Sustainability: Science, Practice, & Policy ejournal
Clean Energy: An Extremely Quick Tour around the Globe Around the world, societies are wrestling with the move toward clean energy and energy efficiency to approach zero carbon emissions. While brilliant minds are collaborating in new ways, crossing geographical boundaries on computer networks to share ideas, the shape of the research remains largely determined by the characteristics and needs of specific nations and regions. This became evident, if only in a blurry way, in lectures and discussion at the 2011 International Green Energy Economy Conference held last week in Arlington, Virginia.
The effort is truly international. The idea is not to move in lock step, but to have a dialogue about what’s working, and for countries to bolster each other, according to Rich Duke, the U.S. Deputy Assistant Secretary for Climate Change Policy. He discussed the Clean Energy Ministerial, wherein 24 countries have convened, under the auspices of U.S. Secretary of Energy Steven Chu, to accelerate the transition to clean energy. Different countries will play to their strengths and interests; for instance, the United States and Italy are working on off-grid lighting, Korea is providing leadership on the smart grid, and China is moving ahead with electric vehicles. Broader goals include building 500 fewer power plants across the globe over the next twenty years and helping the world’s poor gain access to solar lighting.A roundtable discussion provided a quick tour of major issues around the world. Swerving away from this blog’s more customary American-centricism, I’ll discuss other major players. Most fascinating was the information regarding China that Deng Xiaoping in 1980 mandated quadrupling the country’s gross domestic product (GDP) while only doubling energy, according to Mark Levine of the China Energy Group. While this seems impossible, at the time Deng was not to be contradicted, and by 2002 China's GDP had multiplied six to eight times while energy use had grown at only half that rate.
Shortly after, however, China adopted a more free-wheeling market philosophy, and energy use began to grow far faster. Yet a recent move toward energy efficiency and renewables is changing this once again; notably, in 2008 China announced a goal of 20% improvement in energy efficiency. My take-home message here is that if a country puts its mind and will behind something, it can, indeed, achieve great change.An overlooked story is South Korea, which plans to invest $36 billion in clean energy by 2015 and create 1.5 million new jobs by 2030 (Clean Technica, 2011). Kyun-Jin Boo of the Korea Energy Economics Institute discussed a variety of ways to stimulate clean energy development including market-based mechanisms, funding resources, government research and development, and tax incentives. Perhaps the most successful mechanism is the feed-in-tariff—notably used to incentivize solar power—which offers individuals payback for their investment.The feed-in tariff originated in Germany, which has, arguably, been the global leader and innovator in implementing clean energy. Peter Lund of Aalto University in Finland explained how Europe is planning to be 60 to 80% renewable by 2050. Although consisting of 27 nations with different policies and characteristics, the European Union expects to become one energy market, united by a single grid. This will allow it to dispatch renewable energy from where it’s generated to where it’s needed, greatly alleviating the intermittency problem; for instance, solar from Spain will be used throughout Europe. (The United States, with an abundant land mass and rich renewable energy resources, could easily follow such a policy, although we’d need a comprehensive plan to rebuild our grid). Germany remains ambitious and, following Fukushima, is phasing out all nuclear plants and greatly increasing its already abundant renewables.
It will be fascinating to see whether this bold goal can be achieved and how the politics plays out around its implementation.To cover the somewhat overlooked developing world, Lawrence Agbemabiese of the United Nations Environment Program discussed the needs of Africa, explaining that sufficient knowledge exists to move to clean energy, but an actionable green strategy is missing. He believes that such a strategy would greatly alleviate poverty while moving the continent on an environmental path. (This contradicts theories that developing nations need to follow a dirty development path, and only become clean once they’ve developed a strong middle class). Agbemabiese discussed the need to close gaps between those who know what do to but have no power and those with power but lacking knowledge.
This can be achieved through three domains: grassroots, the public sector, and civil society. He gave the example of providing efficient stoves throughout Ghana, which greatly improves quality of life as dirty stoves cause severe health problems. The problem, explains Agbemabiese, is to scale up, to get information out, to share best practices and successful innovation on an international scale.Finally, Robert Marlay from the U.S. Climate Change Technology Program reinforced that different countries bring different items to the table. He compared the United States, with its research enterprise, spirit of entrepreneurship, and massive computational ability, to China, which is able to build prototypes very quickly, creating new urban environments whole blocks at a time. The complementarities will benefit us all in the move to sustainability.Lest anyone think that this normally bleak blog is too optimistic, I’ll end by summarizing a contrarian lecture, given by Michael Klare, Professor of Peace and World Security Studies at Hampshire College. He warns that the next thirty years will be a period of international stress and conflict as we embark on an energy transition. While oil and other fossil fuels become increasingly dirty and difficult to attain, new energy sources will move to full-scale production.
All nations will be struggling for market share, to survive and thrive in this rapidly changing, unpredictable environment. Klare discussed only economic conflict, although the most dystopian scenarios, echoing science fiction, would include military clashes—throw in climate change and other environmental and population stresses, resource scarcity, and refugees, and an apocalyptic vision arises.We are, then, at a global crossroads. Let us hope that we will be able to achieve the peaceful, innovative, cooperative global society bringing together the best of multiple societies, envisioned throughout most of the conference.
