{"id":15351,"date":"2022-05-19T11:27:41","date_gmt":"2022-05-19T10:27:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.worldpolicyconference.com\/?p=15351"},"modified":"2022-05-19T11:27:41","modified_gmt":"2022-05-19T10:27:41","slug":"the-end-of-europes-clean-energy-evangelism","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.worldpolicyconference.com\/fr\/the-end-of-europes-clean-energy-evangelism\/","title":{"rendered":"The End of Europe\u2019s Clean-Energy Evangelism"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"article__byline\"><time class=\"vl-divider\" datetime=\"2022-05-17T11:15Z\">May 17, 2022\u00a0<\/time><span class=\"byline\"><span class=\"listing__author author\">ANA PALACIO<\/span><\/span><\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div class=\"article__abs u-mt-se\" dir=\"ltr\">\n<p>Europe\u2019s pleas to energy producers in the Global South to help it reduce its dependence on Russia have probably prompted more than a few eye rolls. After all, countries across the developing world have endured years of proselytizing from Europe about the importance of making rapid progress toward a carbon-free energy future.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"article__body article__body--commentary english\" dir=\"ltr\" data-page-area=\"article-body\">\n<p data-line-id=\"f5ad7b978c7e4fbf8518e0e41ac6b2e7\">MADRID \u2013 Russian President Vladimir Putin\u2019s war against Ukraine has served Europe a heaping dose of energy realism. While the European Union was touting a \u201cno pain, all gain\u201d transition to renewable energy, many of its industries \u2013 particularly in Germany \u2013 had developed a debilitating\u00a0dependence\u00a0on cheap Russian gas. This revelation should be the first step toward a more realistic \u2013 and less dogmatic \u2013 European approach not only to its own energy transition, but also to that in the Global South.<\/p>\n<p data-line-id=\"f5ad7b978c7e4fbf8518e0e41ac6b2e7\">The EU has an action plan for weaning itself off Russian fossil fuels. But, while the details of\u00a0REPowerEU\u00a0are still being finalized, it is already clear that, like so many European \u201csolutions,\u201d the plan is an exercise in muddling through, exemplified by the fact that it will not be completed until 2030.<\/p>\n<p data-line-id=\"f5ad7b978c7e4fbf8518e0e41ac6b2e7\">Though REPowerEU aims to accelerate the rollout of renewables and replace gas in heating and power generation, it also depends significantly on the diversification of energy supplies. Already, energy producers in the Global South have received desperate pleas to help\u00a0meet\u00a0the EU\u2019s energy needs, which has probably prompted more than a few eye rolls. After all, countries across the developing world have endured years of European proselytizing about the importance of rapid progress toward a carbon-free energy system.<\/p>\n<p data-line-id=\"f5ad7b978c7e4fbf8518e0e41ac6b2e7\">If the EU cannot achieve this in the short term \u2013 in order to avoid funding an unjust war, no less \u2013 the Global South most certainly cannot. Europe is worried that economic growth and local livelihoods will suffer if it attempts to move too rapidly to renewables. Developing economies are worried that they will have no path to sustained economic growth and poverty reduction at all.<\/p>\n<p data-line-id=\"f5ad7b978c7e4fbf8518e0e41ac6b2e7\">They are right to worry. The positive correlation between baseload power and prosperity clearly shows that a reliable energy supply is essential to economic progress. But, globally, 770 million people \u2013 mostly in Africa and Asia \u2013\u00a0lack access\u00a0to electricity. In Sub-Saharan Africa, the pandemic worsened energy poverty, with 77% of the region\u2019s people now living without electricity, compared to 74% in 2019.<\/p>\n<p data-line-id=\"f5ad7b978c7e4fbf8518e0e41ac6b2e7\">Given that future population growth \u2013 and, thus, growth in energy demand \u2013 will be\u00a0concentrated\u00a0in the Global South, this problem is set to get much worse. And, for now, renewables cannot solve it, because they do not represent a sufficiently reliable power supply. A scale-up in hydrogen fuel could change this, though this remains a stretch for emerging-market and developing economies.<\/p>\n<p data-line-id=\"f5ad7b978c7e4fbf8518e0e41ac6b2e7\">United States Special Presidential Envoy for Climate\u00a0John Kerry, for one, has now recognized the folly of attempting to force developing economies to go fully renewable. On March 7, following the Russian invasion of Ukraine, he\u00a0acknowledged\u00a0that gas would be crucial to economic development in African countries. Even the World Bank \u2013 without much fanfare \u2013 has\u00a0reversed\u00a0its moratorium on financing gas projects.