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Tugliq Energy & Hydro Quebec - Pitch Hub Innovate4Climate 2018

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Transition Monaco Forum 2018

Under the High Patronage of His Serene Highness, Prince Albert II, Transition Monaco Forum, a new global platform committed to accelerating the transition towards a clean future across all sectors and industries, will convene global business leaders, policymakers, cleantech experts, and innovators at The Grimaldi Forum in Monaco from June 26-27, 2018.

In response to commitments made during COP 21 and the One Planet Summit, and by developing new business models combining prosperity and sustainability as well as identifying the latest technologies and implementing initiatives for companies to pioneer this change, Transition Monaco Forum aims to accelerate the ecological and energy transition.

The objectives of this exciting new initiative are to form a European hub of investors dedicated to financing the ecological and energy transition and to mobilize key stakeholders across all sectors to find concrete solutions for businesses to develop sustainably.

Gathered in Monaco, a country leading the energy transition, participants will debate the five critical enablers of the cleantech ecosystem: finance, regulation, innovation, cities and territories and new stakeholders.

Speaker Highlights

H.S.H. Prince Albert II of Monaco (Monaco)

H.S.H. Prince Albert II of Monaco

Arnold Schwarzenegger, Founder, R20 Regions of Climate Action (USA)

Arnold Schwarzenegger, Founder, R20 Regions of Climate Action

Alzbeta Klein, Director and Global Head, Climate Business, International Finance Corporation (IFC) (USA)

Alzbeta Klein, Director and Global Head, Climate Business, International Finance Corporation (IFC)

Anne Hidalgo, Mayor of Paris, Chair of C40 Cities Climate Leadership Group (France)

Anne Hidalgo, Mayor of Paris, Chair of C40 Cities Climate Leadership Group

Other confirmed international speakers include:

       Olivier Biancarelli, General Director, Tractabel-Engie (France)

       Erik Brandsma, General Director, Swedish Energy (Sweden)

       Graciela Chichilniski, Economist and Nobel Prize Winner, Columbia University (USA)

       Filipe de Botton, CEO, Logoplaste (Portugal)

       Matthieu de Chanville, Deputy Head of Alliance Ventures, Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi (France)

       Jérôme Delafosse, Explorer and Expedition Leader, Energy Observer (France)

       Rinat Guy, Chief Innovation Officer, Municipality of Tel Aviv (Israel)

       Eric Harr, Co-Founder & CEO, Laudato Si'Challenge (USA)

       Paul Holthus, President & CEO, World Ocean Council

       Margaret Kuhlow, Finance Practice Leader, WWF (USA)

       William Kwende, Chairman, Agritech (Burkina Faso)

       Claude Nahon, Sustainable Development, Senior Vice President, EDF (France)

       Francis O’ Sullivan, Director, Energy Initiative, MIT (USA)

       Gunter Pauli, Businessman and Author of the Blue Economy (Belgium)

       Nancy Pfund, Managing Partner, DBL Partners (USA)

       David Rosenberg, CEO, Aerofarms (USA)

       Carlos Sallé, Director of Energy Policies and Climate Change, Iberdrola (Spain)

       Riaz Siddiqi, Founder and Managing Partner, Denham Capital (USA)

       Sylvain Vanston, Chief Sustainability Officer, AXA (France)

Find here the full conference program and the full list of confirmed speakers

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Transformation is picking up speed in the power sector, but urgent action is required in heating, cooling & transport

Renewable power accounted for 70% of net additions to global power generating capacity in 2017, the largest increase in renewable power capacity in modern history, according to REN21’s Renewables 2018 Global Status Report (GSR). But the heating, cooling and transport sectors – which together account for about four-fifths of global final energy demand – continue to lag far behind the power sector. The GSR, published today, is the most comprehensive annual overview of the state of renewable energy worldwide.

