UNFCCC Executive Secretary at OPEC meeting

The Executive Secretary of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, Christiana Figueres, gave a speech at the 5th OPEC International Seminar, held at Vienna in June 2012.

I must say this was a brilliant move. Beginning by reassuring Oil Producing Countries that the demand for oil will continue to increase even with successful climate change mitigation policies in place, she proceeded to point out a strategic approach that represents a win-win solution for both OPEC and the fight against climate change:

“Our aim should be an economic system that strategically directs oil toward the highest margin specialty markets, generating the most amount of economic benefit for each barrel of oil’s emissions.”

Higher margins mean higher profits for oil producing countries. Although this was not voiced, higher oil prices are also vital to anticipate the arrival of a low-carbon future. Cheap oil has been undermining and delaying the further technological development and large scale deployment of alternative energy sources and energy carriers, such as solar energy and hydrogen, respectively.     

Christiana Figueres also took the opportunity to point that the optimization of the internal use of energy in Oil Producing Countries, through the implementation of energy efficiency measures, are a way to increase the availability of oil and gas for export.

Displaying a far-sighted vision, the UN Climate Change Conference at the end of 2012 will be held for the first time ever in the Gulf region, in Qatar.


Adapted from: UNFCCC, 2012.

European Energy Strategy

In 2010, the European Commission published the European Strategic Energy Technology Plan (SET-Plan), with the explicit objective of make low-carbon technologies affordable and competitive.

This instrument focuses on strengthening industrial participation in energy research and demonstration as a way to boost innovation and accelerate deployment of low-carbon energy technologies. The collective European approach helps to better tackle barriers and share risks.

The SET-Plan includes initiatives in the following research areas:

• Bioenergy – development of biofuels that comply with the EU sustainability criteria (Directive 2009/28/EC of 23 April 2009 on promotion of the use of energy from renewable sources).
• CO2 Capture, Transport and Storage – technologies to be couple with power generation and other energy intensive industries that use fossil fuels, particularly coal and gas.
• European Electricity Grid – to further integrate national networks into a pan-European network and enable the transmission and distribution of electricity from dispersed and concentrated renewable sources (up to 35 % by 2020, and make electricity production completely decarbonised by 2050).
• Fuel Cells and Hydrogen (FCH) – development of hydrogen-supply and fuel-cell technologies for mass market introduction in 2015-2020.
• Sustainable Nuclear Initiative – intended to demonstrate the long-term sustainability of the 4^th generation nuclear reactors, based on closed fuel cycles.
• Energy Efficiency – The Smart Cities Initiative – This initiative will support regions and large cities that take pioneering measures in energy efficiency and energy production to progress towards a radical reduction of greenhouse gas emissions even further than established in the EU energy and climate change policy.
• Solar Europe Initiative – focuses on photovoltaics and concentrating solar power technologies to make them more competitive and to facilitate their integration into the electricity grid.
• European Wind Initiative – aims to make wind energy more competitive, to harness the potential of offshore resources and deep waters, and to facilitate grid integration.

Also noteworthy are the creation of the SET-plan Steering Group, with representatives from the EU Member States and where Norway, Switzerland, and Turkey participate as observers, and of the European Energy Research Alliance, founded by leading European research institutes.

Source: 

The European Strategic Energy Technology Plan (Set –Plan) Towards a low carbon future, European Comission, 2010

R&D, competitiveness and sustainability

Innovation is of paramount importance to increase energy-efficiency and to enable the cost-effective use of low carbon energy sources, ensuring their large-scale market penetration. In this context investing in research and development (R&D), demonstration and early deployment of technologies is vital for sustainable development, conditioning the ability of the World to limit the concentration of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere and the increase of the global average temperature.

It is interesting to note that several emerging economies are allocating significant shares of their GDP to research and development (R&D) of new technologies. In 2009, China allocated 48% of its GDP, India 35%, and Korea 26%. These investments have the potential to enable these developing countries to leapfrog towards a more competitive, energy-efficient, and “low carbon intensity” Economy.

In the European Union, the overall current investment in R&D represented 19% of GDP in 2009.

Full implementation of the Strategic Energy Technology (SET) plan requires an additional investment in R&D and demonstration of € 50 billion over the next 10 years.

The “Stern Review” recognizes the private sector as the major driver of innovation and of the diffusion of technologies around the world. Nevertheless it stresses the role that governments can play to promote international collaboration to overcome barriers in this area, namely through co-ordination of priorities, and shared risks and rewards.

According to the “Roadmap for moving to a competitive low carbon economy in 2050”, for the EU SET plan to completely fulfill its role on the identified pathway, on average, over the coming 40 years, an additional investment of around 1.5% of EU GDP per year on top of the overall current investment is needed.

Sources:

- "A Roadmap for moving to a competitive low carbon economy in 2050", European Commission, 2011;

- Stern Review: The Economics of Climate Change.