WEC chief Wilkinson redefines and reclaims the phrase ‘energy transition’
(Angela Wilkinson opens the Congress. Photo: WEC)
She says ‘energy transition’ has become politically-loaded and polarizing
The words ‘energy transition’ have become “one of the most frequently-used, politically-loaded and polarizing phrases of recent years” according to World Energy Council secretary-general and CEO Angela Wilkinson.
Speaking at the opening evening ceremony of the 26th World Energy Congress in Rotterdam, she added that the phrase is “also a source of confusion and misunderstanding”.
“For many people energy and electricity are synonymous… of course, we know that is not the case. Energy leadership has done a lousy job of energy literacy in recent decades.
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“We also know that today’s energy systems are not fit for purpose. The urgency to secure more energy for sustainable development and to decarbonise all energy uses, not just supplies, is crystal clear.”
She said that managing successful global energy transitions – and she stressed the plural – “is essential, not straightforward, and can’t be done all in one go or by any one nation or network alone”.
“The uncomfortable news is that there is no one-size-fits-all solution. No quick and easy fix. Complex coordination challenges cannot be ignored or resolved, even with AI or other technology innovations.
“Success depends on the capabilities of whole societies to manage energy in a new era of globally inclusive, climate-resilient, sustainable development.”
However, she added that “the good news is that new ways to collaborate are emerging. There is increasing recognition that more people and diverse communities need to better understand their role and choices as the world prepares for a more demanding energy future.”
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It was apt that the opening day of the World Energy Congress took place on Earth Day, the annual global campaign to raise climate awareness.
Because raising awareness was front of mind for Wilkinson when she took part in the day’s morning panel discussion of the congress.
She called for “a revolution in agency” to ensure a just and inclusive series of energy transitions across the world. And again, she was keen to reiterate that she means ‘transitions’ in the plural.
No single energy transition
“There is no single energy transition and no world energy system. There are energy transitions from different starting points and situations, and a variety of regional visions where the direction of travel is clear. But how to get there requires multiple pathways because what got us ‘here’ will not get us where we want to go.”
She said two key pillars to build those energy transitions upon were consumer engagement and trust: areas in which the energy sector does not have a strong track record.
“We have to speak the same vocabulary [as the consumer] about what energy transitions mean.
“It’s about user-first. What are the needs of people and industry? And what does that mean for supply and finance?”
And on finance, she said that while money talks, it doesn’t walk the last mile to get vital projects over the line: “The technology that wins is the technology that scales… but it’s not finance bringing that scale: it’s the pull of social demand. We have to engage with that pull of social transformation.”
Wilkinson – the World Energy Council’s sixth Secretary General since its formation in 1923 – said all energy transitions now come with their own quadrilemma… and all four boxes need to be ticked: “Just, orderly, inclusive and equitable.”
Geopolitics of energy
Wilkinson also warned that addressing the climate crisis must not be sidetracked by heightened political tensions.
“The geopolitics of energy continues to evolve. It’s extended beyond conventional oil and gas and now includes critical supply chains and minerals. You can’t have a renewable revolution without a lot more materials for electrification and copper and wires. And it also extends to data and technologies. The geopolitics is much broader.
She said what is needed is think about how we “rise above geopolitics… because Mother Nature doesn’t know about boundaries”.
An answer to this global question, she suggested, was “to combine networks and nations? But how do we get movement like that? That’s a completely different model of governance.”
Alluding to the COP28 consensus agreed in Dubai last year to triple renewable energy capacity, she said this would require a combination of urgency with equity, “and the ‘A’ in the middle of that UAE consensus is ‘agency’. Without these new models of agency, we don’t get there.”
This year’s Congress marks the centenary of the first global gathering organised by the World Energy Council. Wilkinson, who was appointed Secretary-General in 2019 and previously worked for the OECD, Royal Dutch Shell and British Gas, stressed that those “100 years have taught us that one size does not fit all.”
“We live in a world that’s got so many borders and is so fragmented… there’s so many barriers. But what we have to do is start thinking about a world of natural ecosystems: how can we organise ourselves to bring the change we want to see in different parts of the world.”
She said: “One hundred years of energy has taught us that technology and investments alone don’t get us there and that there are multiple opportunities.
“We’re not short of capital and technology. But what we need is organise differently to make the change happen.”
‘Energy that benefits everyone’
She said that for a century “the World Energy Council community has convened power for common good. Just as our founding members intended in 1924, we meet today as an open and respectful community of peers, to showcase progress, align diverse needs and interests and drive forward our shared responsibility for worldwide energy developments that benefit everyone and everything.”
“We are here to get on with the job of redesigning energy for people and planet.
“This is a momentous occasion to direct attention to wider and wiser energy uses and to the people at the heart of energy transitions. Humanising energy is our call to action.”
She said it was vital to remember that “not everyone’s energy transitions are being made from a position of comfort and convenience”.
“One hundred years ago our founder had a vision for change in a world emerging from conflict and pandemic and facing economic crisis. He recognised there is no civilization without energy.
“One hundred years on, the future of energy – the engines of peace and progress – still require radical new forms of international collaboration to ensure equitable and sustainable access to energy for everyone on the planet.”
Originally published on enlit.world
