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MARK AUSTIN THOMAS: Business people and academics are meeting today in Panama. It’s the start of an EU-Latin America Energy Summit. The goal is to promote new energy technologies by linking European companies with Latin American countries. Dan Grech has more from the Americas Desk at WLRN.

DAN GRECH: Finland organized the three-day conference, the eighth of its kind.

Sixty-four companies, universities and research institutions from Finland and Central America will discuss biofuels, wind power and emissions trading.

Peter Dunay is with Leeb Capital Management in New York. He says Finland is encouraging public-private partnerships.

PETER DUNAY:“It’s a sign that some of the smarter economies realize that the way we will get off oil will be alternative energies and smarter use.”

Dunay says the idea is to slowly wean the world economy off oil.

DUNAY:“We’re going to continue to use oil for a while. What can we do to bring the demand down as we bring in new technologies? And that’s what we see with the hybrid car now. They use gasoline, but they use less of it.”

Over the next Finland will invest $5 million to promote renewable energy partnerships.

I’m Dan Grech for Marketplace.