Page 48 - European Energy Innovation - autumn 2019 publication
P. 48

48  Autumn 2019 European Energy Innovation

    ENERGY TRANSITION

Speeding up energy transition
in Europe

By Brigitte Hasewend, Director of the European Sustainable Energy Innovation Alliance – eseia,
on new partnerships and cooperative learning formats
Greta Thunberg knows.
               Deep down we all know.   society are paying lip service to the     without using climate relevant
               We need to act now       climate cause. However, our societies     synergies. For example, energy
               to preserve life on our  continue to be run predominantly on       grids do not communicate with
                                        fossil fuels and climate action is slow.  heat grids or water grids.

planet for coming generations. We       The obstacles to energy transition are

even know how to make this change manifold:                                       • Education and Training: Even

happen but for some reason our                                                    though interdisciplinarity is

societies are slow when it comes        • Policy and Governance: Except           required to meet the challenges

to implementing change. Why? This       for the EU and international              of our future, academic disciplines

article tries to pinpoint some of the   policy levels, climate policies are       are still operating in silos making

obstacles and highlight promising       predominantly national, regional,         it more difficult to find innovative

pathways to accelerate change.          or local which makes them patchy          solutions. Higher education still

                                        where they need to be more                does not link very well with

1. Obstacles to energy transition       interlinked to create global traction     stakeholder needs. Skills required
                                        for climate development.                  linking knowledge from different

Faced with melting glaciers and                                                   disciplines is often lacking.

increasing climate related death tolls, • Organisations: People are

governments and industries and civil    confined to their organisations           2. Holistic approach needed

                                        with clear unbreakable boundaries,

                                        which hinder joint activities across ‘Today we need a much more holistic

                                        institutional borders. There is not       approach that can break these silos’,

                                        enough real interaction between           says Michael Narodoslawsky, TU

                                        governments, industries, research, Graz. EU Policies need to be adjusted

                                        education, and civil society actors. for 2030 to accelerate change and

                                                                                  regulations need to be implemented

                                        • Community groups are often              at full speed using all means of

                                        ambitious but their impact                top-down governance including

                                        remains limited because they              taxation. EU Policies need to be fully

                                        often work in isolation.                  translated into the national, regional

                                                                                  and local spheres. New governance

                                        • Resources: Our industries still         models need to benefit multi-actor

                                        exploit resources without limits          cooperation across sectorial and

                                        because there is no holistic              organisational boundaries.

                                        resource planning behind. Planning

                                        is for short or medium-term               Legal competences and governance

                                        following the need of profitability.      on all levels need to be enhanced

                                                                                  by adequate modelling to create

                                        • Technologies: Climate neutral           strategic corridors for innovation

                                        technologies are well advanced            (Krajačić G. UZagreb). Only when

                                        but their systemic implementation these framework conditions are

                                        is still not adequately explored,         fully established, does the right to

                                        neither from a technological nor          access to sustainable energy unfold

                                        from a societal point of view.            its proper meaning. If consumers

                                                                                  cannot access clean public transport

                                        • Infrastructures are being planned, because it remains unreliable and

                                        built and managed separately              unaffordable, the right to access

                                                                                  www.europeanenergyinnovation.eu
   43   44   45   46   47   48   49   50   51   52   53