Overline: G20 SUMMIT

Headline: Sustainable Energy for All – Only Possible with More International Cooperation

About 80 per cent of current CO2 emissions are caused by the member states of the G20. So it’s clear that they have a particular responsibility to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and encourage a shift to renewable energy. The leaders of these countries now need to act on that responsibility at the G20 Summit in Osaka on 28 and 29 June.

Smart Grid iStockphoto Metamorworks — Despite their proven ability to provide rapid and affordable access to clean energy in many country contexts, off-grid technologies account for only 1.3 per cent of investments. iStockphoto/ Metamorworks

28.06.2019

In its 2016 Voluntary Action Plan on Renewable Energy, the G20 agreed in principle on the need to reduce their coal consumption. In spite of that, public export credit insurance is still strongly focussed on fossil-energy projects. The Japanese Bank for International Cooperation, for example, continues to be particularly active in the coal sector. It’s also problematic that investments in clean energy are almost exclusively targeted at traditional, grid-connected electricity generation. Despite their proven ability to provide rapid and affordable access to clean energy in many country contexts, off-grid technologies account for only 1.3 per cent of investments.

Germany’s bilateral energy partnerships with many different countries underline the importance of international cooperation. IASS researchers have gathered and evaluated data on the main purposes and objectives of these partnerships and how they go about realising them. The Discussion Paper Deutschlands Energiepartnerschaften in der internationalen Energiewendepolitik (Germany’s Energy Partnerships for the Global Energy Transition) is the first comprehensive analysis of this important policy instrument.

Building on the Discussion Paper’s findings, an IASS Policy Brief on Strengthening International Cooperation for a Global Energy Transition was published in April 2019. It makes the following three concrete recommendations to policymakers:

Recommendation 1: Promote investment in clean energy and end support for coal-based energy infrastructure.

To this end, donor countries from the OECD and G20 should lead the way by discontinuing all public investment support for new coal-based energy infrastructure and establish clear guidelines for support to other fossil-based investments.

Recommendation 2: Tackle the socio-economic dimension of the global energy transition.

In order to accelerate and expand the geographic scope of the global energy transition, international cooperation should play an active role in mobilising the socio-economic benefits of clean energy and address potential risks by supporting analysis and policy dialogue at both the country and global levels.

Recommendation 3: Provide early market support to promote challenge-based energy innovation.

SE4ALL or Mission Innovation should create multi-stakeholder, challenge-based initiatives to promote energy innovation in developing and emerging economies and foster early market demand for related products or services.

Contact

Prof. Dr. Rainer Quitzow

Research Group Leader

rainer [dot] quitzow [at] rifs-potsdam [dot] de

+49 331 6264-22374

On this topic

Dossiers

Der Chemiekonzern Bayer stellt bereits Produkte aus CO2 her.

Economic activities and consumer behaviour in developed countries are currently based mainly on the use of fossil-based raw materials, and their emissions are largely responsible for anthropogenic climate change. In efforts to reduce human effects on the climate, the avoidance of carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions is and remains the most important measure. But high CO2 emissions go hand in hand with a demand for carbon in the form of many of the goods that we need on a daily basis, for example for the production of plastics or fuels. Can it therefore make sense to consider the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide (CO2) as a source of carbon? Since the 1970s, scientists have been researching carbon capture and utilization (CCU) technologies. The aim of these technologies is to re-cycle the CO2 contained in emissions as a feedstock for industrial processes. This captured CO2 could replace fossil-based carbon as a component of materials and energy carriers, thereby creating a carbon cycle.

Prototyp eines supraleitenden Stromkabels.

In the coming decades, the development of renewable energy sources (RES) such as wind and solar will play a major role in reducing our reliance on fossil fuels and making our energy system more sustainable. But the places where RES are available or would be most efficient are often located far away from the densely populated and industrial areas where the energy is needed: on the open sea in the case of offshore wind and in sunnier climes in the case of solar. This means that the construction of new power lines needs to go hand in hand with RES development. In Germany for instance, expanding the electrical grid has become a crucial precondition for the success of the Energiewende.

News

Can the transition to a zero-carbon society in the Global South propel sustainable development? A team led by scientists from the Research Institute for Sustainability (RIFS) has developed the first quantitative approach to measure the extent to which energy transitions in the Global South incorporate elements of energy justice.

Green hydrogen is considered a promising energy resource.

To reach climate neutrality, Europe’s industry will need large quantities of carbon-neutral hydrogen in the future. Many European countries, including Germany, are planning large investments to develop and ramp up the hydrogen industry needed for this. Within the HyPat research project, a new study by RIFS Potsdam, Fraunhofer ISI and the German Energy Agency (dena) makes five recommendations to the EU and the Member States.

Green hydrogen will likely play a crucial role in the global energy transition. RIFS Fellow Beatriz Couto Ribeiro is assessing the opportunities for Latin American economies to enter green hydrogen value chains. In this interview, she explains her research.

Overline: G20 SUMMIT

Headline: Sustainable Energy for All – Only Possible with More International Cooperation

Contact

Prof. Dr. Rainer Quitzow

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