In my last post one of my best friends, Rogelio Bustos, made the following comment: “Hope on the next article we can discuss what should be the next steps to create that willingness on the public sector to increase the investments in green energy“. And I think there’s not a concrete answer to that. This is a really complicated issue, but I’m going to give you my two cents on the topic (in a nutshell though).
Energy infrastructure
We have to start understanding that the energy system nowadays is going through a fast-paced revolution that is making the grid more and more complex. A few years back the conventional scenario was pretty much unidirectional and straightforward: energy is produced, transmitted, distributed, and consumed by the final users.
But, as I mentioned, the system nowadays is more complex: the energy flows in multiple directions, the share on renewables is bigger, there’s a deployment of local battery storage, and a rapid increase in smart-homes and smart-grids. What this is provoking it’s those once-upon-a-time silent consumers, are now active stakeholders.
The fact that users and other players (local produces, storage manufacturers, energy cooperatives…) are now part of the negotiation table (at least theoretically) increases (the frequency and volume of) the demands about what we want leaders to focus on. This leads me to the next topic.
Energy enters the mainstream arena
Energy concerns all of us. The industry itself used to be a field of technicians and engineers, but this new scenario requires more than sporadic attorneys or economists. Energy has become a Non-Market battleground, i.e. that even players that are not directly linked with the energy market itself are now part of the conversation. The number of stakeholders that deal with energy issues just keeps increasing and this leads to notable media coverage, especially on the extremes: those who think that change is not happening fast enough (e.g. Greta Thunberg’s), and the opposite side of the spectrum that believes that change is occurring rapidly and life is too costly now (e.g. Yellow Vest Movement).
And the issue about this is that politicians usually are going to pick one side or the other in the attempt to win more votes to get/retain power. We as a society have to understand that this energy transition is a complex topic and requires complex discussions. As I said, we have to understand that energy concerns and affects all of us (especially our present/future pockets and wellbeing), so we must demand and engage in these conversations, where we can use the correct platforms (media) to promote data-driven and sustainable (people-profit-planet) solutions: the idea is that we cannot stop or slow down the transition, but that we can put citizens at the center.
Innovation and collaboration are needed
Let’s take the case of Europe, The European Union understood that a paradigm shift is inevitable, so in 2019 the EU made a call to its 27 members to engage with an ambitious action plan: The European Green Deal (EGD). This is the “plan to make the EU’s economy sustainable.” How? By turning climate and environmental challenges into opportunities, and making the transition just and inclusive for all the citizens. Among the goals defined by the deal I can mention:
– technology investments
– industry innovation support
– energy sector decarbonization
– ensure building’s energy efficiency
– working with international partners to improve global environmental standards
We can summarize this in “Innovation and collaboration”. The EU is one of the densest regions on the planet and it has open borders, and we’re not talking just about people moving freely, we’re talking about talent and knowledge flowing without any restrictions, and that’s why many improvements commented in the first section are a reality over here thanks to an innovative ecosystem. The EU understood that this is a matter of also collaboration, which is reflected in many new technologies, business models, and initiatives emerging mostly by private organizations. This public-private alliance is crucial for a better future. As my professor, Barney Jordaan used to say: “Competition is about ‘value claiming’ while Collaboration is about ‘value creation’“. Ideally, the public sector should start this kind of movements, but in developing economies it might not be the immediate case, so we, as a society and most of us members of the private sector, should facilitate the innovation ecosystems with our peers, suppliers, and consumers, and then invite the public sector to facilitate the execution of better policies.
In conclusion
This is an issue very very complicated. But a lot of the responsibility relies on us, the citizens. We are the ones expected to act as advocates in this transition. We have to encourage others to join these conversations. We have to demand our leaders to focus on the complexity of the issues centering on the people and environment in the pursuit of solutions. We must foster innovation and collaboration.
In the last State of the Union, the European Parliament president, Ursula von der Leyen, said: “We choose to not only repair and recover for the here and now, but to shape a better way of living for the world of tomorrow.” Let own these words for our lives too, and let request to ourselves and our leaders a better way of living.
Carlos.
References:
1.Vlerick Business School (2019). “Five years of the Vlerick Energy Centre”.
2. Personal notes on the Full-Time MBA courses by Professor Leonardo Meus: “Bootcamp: Renewable Energies” and “Non Market Strategy”
3. European Commision (2020). “State of the Union Address by President von der Leyen at the European Parliament Plenary” https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/SPEECH_20_1655
4. European Commision (2020). “A European Green Deal” https://ec.europa.eu/info/strategy/priorities-2019-2024/european-green-deal_en
5. European Commision (2020). “Clean energy for all Europeans package” https://ec.europa.eu/energy/topics/energy-strategy/clean-energy-all-europeans_en
6. Francesca Gino (2020). “Cracking the Code of Sustained Collaboration”. https://hbr.org/2019/11/cracking-the-code-of-sustained-collaboration