WEC’s Wilkinson warns Europe to not develop global ‘blind spot’ because of Trump
Dr Angela Wilkinson. Image: World Energy Council.
Angela Wilkinson, the Secretary General of the World Energy Council, today warned that Europe could develop a “blind spot” towards global partnerships if it was too distracted by “the wobble between transatlantic relations”.
She was speaking at the opening of the Start Up Energy Transition conference in Berlin in a session which examined the impact of US President Trump’s first few months in office.
Wilkinson said that “we are watching and trying to make sense of the storm of politics and the structural changes. There’s a lot of froth at the moment… but there’s still a lot of continuity.”
While accepting that “there is a new world order emerging”, she said that “only looking between the US and Europe risks a blind spot – because there are other emerging global trends”.
More from the Start Up Energy Transition conference:
Baerbock hails historic German fiscal package as renewable energy milestone
How the energy-space nexus is resulting in a data fusion to boost climate resilience
She explained that while waiting for an equilibrium to emerge between Western powers, Europe should look to gather partnerships and learnings from around the globe. This would, in turn, open new opportunities for investment because when it comes to financing, “it’s a lot harder to work out how to get it, how to keep it and how to deploy it”.
“How we scale stuff in well-capitalized markets is very different to other parts of the world,” she said, adding that the Trump-induced transatlantic ‘wobble’ could positively “affect the way we invest in other regions”.
And she repeated a now often-heard call to view China as an example to follow rather than a threat.
“Europe can learn a lot from China. The question is: is Europe open to learning?”
She said it was “an impressive feat” what China had achieved in terms of scaling transmission and renewables and therefore, “as we strengthen Europe, we should be open to learnings and partnerships from Asia, the Middle East and Latin America”.
Wilkinson also said that a ‘new world order’ should also be a moment for Europe to take a reality check on how it delivers its energy transitions with the resources it has.
“There are just not enough renewables in the world to go round. The demand for power is coming like a tsunami and that demand for power is going to be a powerful reshaper of the energy transition.”
As such, she said Europe must be open to utilising gas, nuclear and other technologies that some may say do not fit under the umbrella of ‘green’ energy.
Wilkinson also warned of the dangers of “technology hype”.
“A couple of years ago, all we talked about was hydrogen. Now all we are talking about is AI.” But energy transitions, she said, must be about more than enabling a single technology.
“What takes technologies to scale is enabling other progress for communities and society. Energy transitions are about societal transformations.”
And she repeated a call she has made for the past year for better ‘energy literacy’.
“In many places, ordinary people cannot engage with conversations we are having about the energy transitions. We have a conversation that is very technocratic and full of Wall Street terminology.”
Instead, she said, those conversations should be about social justice and benefits. “Humanising energy is understanding that energy is a system that has people in it. It’s not all about winning on the supply side. What takes tech to scale is enabling other progress for communities and society.”
Originally published on Enlit World.