Global Renewable Power Capacity, 2007-2017. REN21

New solar photovoltaic (PV) capacity reached record levels: Solar PV additions were up 29% relative to 2016, to 98 GW. More solar PV generating capacity was added to the electricity system than net capacity additions of coal, natural gas and nuclear power combined. Wind power also drove the uptake of renewables with 52 GW added globally.

Solar-PV-Global-Capacity-by-Country-or-Region-2007-2017-REN21

Investment in new renewable power capacity was more than twice that of net, new fossil fuel and nuclear power capacity combined, despite large, ongoing subsidies for fossil fuel generation. More than two-thirds of investments in power generation were in renewables in 2017, thanks to their increasing cost-competitiveness – and the share of renewables in the power sector is expected to only continue to rise.

Global New Investment Renewable Power and Fuels REN21

Investment in renewables was regionally concentrated: China, Europe and the United States accounted for nearly 75% of global investment in renewables in 2017. However, when measured per unit of gross domestic product (GDP), the Marshall Islands, Rwanda, the Solomon Islands, Guinea-Bissau, and many other developing countries are investing as much as or more in renewables than developed and emerging economies.

Both energy demand and energy-related CO2 emissions rose substantially for the first time in four years. Energy-related CO2 emissions rose by 1.4%. Global energy demand increased an estimated 2.1% in 2017 due to economic growth in emerging economies as well as population growth. Renewable energy uptake is not keeping pace with this increasing energy demand and the continuous investment in fossil and nuclear capacity.

In the power sector, the transition to renewables is under way but is progressing more slowly than is possible or desirable. A commitment made under the 2015 Paris climate agreement to limit global temperature rise to “well below” 2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels makes the nature of the challenge much clearer.

If the world is to achieve the target set in the Paris agreement, then heating, cooling and transport will need to follow the same path as the power sector – and fast. These sectors have seen:

Little change in renewables uptake in heating and cooling: Modern renewable energy supplied approximately 10% of total global heat production in 2015. National targets for renewable energy in heating and cooling exist in only 48 countries around the world, whereas 146 countries have targets for renewable energy in the power sector.

Small changes are under way. In India, for example, installations of solar thermal collectors rose approximately 25% in 2017 as compared to 2016. China aims to have 2% of the cooling loads of its buildings come from solar thermal energy by 2020.

In transport, increasing electrification is offering possibilities for renewable energy uptake despite the dominance of fossil fuels: More than 30 million two- and three-wheeled electric vehicles are being added to the world’s roads every year, and 1.2 million passenger electric cars were sold in 2017, up about 58% from 2016. Electricity provides 1.3% of transport energy needs, of which about one-quarter is renewable, and biofuels provide 2.9%. Overall, however, 92% of transport energy demand continues to be met by oil, and only 42 countries have national targets for the use of renewable energy in transport.

For these sectors to change, the right policy frameworks need to be put in place, driving innovation and the development of new renewable energy technologies in the sectors that are lagging.

“Equating ‘electricity’ with ‘energy’ is leading to complacency. We may be racing down the pathway towards a 100% renewable electricity future, but when it comes to heating, cooling and transport, we are coasting along as if we had all the time in the world. Sadly, we don’t.”

Rana Adib, Executive Secretary of REN21

Rana Adib, Executive Secretary of REN21

“To make the energy transition happen there needs to be political leadership by governments – for example by ending subsidies for fossil fuels and nuclear, investing in the necessary infrastructure, and establishing hard targets and policy for heating, cooling and transport. Without this leadership, it will be difficult for the world to meet climate or sustainable development commitments.”

Arthouros Zervos, REN21 Chair

Arthouros Zervos, REN21 Chair

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Four things we learned about electric vehicles at the DS Virgin Racing Innovation Summit

Following on from its previous successful thought leadership events, including its high profile New York summit, DS Virgin Racing used the recent Formula E Paris E-Prix to host another of its Race Against Climate Change Innovation Summits. And being the home of the Paris Climate Accord, there hardly seemed a more suitable location.

