Eurelectric at COP28

This week, Eurelectric was in Dubai for week two of COP28 UAE . Serving as the venue for the first global stocktake, the nations of the world are in the process of evaluating their climate action efforts so far based on the Paris Agreement objective of limiting to global warming to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels. This evaluation will then inform the next round of nationally determined contributions (NDCs) to be put forward by 2025.

With this as a backdrop, our delegation took part in several discussions about the future of the power sector in a world trying desperately to keep the 1.5°C alive. From carbon management to biodiversity, grids and 24/7 carbon free energy, renewable deployment and more, Eurelectric has been deeply involved in this week’s discussions. Here’s the recap.

A Carbon Bank to manage the transition towards a low carbon economy

As carbon is the key culprit behind climate change, it only makes sense to start our COP28recap there. Hosted by ERCST - European Roundtable on Climate Change and Sustainable Transition , Eurelectric’s Climate Change Advisor, Ioana Petcu , joined a discussion on the idea of a carbon bank as part of the clean transition. In essence, a carbon bank works as a centralised place to manage carbon emissions.

In a world where we aim to restrict the amount of carbon emitted, entities that ‘deposit’ carbon through a variety of carbon removal techniques would receive a carbon credit, and those that cannot abate their emissions would have to pay up for that credit. Although a vague and imprecise denotation of the exact mechanisms such a bank would use, the key idea is that carbon emissions and removals would be managed in a centralised way, making the process of decarbonisation much more creditable (pun intended).

Such an institution could be useful. One of the biggest challenges for carbon removals’ credibility today is their permanence and verifiability, as we go into detail on here. That is despite the need for removals to reach net-zero, as has been made clear by many including the International Energy Agency (IEA) and IPCC . A carbon bank can potentially overcome these hurdles if it were mandated to verify that removals made are permanent before translating them into carbon credits.

German economist, Ottmar Edenhofer told The Economist just as much last week in their special report on carbon removals. Edenhofer suggests a central bank for carbon could “supervise the use of removals, preventing politicians from debasing the currency or breaking commitments”. At COP during the ERCST discussion, Petcu reiterated this, saying “we need to shift from greenwhishing to greendoing”. She then highlighted the effectiveness of carbon pricing – which could be strengthened with a carbon bank – noting how the EU emissions trading system helped cut 40% of emissions since 2005.

How to implement renewable capacity in emerging and mature markets and 24/7

Moving on to more energy related themes, Eurelectric’s Renewables Advisor, Aida García , moderated a session hosted by the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) as the Secretariat for the Alliance for Industry Decarbonisation (AFID). Specifically, the session was on the global challenges faced for renewables deployment ?which was opened with a Keynote Speech by Bruno Bensasson , EDF Renouvelables ’ CEO, before getting into the five key drivers behind renewables deployment.

With a special focus on the first of five key drivers , García opened the session with a presentation of Eurelectric’s European 24/7 Carbon-Free Energy (CFE) Hub. Coinciding with her presentation, the day before we launched two reports on Contracting Principles for 24/7 CFE power purchase agreements (PPAs), as well as the Buyer’s Journey for those looking to get involved in 24/7 CFE

Following her presentation on the 24/7 Hub, García moderated a discussion among the panellists from a broad range of backgrounds who dove into the other drivers of renewable deployment beyond corporate sourcing. This included, raw materials and supply chains, circularity and ESG, system integration standards and permitting.

How can renewable energy be tripled by 2030 in harmony with nature?

Keeping with the theme of renewables, our member from SSE Renewables , Stephen Wheeler , joined a session hosted by The Nature Conservancy and the Global Renewables Alliance (GRA) to discuss our PowerPlant initiative. This COP has been big on tripling renewable energy globally which means a lot more wind turbines, a lot more solar panels, and a lot more grids to deliver all the electricity. As of yesterday there were 125 countries on board with the tripling of renewables by 2030 but clean electricity from renewable energy sources is only half of the green battle. Biodiversity is the other.

At Power Summit in 2022, we launched the #PowerPlant initiative which aims to tackle the climate crisis and the biodiversity crisis in tandem. Proposing a gold standard for new renewable projects, the goal was to fast-track permitting for renewable projects that delivered positive impacts for climate and biodiversity. Presenting this, Wheeler was able to answer the question in the title of this session.

The journey to net zero: closing the gap on grids

Zeroing in on a key Eurelectric priority, our Secretary General, Kristian Ruby joined 阿西布朗勃法瑞公司（ABB） ’s session on the challenges of achieving a renewable energy-ready grid at scale. Earlier this year, The Economist also told us to Hug pylons, not trees, alluding to the green transition’s grid problem. More recently, the European Commission gave a nod to this challenge in Europe when it launched the EU Action Plan on Grids. The IEA, too, notes this challenge on a global scale with its report on Electricity Grids and Secure Energy Transitions. So, grids are everywhere these days, and Eurelectric is dialled in on getting them up to speed.

During the ABB session, Ruby notes that "The electricity sector is pioneering Europe's climate neutrality journey: while leading in decarbonisation, it can also provide the solution to other sector accelerate their transition”. Nonetheless, grids risk becoming a possible bottleneck for integrating to providing those solutions. To ensure a reliable supply of electricity at both the EU and global level, we need to prioritise distribution grids on the EU’s political agenda to close the gap and push forward our journey to net zero.

De-risking tomorrow’s technologies today

Finally, Eurelectric’s Secretary General also took part in a high-level CEO roundtable, hosted by EPRI , the GCC Interconnection Authority ( GCCIA ) and the Edison Electric Institute . Discussing how to pave the wave for tomorrow’s technologies, While the roundtable highlighted the need for the electricity industry to better define the roles of future resources and create synergies to ensure a successful transition.

For his part, Ruby laid out Europe’s challenges ahead. These included, once again, access to raw materials, as well as preparing a skilled workforce to accelerate the transition, and integrating large amounts of variable, decentralised renewable energy onto an aging grid. This will require strong collaboration of stakeholders, from interconnecting the grid between neighbouring countries, to sharing information and viewpoints, soliciting feedback, and exploring mutual interests and strategies is essential for proper deployment of renewable energy.

Other engagements

Beyond these, we were involved in a number of other engagement at COP including a bilateral meeting between Cillian O'Donoghue and GEIDCO(Global Energy Interconnection Development and Cooperation Organization) . Later, our Secretary General also joined their side event with the World Meteorological Organization on an inclusive, equitable, and resilient global energy transition spurred on through global energy interconnection.

COP29

While COP28 is not yet at a close, we can already say we will be back for COP29, wherever it is to take place. In the meantime, however, a year will pass and we need not lose sight of the priorities that are discussed this year. Once the global stocktake is finished, we hope to see renewed ambition to cut global emissions. To do so though requires the realism part – the enabling factors like raw materials, grids, investment, and all the rest, to deliver on the ambition. For Europe, we laid this all out in our Decarbonisation Speedways report earlier this year. Until next year, 2030, 2040 and up to net zero, Europe’s electricity sector will strive for what we detail in there.

This week's edition written by:

Nicholas A. Steinwand, Strategic Communications Officer - Eurelectric

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