On 12 December 195 member states came to a historic agreement on global warming. This treaty marks the starting point for public policies aimed achieving a carbon-free global economy. Tomorrow’s energy solutions will have a large part to play in this global energy transition. A look at what is at stake for Smart Grids in this unprecedented global movement.
Plenary session at COP21 – Photo: Flickr Cop21 en CC
The energy transition will be smart, or else it won’t be
Fossil fuels are responsible for 80% of global emissions. If humanity intends to cap global warming under 2°C in 2100, it will need to divide emissions of CO2 by 5. This considerable effort means that all the strategies for emission reductions will need to be put in place: reduction of consumption, energy efficiency and the putting in place of renewable production. However, only Smart Grids will be able to guarantee a good use of renewable production. Wind and solar power are by nature intermittent and decentralised. They will require intelligent systems to ensure their proper integration in the grid. The French Smart Grid sector is mobilised to face this challenge.
100 billion a year for 85 years
One of the major advances of the Paris agreement concerns the financing of the Green Fund to the tune of $US 100 billion a year from 2020. If this commitment was already announced, it is now officially enacted. Therefore it is at least $US 8,500 billion that will be invested between now and 2100 in projects for carbon reduction and adaptation. A new budgeted objective of financial aid should be presented between now and 2025 to assist countries in the South to face up to the impacts of global warming. Some of this funding could be oriented towards Smart Grid projects. In fact, several countries in Africa and Asia explicitly mentioned the deployment of Smart Grids in the commitments that they submitted to the United Nations before the Conference through the famous “Intended Nationally Determined Contributions”.
A strong signal for economic and financial deciders
The Paris conference sends an unprecedented signal to economic and financial circles in favour of the development of new energies. Powerful financial actors had predicted this signal by announcing the redirecting of their investments from fossil fuels to renewable energies. This is also the case of companies like Engie in France or RWE in Germany.
ITEMS International pour Think Smartgrids