Ember’s Post

Very interesting conversation underway at the Coal and Energy Transition Day. What is in store for us for the future in South Africa.? Watch this space and we will share key insights after the debate #energytransition #joburgindaba #partnersinperformance Brian Innes Bernard Swanepoel

🌍 African fossil fuels have gained attention amid Europe's search for alternatives to Russian oil. African governments being courted for oil and gas concessions should be hedging their bets and should tap into the opportunity to carbon offset investments in sustainable and clean energy. Read the full article to learn more:  #Energy #AfricaDevelopment #RenewableEnergy #Sustainability  

In their series “Fossil Fools” and a new series “The Other Petrostates” today the Guardian published an article starting with the following two paragraphs. It would seem that Governments in very wealthy countries talk a good game about climate change, renewables, less oil and gas - but are being hypocritical or worse. “A classic petrostate – think Saudi Arabia, Russia, Nigeria and Venezuela – is a country that is highly dependent on oil and gas fossil fuel revenues. But this definition excludes wealthy countries that are not economically dependent on oil and gas revenue but continue to expand production, despite having the technological capacity and financial resources to transition to renewables. These high-capacity, low-dependency countries could – and should under the legally binding Paris accords – be leading the green transition. It’s these expansionist countries that we’re calling out in our new series The other petrostates. In collaboration with some brilliant (and very patient) researchers at the International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD), we found that a surge in new oil and gas production in 2024 could unleash almost 12bn tonnes of planet-heating emissions, with the world’s wealthiest countries leading the expansion – in spite of their bold climate commitments. In fact, high-capacity, low-dependence countries such as the US, UK, and Norway – also known as the other petrostates – handed out 825 new licences in 2023, the highest number since records began.”

As we argue in our book, The Great Remobilization ( with Olaf J Groth, PhD and Terence Tse, PhD published by The MIT Press), #Climate #Economy (one of our 5Cs framework) is going to take us into a concurrent transition towards renewables, but not without apparent controversies as we continue to boost fossil fuels. The transition needs to be understood in a bit less linear fashion than what the name #justtransition may suggest. In this brilliant analysis, political economist Ian Bremmer describes the #bonanza of #energy that has created a new super-era of energy dominance for the United States. With 13 million barrels per day, the US is the largest producer of crude oil in the world, by a big margin. And it is also the biggest world's exporter of liquified natural gas (LNG) in the world, outperforming Australia and Qatar. At the same time, large investments in #renewables are prospecting over 80% of all new electric-generating capacity in the country, by the end of 2024. So while fossil fuels are not going to disappear any time soon, Bremmer highlights the silver lining into this bonanza: " For progressives’ ambitious #decarbonization policies to really work, they have to be politically sustainable. That means that they have to bring ordinary people along, not just in the future but now, and the way to do that is by ensuring low and stable energy prices. Boosting US oil and gas production as bridge fuels at the same time as we invest hundreds of billions of dollars to make clean energy cheaper and wean the world off carbon does exactly that, trading slightly higher emissions today for much lower emissions tomorrow". While some may think that we are running out of time, the transition will only happen within the capacity of the system to be able to reform itself from within. Energy is an incredible entangled network of economic players worldwide and it feeds both internal and external trade dynamics. The realism of this analysis is that this very same argument and approach towards energy could have started way sooner than now. History will be somehow the ultimate judge. For the time being, within the plausibility of the present, we should consider this "extraordinaire" and somehow, celebrate it... https://lnkd.in/dc7CXfAa

Very insightful read - top quote, in my opinion, is this: "For ambitious #decarbonization policies to really work, they have to be politically sustainable. That means that they have to bring ordinary people along, not just in the future but now, and the way to do that is by ensuring low and stable energy prices. Boosting oil and gas production as bridge fuels at the same time as we invest hundreds of billions of dollars to make clean energy cheaper and wean the world off carbon does exactly that, trading slightly higher emissions today for much lower emissions tomorrow".

How is the conversation around the energy transition changing and what are the implications for South Africa? Interesting panel discussion taking place at Coal & Energy Day with Alex McNamara, Saliem Fakir Joanne Yawitch Shamini Harrington Brian Innes and Bernard Swanepoel. #Partnersinperformance #EnergyTransition #SouthAfrica #CoalAndEnergyDay

Germany’s saying "No thanks!" to Canadian natural gas? They’re cutting imports by 30% by 2030 and a whopping 96% by 2050! Instead, they’re going all in on renewables and hydrogen. While that might seem like bad news for Canada’s energy exports, the real question is, are we ready to shift gears from gas to green energy fast enough to seize this opportunity? Time for a rethink! #EnergyShift #CanadaGermany #HydrogenFuture #RenewableEnergy #CriticalMinerals

As South Africa navigates its energy transition, balancing the need for reliable power with environmental concerns remains a complex challenge. With coal expected to play a significant role for the foreseeable future, the nation continues to seek sustainable solutions for its energy needs. Follow the story on the link below. 🔗 https://lnkd.in/dvitr2Z4

An insightful new article on reforming the capacity payment mechanism in China by my colleagues Max Dupuy and Chi (William) Gao.