<\/p>\n<p data-line-id=\"f5ad7b978c7e4fbf8518e0e41ac6b2e7\">Yes, this new realism implies a near-term increase in African emissions \u2013 but starting from a very low level. The 48 countries that comprise Sub-Saharan Africa (excluding South Africa)\u00a0represent\u00a00.55% of global carbon dioxide emissions. As a whole, Africa consumes\u00a0less energy\u00a0than any other continent \u2013 far\u00a0less than Europe, especially if one takes into account historical consumption.<\/p>\n<p data-line-id=\"f5ad7b978c7e4fbf8518e0e41ac6b2e7\">Rich countries are well aware of this discrepancy, which is why developing countries have been\u00a0increasingly critical\u00a0of the developed world\u2019s climate hypocrisy: constant pressure to cut emissions coupled with prolonged refusal to finance climate mitigation and adaptation in the Global South.<\/p>\n<p data-line-id=\"f5ad7b978c7e4fbf8518e0e41ac6b2e7\">The Green Climate Fund embodies this hypocrisy. At the United Nations Climate Change Conference in 2009, developed economies\u00a0pledged\u00a0to channel $100 billion per year for mitigation and adaptation efforts in developing countries by 2020. As of January 2022, participating countries\u2019 pledges\u00a0amounted\u00a0to a measly $10 billion.<\/p>\n<p data-line-id=\"f5ad7b978c7e4fbf8518e0e41ac6b2e7\">Sustainability is vital to our planet\u2019s future. But the green transition must be just. And justice demands that the Global South receive the same opportunity to develop as the North had. That will be possible only with energy security for all.<\/p>\n<p data-line-id=\"f5ad7b978c7e4fbf8518e0e41ac6b2e7\">That is why this week\u2019s\u00a0Sustainable Energy for All Forum\u00a0is so important. Stakeholders from both the public and private sectors will gather in Kigali, Rwanda, to find ways to accelerate progress toward UN\u00a0Sustainable Development Goal 7: ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable, and modern energy for all.<\/p>\n<p data-line-id=\"f5ad7b978c7e4fbf8518e0e41ac6b2e7\">This year\u2019s Forum comes at a pivotal time in the global energy transition. Moreover, this is the first time since the Forum was launched in 2014 that it will be held in Africa. One hopes that the continent\u2019s centrality to the event \u2013 and the harsh realizations that the war in Ukraine has imposed on Europe \u2013 will be reflected in its conclusions, which, given the current crisis, will be more consequential than ever.<\/p>\n<p data-line-id=\"f5ad7b978c7e4fbf8518e0e41ac6b2e7\">Europe has always prided itself on being a leader in the green-energy transition. This should not change. But, rather than allowing its vision to become clouded by idealism and ideology, the EU must ensure that its energy ambitions \u2013 for itself and for developing economies \u2013 are firmly grounded in reality. Europe must support developing countries\u2019 efforts to adapt to climate change and achieve net-zero emissions. But it must also help them to achieve energy security. As one African minister succinctly\u00a0put it, \u201cWe will decarbonize, but first we have to carbonize.\u201d<\/p>\n<p data-line-id=\"f5ad7b978c7e4fbf8518e0e41ac6b2e7\">Read the original article on the site of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.project-syndicate.org\/commentary\/ukraine-war-forces-europe-energy-realism-in-developing-countries-by-ana-palacio-2022-05\">Project Syndicate<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>May 17, 2022\u00a0ANA PALACIO Europe\u2019s pleas to energy producers in the Global South to help it reduce its dependence on Russia have probably prompted more than a few eye rolls.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":13660,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[23,1],"tags":[153],"class_list":["post-15351","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news-room","category-non-classe","tag-153"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.worldpolicyconference.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15351","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.worldpolicyconference.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.worldpolicyconference.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.worldpolicyconference.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.worldpolicyconference.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=15351"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.worldpolicyconference.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15351\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.worldpolicyconference.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/13660"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.worldpolicyconference.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=15351"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.worldpolicyconference.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=15351"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.worldpolicyconference.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=15351"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}