It was encouraging that the heads of the European Investment Bank (EIB), the European Central Bank (ECB) and the International Energy Agency (IEA) called on leaders from government, finance and industry across Europe to deliver a clean energy transition that is just, swift and maintains competitiveness. Ministers, ambassadors, business leaders, central bankers and other key stakeholders gathered at the IEA’s headquarters in Paris for the high-level conference. In opening remarks to delegates, ECB President Christine Lagarde, EIB President Werner Hoyer and IEA Executive Director Fatih Birol called for action to accelerate the clean energy transition. The conference took place in the context of a worrying backlash to the European Green Deal and the long-term climate and energy objectives. Multiple political leaders across Europe have hinted at or announced a pause on climate measures.
See one article on the high-level conference generated with the support of AI by Investing.com.
Last week EiD referred to the serious roll-back of net zero targets and timetable by the UK government and the scrapping of the high level task force on energy efficiency. The UK Parliament’s Environmental Audit Committee wrote its response in a letter to the Prime Minister questioning how the Government plans to reach 2050 in light of the rollbacks and expressing concern at the Prime Minister’s characterisation of net zero as a ‘binary choice’ between unrealistic support and justified opposition to excessive cost. Objective oversight is welcome. Now let’s see how the PM responds. We cannot afford backsliding, especially by a country that considers itself the global leader in achieving net zero.
To ensure the zero carbon energy transition gains momentum we need a new generation of experts to continue the good work. EiD encourages all young researchers (born after 1988) in energy efficiency and biomass to submit contributions for next year’s Young Energy Researchers Conference on March 5th as part of World Sustainable Energy Days, March 5-8, 2024 in Wels, Austria. Altogether there are six conferences and a tradeshow packed into the four days. The theme of this year’s energy efficiency conference is “Energy efficiency now – fast, smart, resilient!” Submissions for the young energy researchers conference are invited from any scientific field (e.g. technology, engineering, economics, social sciences, architecture, law, arts) and must be in English only. The deadline for submissions is October 10th. You only have days left! Rod is a member of the scientific committee for the young researchers’ conference.
Enrico Fermi (1901-1954), an Italian-American physicist and Nobel laureate renowned for being the creator of the world’s first nuclear reactor, the Chicago Pile-1, and a member of the Manhattan Project, gives his views on research: “There are two possible outcomes: If the result confirms the hypothesis, then you’ve made a measurement. If the result is contrary to the hypothesis, then you’ve made a discovery.”
With so many people on the move this year, here is some useful news to help you along:
- It is encouraging to see the growing demand for train travel. Euronews provides us with the best new European train routes launching in 2023 and 2024.
- If you’re interested in a cycling trip this year, have a look at the Best Cycling Destinations in Europe.
- For those travelling in the US, Lonely Planet provides 9 of the most incredible train journeys in the USA.
EiD welcomes your views about this week’s selection of posts on the zero-carbon energy transition:
Please send us your comments on any of the posts. EiD hopes you to follow us on X at @EnergyDemand and @rodjanssen. Please recommend EiD to your friends and colleagues.
Energy in Demand - Sustainable Energy - Rod Janssen 