OPENING A DISCOURSE ON THE JUST ENERGY TRANSITION….

If you want to talk about an energy transition, you better talk about all facets of it, if you want to embark on an energy transition journey, you better tackle all facets of it, and not just conveniently pick and choose. Like most transitions, transformations and even metamorphosis, an energy transition is not without its own risk, conspiracy theories, disruptions, miscalculations, suspicions, you name it..?

Truth be told, we are always Transitioning! The energy system/ sector not an exception to this rule; even the adoption of Nikola Tesla’s AC system versus Thomas Edison’s DC system was an energy transition that SPARKED a lot of debate and even conspiracies with evident winners and losers of the time and yet fast-forward to the 21st century, well, both AC & DC systems and machinery exist to this day (each with its own merits and demerits, application warranting…).

Did you know that we had also transitioned from animate primemovers (e.g. horses & man) to inanimate primemovers (steam engine & ICE) and yet to this day we still have horses and man!). We are also looking to electrify the transport sector, in particular Private mobility by transitioning from ICE to EVs (and this too is not without its challenges; be it cost of mining energy transition metals (ETMs) both environmentally and financially or just a struggle of what endures). We transitioned from Coal to Biomass when coal was perceived as a poor man’s fuel source and then back to coal again, then from coal to oil (and yet still to this day all these forms of energy co-exist in varying proportions necessitated by demand and application.

Coal, Oil & Gas shall continue to exist and make up the global energy mix albeit in a much more climate responsible fashion supported with some commercially available CleanTech alongside the variable renewables also supported with Energy Storage Systems (with one, more prevalent than the other). Who is to say what commercially-available technologies shall be available tomorrow or in a 100 years that resolves the Carbon emissions challenge or indeed resolves the headache that shall be of end-of-life wind turbine blades and solar PV panels (a win-win for both fossil fuels and Renewables!).

As clearly evidenced by the resultant energy crises, resurgence of the heatpump (Energy Efficiency) for example and an urgent return to service of once mothballed dirty-fuels generating plants (Alternative Energy), an energy transition to forge a low carbon pathway towards a zero-carbon imperative with the application of green technologies and renewable energy solutions is easier said than done!

That is not to say that there is no recordable action, for example, the UK Government has ambitious plans to support the installation of 600,000 heat pumps by 2028 (Energy Efficiency) and here in South Africa, the Government has launched the long-awaited?energy?bounce-back loan?scheme?for households and small?businesses?looking to install?solar (Renewable energy); putting your money where your mouth is!.

Energy transition as is the issue of climate change is a very salient yet quite polarizing topic. First off, Energy transition is more than just a move away from so called dirty fuels to Renewables but also involves embracing energy efficiency (quite a lost opportunity presently), Alternative fuels/ energy and Cleantech/Greentech (yet to scale up). And then the "Just" in the Just Energy Transition (JET) is to be best addressed through the 4D vision (Democratisation, Decentralisation, Decarbonisation & Digitalisation) with some ESG plus energy sovereignty, energy economics and energy justice (not leaving anyone behind; energy access, energy security, energy sufficiency by "all means necessary"!).?

4D Vision:

Democratisation - Include the People in decision-making and ultimately in both the private & public ownership of the energy assets. Also Gender-mainstreaming becomes an imperative as is identifying and catalysing inclusive supply chains.

Decentralisation -?Consider isolated/ distributed energy systems in favour of the traditional Centralised?System. Eliminate long transmission lines/ avoid wheeling issues). Decentralise with DESCOs.

Digitalisation - transform & Optimise the energy system through the use of digitized data and digital technologies. Ease Utility management and foster inclusiveness in energy accessibility & affordability.

Decarbonisation?- Utilise Carbon-free-energy sources to electrify all energy systems. Use both nature-based and technologies for carbon removal or reduction if and when carbon-based solutions are deployed.

Some ESG:

Environmental – acknowledge that digging up ETMs has some environmental impacts that could possibly outweigh the benefits. Environmental pollution; the sore sight of wind farms. Those end-of-Life issues for wind turbine blades and solar PV panels ought to be addressed as part of the cradle to grave/ TCOO issue.

Social – social impacts at every level (micro to macro) ought to be contextualized, quantified and built into the energy transition model. Poverty alleviation through new opportunities. Call out unethical advantages.

Governance – identify hidden agenda peddling/ Conflicting interests (Unrelenting Push for Renewable Energy uptake over Energy Efficiency best practices/ technologies; who benefits?). Coerced into borrowed funds/ loans to transition (who suffers?)

"All means necessary" means exploiting all available resources (that includes oil, coal, gas, etc) to achieve an end. What then is that end? Affordable, Available, Uninterrupted energy for all. Begs the question, how do we then transition to a zero-carbon economy? Not in a haste! Steadily on guided Policies, sustainable exploitation of energy transition metals (ETMs) and with readily available financial resources/ sort of a JET Investment Plan in place (being a key aspect given that expert models for a global energy transition estimate trillions of dollars in investment annually; infact $4trillion globally and about $1 trillion for emerging markets and low-income economies such as are prevalent here in Africa).?

A?“Just Energy Transition”?alludes to a consideration beyond technological & environmental aspects to also include social, political & economic implications of a transition. It also invokes the idea of penalising the heavy emitters of yesteryear whilst giving a free pass to emit to those that did not contribute nor benefit to industrialise & electrify from the low cost abundant dirty fuels of coal, oil & gas.?It asks the question; who benefits? This on its own is an emotive issue!

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Chisakula Kaputu is a Carbon & Energy Consultant/ Resource Efficiency & ESG/Sustainability Practitioner with over 25 years of experience in Extractives, Education, Energy, Environment & Sustainability having worked/ working in Industrial Mining, FMCG, Academia, Power Infrastructure/ESI, Electrical consultancy and energy & risk advisory & consultancy.