This year’s panellists included the likes of the renowned Christiana Figueres, the former UN Executive Secretary, Yves Bonnefont, CEO of the DS Brand, Shaun Kingsbury, former CEO of the UK Green Investment Bank, and Lei Zhang – Founder and CEO of digital energy company Envision.

Photo credit: DS Virgin Racing

Of course, being based around a Formula E event, of key discussion was the role of electric vehicles in helping us to keep global temperatures below 2°C – the figure widely regarded necessary to avoid the most serious effects of global warming. So what were the key points to come out of the discussions? Here’s our recap…

1 – Electric vehicles reduce emissions right now…

People might be put off buying an electric vehicle at the moment because the electricity that they’re using to charge the vehicle isn’t coming from a renewable source, so they assume that the emissions are just as bad. However, Sylvain Filippi, Chief Technology Officer at DS Virgin Racing, set us all straight on that.

“Even with current energy grids, electric vehicles will reduce emissions. And it’s only going to get better!”

Sylvain Filippi, Chief Technology Officer at DS Virgin Racing

He explained that Formula E is all about “testing and validating the technology on the racetrack” to be able to apply that to personal vehicles and move them to the road so that everyone can benefit.

2 – Electric vehicles are more than golf buggies…

It’s easy to fall into the trap of thinking that electric vehicles lack the power of their petrol or diesel counterparts but that’s simply not true. In fact, according to Yves Bonnefont, electric vehicles are the most accelerating vehicles you can make. Plus, there’s no vibration in them so they’re more enjoyable to drive.

“Once people have started to drive electric, they will never come back to internal combustion engines.”

Yves Bonnefont, CEO, DS Brand

Christiana Figueres likened it to other forms of old technology:

“It’s the equivalent of saying once you have a mobile would you ever want to go back to your landline? It’s the same logic. Once you’re in the future you certainly never want to go to the past.”

Christiana Figueres, Former UNFCCC Executive Secretary

3 – Switching to electric vehicles will have a significant impact…

Most people accept that electric vehicles are the future of the motoring industry and know that switching to them will help to reduce the negative impacts of climate change. But just what impact would it have if we all stopped driving petrol and diesel cars tomorrow?

Last month, when the streets of London were shut for one day for the Virgin Money London Marathon, we saw more than an 80 per cent drop in pollution in the city.

“That’s what we would see if everyone drove electric vehicles.”

Shaun Kingsbury, UK Green Investment Bank

4 – Renewable energy sources are still important…

While it would be an easy solution to adopt electric vehicles and benefit from the impact that they will bring without switching to renewable energy sources, it’s still important to explore alternative sources of power. “Renewable energy is not about just being a commodity, it’s about technology,” sais Lei Zhang. “And with technology, and every year that technology improves, and with it the cost of renewable energy comes down.”

These are the two races against climate change that the world is facing, according to the panel of experts: e-mobility and renewable energy. Indeed, Christiana Figueres adds: “Both of them need to complement each other and dovetail.”

But, as Shaun Kingsbury said, “we can’t solve this alone, that’s the key thing – it’s about bringing people together who can.”

Banner and thumbnail photo credit to DS-Virgin Racing

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2018 Sustainable Energy for All Forum - Day 2 Wrap-up

The second day of the Sustainable Energy for All Forum in Lisbon was about speed and scale of solutions. The urgency for bigger, bolder momentum on the SDG7 goals as well as backing words with movement and concrete action to leave no one behind.

“You say you’re doing okay with the richest of the poor. What are you doing with the poorest of the poor?” asked Greta Bull, CEO of the Consultative Group to Assist the Poor (CGAP), in a question that captured an important tone for the day.

The Forum’s closing day, with over 800 attendees present, did not disappoint. On a wide range of issues – energy access finance, bringing clean energy to refugee camps, clean cooking – government leaders, companies, NGOs, and financiers stepped up with new collaborations and commitments to achieve faster results.

