion of critical minerals for the energy transition and other strategic industries (agriculture, defense, technology) presents us with a paradox: the decarbonization of the planet depends on an intensification of mining activity. For CREER, this rapid expansion carries critical risks regarding human rights, local economic dynamics, and ecosystem balance. Our work focuses on analyzing these dilemmas through the lens of a just transition, promoting governance frameworks that mitigate negative impacts and ensure that the mining of “minerals for the future” is carried out under rigorous standards of sustainability, equity, and respect for fundamental rights, through dialogue among different stakeholders.

Energy Communities

We analyze the governance and sustainability challenges that arise in the implementation of decentralized generation models. Our work focuses on researching how local associative structures interact with regulatory frameworks and human rights standards. Through applied research, we assess the risks of rent capture, internal decision-making conflicts, and the conditions necessary for these self-management schemes to guarantee equitable and transparent participation in the territory.

Solar

With a focus on responsible land management and respect for local livelihoods, at CREER we apply our technical expertise in the photovoltaic sector to promote a solar transition with social integrity. Through the analysis of rural environments, the strengthening of local governance, and the design of participation mechanisms, we seek to ensure that large-scale deployment in Latin America not only contributes to the energy mix, but also strengthens the social fabric. Our purpose is to lead due diligence models that ensure solar infrastructure coexists with food security, strategic ecosystems, and the productive vocations of each community.

Resources for Territorial Planning

Peacebuilding, Citizen Participation, and Human Rights

Transformative Perspectives for a Just Energy Transition