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EU must sharpen its focus on innovation to address climate change
(EurActiv, 3 Jun 2021) The upcoming ‘Fit for 55’ package of EU regulations will have a vital role to play to support the creation and deployment of clean energy innovation, writes Peter Sweatman.
Peter Sweatman is the CEO of Climate Strategy & Partners, a leading climate consultancy based in Madrid. Thomas Pellerin-Carlin is the director of the Jacques Delors Energy Centre at the Paris-based Think Tank Jacques Delors Institute.
When a company like Royal Dutch Shell loses a landmark legal case ordering it to reduce emissions in line with the Paris Agreement, and when climate campaigners are elected onto Exxon’s board – both of which happened last week – there is a sense that with fossil fuels, the tide is turning.
While ordering fossil fuel companies to clean up their act is necessary to address climate change, that on its own is insufficient to accelerate clean alternatives like solar, wind, renewable hydrogen and building energy efficiency.
Silence is also a poor option. This was illustrated by the conclusions of the European Council on climate change, which with their absence of substance rang hollow and were another missed opportunity. With the usually conservative International Energy Agency (IEA) publishing a new Net Zero by 2050 Roadmap that explicitly calls on Governments to accelerate clean energy innovation, this gap is all the more evident.
The IEA said governments must invest $90 billion to build a global portfolio of clean tech demonstration projects. Today, the IEA can only identify $25 billion budgeted. Without such innovation investments the 9 million clean energy jobs IEA sees post-2020 could be short-lived.
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EurActiv, 3 Jun 2021: EU must sharpen its focus on innovation to address climate change