And, with the Forum spurring a whole host of follow-up working meetings taking place in locations across Lisbon, more progress can be expected.

“We’ve got a theme here. Just do it."

Rachel Kyte, Chief Executive Officer

and Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General for Sustainable Energy for All

“I got the passion. I’m going back to Ghana with that passion,” added the Hon. Hajia Alima Mahama, Ghana’s Minister for Local Government and Rural Development.

At the close of the Forum, Kyte and Mahama were joined on the stage by dozens of leaders from government, business, academia, civil society and other groups who over the two days had made new action pledges.

The closing ceremony. Photo credits: Daniel Pinto Lopes / Connect4Climate

Among the day’s highlights

Sustainable Energy in Humanitarian Settings

With displaced populations increasing worldwide, the urgency for providing clean energy and clean cooking solutions at refugee camps and other humanitarian settings is growing. “They come, and they are welcome, but we need to provide for them,” said the Hon. Simon D’Ujanga, Uganda’s Minister of the State of Energy, which has 1.5 million refugees, most of whom rely on local firewood for cooking.

In a packed session, government leaders, UN officials, foundations and civil society pledged to work together to accelerate gains to bring clean, affordable energy to humanitarian settings. Everyone agreed that replicating success stories, such as solar plants that are now powering two refugee camps in Jordan, is imperative. “We’re still not being serious on this. What difference will you make between now and the end of the year and how can we hold ourselves accountable?” said Andrew Harper, director of the Division of Programme Support and Management at UNHCR, the UN refugee agency.

Spurring Energy Access Finance in Africa

More financing and different kinds of financing are critical for supporting and scaling projects and enterprises that are providing energy access in regions with the biggest gaps, particularly Sub-Saharan Africa. The European Union agree to boost spending on off-grid energy and last-mile electrification and off-grid. Provider Mobisol highlighted the significance of $30 million of local currency asset-backed financing.

Government Leadership

On day 1 left no doubt that governments, many of them in Africa, are stepping up on leadership in advancing strategies and policies that will accelerate SDG7 gains. “We now have a truly global leadership cohort of countries that have really ambitious plans and have set aggressive targets. We now have that with countries such as Bangladesh, Kenya and Rwanda,” Rachel Kyte said. Among the examples that emerged on day 1 there's Rwanda committed to reduce – from 83 percent to 42 percent – the percentage of its population cooking with traditional biomass fuels by 2024. Uganda and the Smart Communities Coalition agreed to work together to bring clean cooking and other sustainable energy solutions to the country’s growing refugee population. Somalia hosted a multi-stakeholder meeting in Lisbon to advance its efforts to run its economy on clean energy. Togo committed to 60 percent of new power connections by 2030, largely provided by the private sector.

Sustainable Energy for All Forum Lisbon - Leaving No One Behind

This year's Sustainable Energy for All Forum focused on leaving no one behind. Photo credits: Daniel Pinto Lopes / Connect4Climate

More announcements

During the Forum, the Shine campaign was officially launched with three-dozen groups from the faith and philanthropic sectors making commitments to mobilize financing for energy access efforts. Among others, those commitments included the Wallace Global Fund targeting one percent of its total investment portfolio to energy access efforts in Sub-Sahara Africa and the IKEA Foundation rolling out six new grants totaling over $40 million to support energy access work in Asia and Africa. SEforALL also signed a new Deliver Partnership with leading energy efficiency business, Danfoss. The partnership will focus on the Cooling for All initiative, the District Energy Systems Accelerator and work to continue action on energy efficiency that supports SDG7 goals. A new Middle East Hub was also announced by SEforALL and the Islamic Development Bank which will be hosted at ISDB Headquarters in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. The Hub will raise awareness at the national and regional level of the challenges, constraints, and opportunities available while achieving the three core objectives of SDG7.

Banner and thumbnail photo credits to Daniel Pinto Lopes / Connect4Climate

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