Green transformation: Prioritizing reliability in post-COVID-19 era
While striving to achieve the goal of net-zero carbon, the green transitioning process has frequently disregarded important subjects such as energy supply security and energy geopolitics
The two “black swans,” namely the coronavirus pandemic and the Russia-Ukraine war, have had significant and lasting impacts on global energy balances, causing disruptions and challenges. In the last three years, the decline in global fossil fuel prices due to COVID-19 and reduced energy demand during the pandemic led to a reduction in clean energy investments, which was a critical consequence. However, during this period, the discussion around the safe energy transition intensified, particularly in 2021.
The green transformation process, also known as the energy transformation, has often overlooked critical topics such as energy supply security and energy geopolitics while aiming for the target of achieving “net-zero carbon.” However, experts in the energy sector have highlighted that it is risky to discuss energy transformation without considering energy supply security.
The Russia-Ukraine war, which has entered its second year, has highlighted the importance of energy geopolitics and energy supply security in the discussion of energy transformation. As of 2023, the term “reliable energy transformation” is used to emphasize the significance of ensuring secure and uninterrupted energy supply while transitioning to green energy.
REALISTIC APPROACH NEEDED
The transition to green and clean energy is essential and it is widely accepted that a reliable and realistic approach is necessary to ensure energy supply security and transition to a period that will say goodbye to coal, oil and natural gas completely and meet the world’s energy needs entirely with green and clean energy technologies. This requires an investment of over $1 trillion by 2030. Therefore, a crucial pillar of reliable energy transformation is the development of new-generation sustainable investment finance opportunities.
Even Germany, which has taken significant steps to eliminate coal from its energy mix, had to reactivate coal-fired thermal power plants to maintain energy supply security. This highlights the challenges of reliable energy transformation and emphasizes the importance of considering energy geopolitics in the equation.
Ensuring access to rare earth elements, rare metals and raw materials required for green and clean energy transformation technologies is crucial for the security of the energy transition. It is imperative that all countries have access to these materials under fair conditions to ensure a successful and equitable transition toward green energy.
The security of the energy transformation is a significant responsibility and a pressing global problem that cannot be ignored. The international community needs to prioritize the development of fair transportation between continents and geographies, as well as easy access to the necessary commodities for a successful green energy transition. Failure to do so will result in missed opportunities to mitigate climate change and preserve the planet for future generations. The leading countries of the world must prioritize this issue and put it on their agenda.
Otherwise, we will have pushed aside an opportunity to stop climate change and save the earth.