Clean Energy: An Extremely Quick Tour around the Globe Around the world, societies are wrestling with the move toward clean energy and energy efficiency to approach zero carbon emissions. While brilliant minds are collaborating in new ways, crossing geographical boundaries on computer networks to share ideas, the shape of the research remains largely determined by the characteristics and needs of specific nations and regions. This became evident, if only in a blurry way, in lectures and discussion at the 2011 International Green Energy Economy Conference held last week in Arlington, Virginia.
The effort is truly international. The idea is not to move in lock step, but to have a dialogue about what’s working, and for countries to bolster each other, according to Rich Duke, the U.S. Deputy Assistant Secretary for Climate Change Policy. He discussed the Clean Energy Ministerial, wherein 24 countries have convened, under the auspices of U.S. Secretary of Energy Steven Chu, to accelerate the transition to clean energy. Different countries will play to their strengths and interests; for instance, the United States and Italy are working on off-grid lighting, Korea is providing leadership on the smart grid, and China is moving ahead with electric vehicles. Broader goals include building 500 fewer power plants across the globe over the next twenty years and helping the world’s poor gain access to solar lighting.A roundtable discussion provided a quick tour of major issues around the world. Swerving away from this blog’s more customary American-centricism, I’ll discuss other major players. Most fascinating was the information regarding China that Deng Xiaoping in 1980 mandated quadrupling the country’s gross domestic product (GDP) while only doubling energy, according to Mark Levine of the China Energy Group. While this seems impossible, at the time Deng was not to be contradicted, and by 2002 China's GDP had multiplied six to eight times while energy use had grown at only half that rate.
Shortly after, however, China adopted a more free-wheeling market philosophy, and energy use began to grow far faster. Yet a recent move toward energy efficiency and renewables is changing this once again; notably, in 2008 China announced a goal of 20% improvement in energy efficiency. My take-home message here is that if a country puts its mind and will behind something, it can, indeed, achieve great change.An overlooked story is South Korea, which plans to invest $36 billion in clean energy by 2015 and create 1.5 million new jobs by 2030 (Clean Technica, 2011). Kyun-Jin Boo of the Korea Energy Economics Institute discussed a variety of ways to stimulate clean energy development including market-based mechanisms, funding resources, government research and development, and tax incentives. Perhaps the most successful mechanism is the feed-in-tariff—notably used to incentivize solar power—which offers individuals payback for their investment.The feed-in tariff originated in Germany, which has, arguably, been the global leader and innovator in implementing clean energy. Peter Lund of Aalto University in Finland explained how Europe is planning to be 60 to 80% renewable by 2050. Although consisting of 27 nations with different policies and characteristics, the European Union expects to become one energy market, united by a single grid. This will allow it to dispatch renewable energy from where it’s generated to where it’s needed, greatly alleviating the intermittency problem; for instance, solar from Spain will be used throughout Europe. (The United States, with an abundant land mass and rich renewable energy resources, could easily follow such a policy, although we’d need a comprehensive plan to rebuild our grid). Germany remains ambitious and, following Fukushima, is phasing out all nuclear plants and greatly increasing its already abundant renewables.
It will be fascinating to see whether this bold goal can be achieved and how the politics plays out around its implementation.To cover the somewhat overlooked developing world, Lawrence Agbemabiese of the United Nations Environment Program discussed the needs of Africa, explaining that sufficient knowledge exists to move to clean energy, but an actionable green strategy is missing. He believes that such a strategy would greatly alleviate poverty while moving the continent on an environmental path. (This contradicts theories that developing nations need to follow a dirty development path, and only become clean once they’ve developed a strong middle class). Agbemabiese discussed the need to close gaps between those who know what do to but have no power and those with power but lacking knowledge.
This can be achieved through three domains: grassroots, the public sector, and civil society. He gave the example of providing efficient stoves throughout Ghana, which greatly improves quality of life as dirty stoves cause severe health problems. The problem, explains Agbemabiese, is to scale up, to get information out, to share best practices and successful innovation on an international scale.Finally, Robert Marlay from the U.S. Climate Change Technology Program reinforced that different countries bring different items to the table. He compared the United States, with its research enterprise, spirit of entrepreneurship, and massive computational ability, to China, which is able to build prototypes very quickly, creating new urban environments whole blocks at a time. The complementarities will benefit us all in the move to sustainability.Lest anyone think that this normally bleak blog is too optimistic, I’ll end by summarizing a contrarian lecture, given by Michael Klare, Professor of Peace and World Security Studies at Hampshire College. He warns that the next thirty years will be a period of international stress and conflict as we embark on an energy transition. While oil and other fossil fuels become increasingly dirty and difficult to attain, new energy sources will move to full-scale production.
All nations will be struggling for market share, to survive and thrive in this rapidly changing, unpredictable environment. Klare discussed only economic conflict, although the most dystopian scenarios, echoing science fiction, would include military clashes—throw in climate change and other environmental and population stresses, resource scarcity, and refugees, and an apocalyptic vision arises.We are, then, at a global crossroads. Let us hope that we will be able to achieve the peaceful, innovative, cooperative global society bringing together the best of multiple societies, envisioned throughout most of the conference.
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