INTERVIEW - Energy transition is a societally transformative process requiring collective management efforts, expert says

In the face of pressing global challenges such as climate change, environmental degradation and energy security concerns, the importance of energy transition has become increasingly evident. The transition from conventional, fossil fuel-based energy systems to cleaner and more sustainable alternatives is not just a proper option, it comes as a necessity for the future of our planet and a crucial tool against global warming and all climate-related issues.

Energy security and environmental sustainability have pivotal roles in the transition to cleaner energy systems and should be considered not only by governments but also on a more collective level on which humans put continuous and systematic efforts.

Angela Wilkinson, Secretary General and CEO of the World Energy Council, discussed the topic with Renewables Now in light of today’s launch event of the Road to Congress series in Rotterdam, The Netherlands. The series marks the start of the road to the April 2024 26th World Energy Congress scheduled in Rotterdam next year. She emphasised the significance of bringing the entire energy ecosystem around the table and the role of humans in driving the energy transition process.

Q: Do you think the efforts towards greening energy supply in the last 20 years have been lacking a greater understanding of the complexity of the whole energy ecosystem? Or maybe it is normal for governments to learn from experience?

Humanity has faced the challenge of coexisting peacefully on a finite planet for centuries. 100 years ago, no-one imagined we would run out of planet. Today, there is growing awareness and scientific understanding of planetary boundaries. The ways in which energy is used, produced, and supplied is creating an existential risk - catastrophic and irreversible climate change.

Just as it was 20 years ago, the sheer scope and scale of the world energy system are not well understood. Managing a successful global energy transition is an unprecedented, systemic leadership challenge and collective management problem. We are not simply swapping out one set of supply-side technologies for another, we are turning over an entire system – supply and demand and all the many bits in between. And we are doubling its size to meet the growing demand from emerging and developing economies, as well as cutting down on wasteful practices. The prize is not decarbonisation per se but securing more climate resilient energy for a new model of human development and progress – one which enables harmony between people and planet, rather than growth at any cost.

As history reminds us, energy transitions are nothing new – the world has shifted from using biomass to extracting fossil fuels. The electricity revolution, which promised life at the push of a button, started over 100 years ago and is focusing attention on new ways to harnessing renewable sources of energy, such as wind, solar and geothermal – as well more modular, next generation nuclear power generation and the rapid emergence of a new global clean hydrogen-based fuels energy vector. Energy transition is not a destination but a continuous, deeply disruptive and societally transformative process which connects energy demand and supply interests and all the bits in between. As we change our ability to produce or harvest new sources and different forms of energy – heat, power, fuels - the underlying power structures in society also shift. There is widespread and common misunderstanding, among politicians and wider energy system stakeholders, that net zero is the destination and closing the global investment gap to accelerate the swap of old supply-side technologies for new, whilst everything else remains the same, will be able to get us there faster than ever.

Managing a successful global energy transition requires a massive reallocation of economic resources, new ways of planning and permitting development, and the rapid build-up of new energy and non-energy supply chains, including skills and capabilities. And none of this can be achieved all in one go or in the same way in all places or without social support and the involvement of energy consumers and diverse communities. Thankfully, more public, private and civic sector leaders and key decision makers are coming around to the understanding the “whole system approach” the World Energy has been promoting for decades. The best way to succeed is not by winning a good vs bad energy argument, but by involving more people and diverse communities in making faster, fairer and more far reaching energy transitions happen.

To move all of humanity into a clean and safe future, a variety of just and inclusive energy transition pathways are emerging in all regions. The increasing diversity of energy systems in the broadest sense – resources, technologies, people and geographies. This also means there is no “one size fits all” solution. The world is heading in the right direction – clean and safe, energy enabled societies - but starting points and capabilities are uneven. It is important to avoid premature technological prescriptions in policy and unfair to impose what works for one region on another. Climate resilient development which supports 10 billion better lives on a healthy planet is a massive juggling act which involves multiple stakeholders and careful attention to multiple objectives, co- benefits, trade-offs and synergies. We are grappling with the ‘whole system’ leadership and change making challenges by combining leadership dialogue, data transparency and new approaches to multi-scale, multi-sector and multi- stakeholder cooperation. Renewables will need other clean energy and sustainable material friends to get to scale in time.

Q: Societies are nowadays launching various initiatives to address climate change issues. On a governmental level, which are the most successful policies for securing more affordable energy and reducing carbon at the same time?

There is a lot of hot air being generated from the cacophony of leadership summits and commercial conferences. There is a lot of heat and friction, but not enough acceleration from a multitude of overlapping, intertwined and contradictory initiatives. We are progressive, practical and pragmatic in showcasing the diversity of solutions and actions underway and in supporting diverse regions and communities learning with and from each other about making faster, fairer and more far-reaching energy transition happen, with special attention to hard-to-abate and vulnerable communities. Successful energy policies, in short, are integrated, policies which deliver clean, inclusive and just energy outcomes!

Bold and courageous innovation is not all about technology and does not shy away from: (1) the societal transformation opportunity; (2) the materiality challenges in scaling renewable energy technologies; (3) the need for an open and level playing field; and (4) the need to allocate investment to climate resilience and repair. The “plan” is not to exceed 1.5 degrees C but we also need to better prepare all societies for overshoot.

Q: What is the human role in the energy transition process?

The new energy transition leadership is user-centric – integrated system and services – which challenges the conventional demand- or supply-centric thinking. The new shape of user-centric energy systems is distributed, modular, and multi-directional – a very different form than the capital intensive, centralised and dispatchable flow of existing systems. This also means that demand side management considerations - social norms, uses and user behaviours, land-use planning, etc – have come to the fore, as drivers, enablers and constraints in scaling renewable energy technologies. In addition to hard-to-abate sectors, there are hard-to-abate communities. The clean, justice and inclusive agenda extends transparency and performance tracking to new measures and metrics, with attention to affordability, community resilience, shared services and co-benefits, reskilling and access to jobs, etc.

Experience of recent crises (Covid-19, climate change impacts, security) has shown that energy systems resilience now extends to people and place-based communities and global energy and non- energy supply chains. Carbon reduction goals and roadmaps are translated into reality through a process of social engagement and learning, real world experimentation involving multiple industries and place-based communities and enabling women and workers, and the next generation of energy leaders to add their perspectives and so that they better understand their role and choices and can hold their leaders to account.

Energy transition cannot be accelerated by top-down strategic knowledge exchange, in the form of national top-down road-mapping and bottom-up road building which extends cooperation beyond energy supply and demand businesses and industries. It must also address the complex coordination challenge of mobilising bottom-up innovation and horizontal learning.

At the World Energy Council, our ambition is to increase the pace of transitions by addressing the critical human-centric blind-spots of social and climate change impact risks which are inherent in bottom-up actions to drive implementation faster, fairer and more far-reaching energy transitions.

For 100 years the World Energy Council has convened energy leaders from all walks of life and across the entire system to, in short, make better energy for everyone everywhere. Our World Energy Congress has been the primary platform for this engagement, bringing together governments, businesses, investors and civil society interests.

Our 26th Congress will be held in Rotterdam next year, and, is themed “Redesigning Energy for People and Planet”. We will showcase actions from around the world.

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