Russia/Ukraine war a wakeup call to press for renewables

May 19, 2022 News

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…UN SG calls on governments, financial institutions to step up

Kaieteur News – “The global energy system is broken and bringing us ever closer to climate catastrophe; Fossil fuels are a dead end — environmentally and economically; the war in Ukraine and its immediate effects on energy prices is yet another wake-up call; the only sustainable future is a renewable one.”

This was the clarion call made yesterday by United Nations Secretary General, Antonio Guterres, who in his World Meteorological Organization’s State of the Global Climate 2021 Report, stated: “We must end fossil fuel pollution and accelerate the renewable energy transition, before we incinerate our only home; time is running out.”

The UN Secretary General Report comes at a time when Guyana despite the direction of the world as it relates to the development of energy sources, is still pressing ahead with a project to cost in excess of US$1B namely the Gas to Shore Energy Initiative. That project will see associated gases being had from the Liza fields in the Stabroek Block being piped to the Wales Development Zone, where a Natural Gas fired power plant is expected to be set up in order to utilise the fossil fuel.

According to Guterres however, “renewable energy technologies such as wind and solar are readily available and in most cases, cheaper than coal and other fossil fuels; over the past decade, the cost of wind energy has declined by more than half.” He in fact noted, that the cost of solar energy and batteries has plummeted 85 percent and that an investment in renewables creates jobs — three times more jobs than fossil fuels.

Reiterating “we don’t have a moment to lose,” the UN SG used the occasion to propose five critical actions to jump-start the renewable energy transition. Among his proposals, Guterres is contending that “renewable energy technologies, such as battery storage, must be treated as essential and freely-available global public goods.” In a video address yesterday, he said there should be the removing of obstacles to knowledge sharing and technological transfer – including intellectual property constraints. This, he said, “is crucial for a rapid and fair renewable energy transition.”

He noted that storing renewable electricity is often cited as the greatest barrier to the clean energy transition and as such “I am therefore calling for a global coalition on battery storage to fast-track innovation and deployment – a coalition led and driven by governments, bringing together tech companies, manufacturers, and financiers.”

Additionally, the UN SG was adamant “we must secure, scale up and diversify the supply of critical components and raw materials for renewable energy technologies.”
Recognizing that today’s supply chains for renewable energy technology and raw materials are concentrated in a handful of countries, he contended that “the renewable age cannot flourish until we bridge this vast chasm, This will take concerted international coordination.”
Governments, he said, must invest in skills training, research and innovation, and incentives to build supply chains.

Governments, according to Guterres must also build frameworks and reform bureaucracies to level the playing field for renewables. This, since in many countries, these systems still favour deadly fossil fuels. “We must prevent bottlenecks, where gigawatts of renewable projects are held up by red tape, permits and grid connections….I call on governments to fast-track and streamline approvals of solar and wind projects, modernize grids and set ambitious 1.5-degree-aligned renewable energy targets that provide certainty to investors, developers, consumers and producers.”

According to Guterres renewable energy policies are fundamental to reduce market risk and drive investment into the sector. Further, he used the opportunities to again reiterate that governments must shift subsidies away from fossil fuels to protect the poor and most vulnerable people and communities. “Every minute of every day, coal, oil and gas receive roughly $11 million dollars in subsidies…Each year, governments around the world pour around half a trillion dollars into artificially lowering the price of fossil fuels — more than triple what renewables receive,” he observed.

According to Guterres while people suffer from high prices at the pump, the oil and gas industry is raking in billions from a distorted market. He was adamant that there is a need for private and public investments in renewable energy must triple to at least $4 trillion dollars a year.
“For solar and wind power, upfront payments account for 80 per cent of lifetime costs. That means big investments now will reap big rewards for years to come.”
To this end, he observed that some developing countries pay seven times more in financing costs than developed countries.

As such, “we need blended finance that provides the necessary structures to close existing funding gaps and unlock the trillions held by private actors. This means adjusted risk frameworks and more flexibility to scale up renewable finance.”
He was adamant, the management and shareholders of multilateral development banks and development finance institutions must take responsibility and be held accountable.
Commercial banks and all elements of the global financial system need to dramatically scale up investments in renewables as they phase out fossil fuels, he said.
According to Guterres in his plea, “renewables are the only path to real energy security, stable power prices and sustainable employment opportunities; every country, city and citizen, every financial institution, company and civil society organization has a role to play.”
He was adamant however, “most of all, it’s time for leaders — public and private alike — to stop talking about renewables as a distant project of the future, because without renewables, there can be no future.” According to the UN SG, as is made pellucid by the World Meteorological Organization’s State of the Global Climate 2021 Report, “makes clear, it’s time to jump-start the renewable energy transition before it’s too late.”

 

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