Current energy systems are not supporting the transition to a system based on Renewable Energies, agreed the participants of the third Public-Private Dialogue, organized by the IRENA Coalition for Action.
Policymakers, legislators, the private sector and civil society representatives present called for greater system flexibility, more active participation of market players and a redesign of the current configuration of the energy system to accommodate a higher proportion of Renewable Energies.
“We should be seeing explosive growth of Renewable Energy, however, this is not the case worldwide. Creating encouraging market designs will be key, ”said Ben Backwell, CEO of the World Wind Energy Council and co-chair of the Coalition's Group of Companies and Investors. This sentiment set the tone for discussions centered on how to achieve a 100 percent energy system based on Renewable Energies.
In the last decade, many countries have witnessed enormous advances in Renewable Energies according to the latest findings of the Coalition for Action in their white paper on public services in transition to 100 percent of Renewable Energies.
Rainer Hinrichs-Rahlwes, vice president of the European Federation of Renewable Energies and co-chair of the 'Towards 100 percent Renewable Energies' working group of the Coalition, said: “More and more countries, regions, cities and public service companies from all over the world recognize the benefits of moving to very high percentages of Renewable Energies, not only in power but also in all sectors of end use ”.
Address perceived risk
The expansion of investment is essential to advance Renewable Energy, particularly in regions with high renewable energy potential, such as Africa.
The participants in the dialogue demonstrated a significant interest in investing in that continent, however, the presence of real and perceived risks limits the flow of renewable energy projects, both small and large.
Although each country presents unique investment contexts, a series of common solutions to manage and mitigate risk were identified, including the creation of stable long-term policy frameworks; improve market design (with a focus on eliminating investment risks); and the adoption of integrated planning strategies focused on renewables.
Participants also agreed that early participation of local communities, continuous collaboration among all stakeholders and inclusive decision-making processes are key to ensuring that renewable energy projects lead to inclusive development.
In this context, Francesco La Camera, Director General of IRENA stressed the importance of platforms for public-private exchange and knowledge sharing. "The Public-Private Dialogue has become an important platform for IRENA to involve a variety of stakeholders in the discussion on how we can work better together to expand the deployment of renewable energy and maximize socio-economic benefits."
Throughout the meeting, participants expressed concern that the renewable energy goals in general, and the Nationally Determined Contributions (NDC) in particular, do not meet what It is needed to achieve global climate goals, especially in rich and high-carbon nations.
In reporting on the meeting at the opening of the IRENA Assembly, Bruce Douglas, Deputy Executive Director of Solar Power Europe, on behalf of the Coalition for Action, called on all governments to urgently improve their NDCs this year and reminded the countries: "significantly more ambitious renewable energy goals and national frameworks are required to achieve the objectives of the Paris Agreement".
The dialogue was organized by the IRENA Coalition for Action in the context of the Tenth IRENA Assembly on January 10. The meeting sought to foster a common understanding of the necessary steps to urgently increase the participation of Renewable Energies and accelerate investments.
This article originally appeared on www.pv-magazine-mexico.com, and has been republished with permission by pv magazine (www.pv-magazine.com and www.pv-magazine-mexico.com ).
