Here’s how to speed up the energy transition. Enel-Ambrosetti report
The European Union and Italy are lagging behind on decarbonisation: Enel and The European House – Ambrosetti proposals to accelerate the transition
Positive impacts on Gross Domestic Product and employment, as well as various environmental benefits. Effectively managing the energy transition by improving the efficiency of governance is an essential prerequisite not only to guarantee the sustainability of the energy system, but also to seize an unmissable opportunity to create value and employment. This is what emerges from the "European Governance of the Energy Transition" study, carried out by the Enel Foundation and The European House – Ambrosetti in collaboration with Enel, anticipated as part of the The European House – Ambrosetti Forum, in a press conference attended by Valerio De Molli, Managing Partner & CEO of The European House – Ambrosetti, Francesco Starace, CEO and General Manager of Enel and Stefano Manservisi, Professor and Member of the Independent International Task Force on Creative Action for Climate, Sciences Po – School of Paris for international affairs.
"The EU decision to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 55%, and no more than 40%, by 2030 (compared to 1990 levels), accompanied by the recent proposal of the" Fit for 55 "package, confirms that the decarbonisation is at the heart of building the Europe of the future. " commented Francesco Starace, Enel's Chief Executive Officer and General Manager.
"Bridging the investment gap with around 3,600 billion euros needed to reach the 2030 target in Europe, of which around 190 billion in Italy alone, would have a cumulative impact on GDP of over 8,000 billion euros, of which over 400 only in our country. However, at the current pace, Europe would only center the new 2030 target on renewables in 2043. It would be too late and it would be a shame to miss the opportunity to create such great economic value as well. It is therefore necessary to accelerate and equip ourselves with a governance system that is adequate to the extent of the challenge, capable of translating intentions into concrete action and exploiting the enormous opportunities that derive from this commitment. "
“The time has come for Europe to rapidly implement the energy transition, to seize the opportunity to revolutionize the perception and management methods of the entire energy sector. This sector has the potential to catalyze a far-reaching vision for the future – a potential of which European institutions are fully aware ”commented Valerio De Molli, Managing Partner and CEO of The European House – Ambrosetti.
“Europe's commitment has been confirmed and further corroborated by the recent“ Fit for 55 ”package, which envisages a very ambitious energy transition path for the continent. Europe will have to multiply its efforts to implement this change because, at this rate, the continent would reach the new target of reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 55% not in 2030, but in 2051, which is 21 years late . As for renewable energies, at the current pace, the new target of 40% set for 2030 would only be reached in 2043. From the point of view of energy efficiency, with the current levels of improvement, Europe will reach an altitude + 36% in 2053 instead of 2030. "
Climate change is the greatest challenge of our time, a global threat that transcends the borders of individual states and has direct consequences on the lives of all of us. Since the 1990s, the European Union has played a leading role at an international level in the fight against climate change, adopting ad hoc policies and setting very ambitious targets to reduce greenhouse gases, increase the share of energy from renewable sources in consumption. final and improve energy efficiency. Over the past two years, the European Commission has raised the bar and in July 2021 has thus raised the target of reducing greenhouse gas emissions from the previous 40% to at least 55% by 2030 compared to 1990 levels. ambitious goal that over the next decade aims to consolidate the position of the EU as a global leader in the energy transition.
Investments in the sectors involved in the energy transition process would generate cascading benefits, both in Europe and in Italy with important indirect and induced effects. Indeed, the study shows that bridging these gaps over the next 10 years could have a cumulative impact on GDP of over € 8 trillion in the European Union and over € 400 billion in Italy.
Europe therefore has an unprecedented opportunity to launch investments commensurate with the stakes. The Next Generation EU, a € 750 billion multi-year plan aimed at creating a more connected, sustainable and resilient Europe, is at the heart of the European strategy for recovery. Italy is the main beneficiary of the Next Generation EU and has drawn up an Italian National Recovery and Resilience Plan (PNRR) which amounts to approximately 235 billion euros, of which 30% is dedicated to the “green revolution” mission.
Faced with this great opportunity for value creation and the urgency associated with climate change, the study shows that, at the current pace, Europe would reach the new target of 55% reduction of greenhouse gases in 2051 alone, with a 21 years behind 2030. As regards the other new targets set for renewables (40%) and energy efficiency (+ 36%), Europe is also lagging behind in this case: at the current rate, achieved in 2043 and 2053 respectively. In Italy, the PNIEC has yet to be revised in the light of the “Fit for 55” package. An estimate of the new targets for 2030 for Italy could be as follows: a 43% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions, a 37.9% contribution from renewable energies and an increase in energy efficiency of 46.4%. By evaluating the
Italy's current performance in achieving these objectives, an average delay of 29 years emerges, compared to 19 in Europe, with a delay of 24 years for renewable energies.
A rapid change of course is therefore necessary, capable of putting Europe in a position to make the investments necessary to make up for the delay accumulated over the years and accelerate the creation of economic value. In order to unlock the necessary investments, it is essential to overcome the current obstacles in the governance of the energy transition. The study analyzes the current governance structure, defined as the set of roles, rules, procedures and tools (at the legislative, implementation and control level) relating to the management of the energy transition, aimed at achieving strategic and operational objectives. The study shows that the governance of the energy transition in Europe has to deal with three main issues: energy is a competing competence between Member States and the EU, there is a growing need to implement a new enforcement system " indirect "and it is necessary to strengthen the new mechanism for managing green objectives. In Italy, the effectiveness of the governance of the energy transition is limited by five factors: the fragmentation of responsibilities among the various stakeholders at different levels, the non-uniformity of local regulations and the local application of national regulations, a weak involvement and commitment of institutions and local communities that erodes social acceptability, the inefficiencies linked to the role of technical-administrative public bodies and the fragmentation of the formulation of sectoral policies.
To overcome the challenges highlighted above, the study focused on seven proposals, divided according to their respective sphere of action: European (in its two internal and external dimensions) and Italian. As regards the internal European dimension, it is proposed to strengthen cooperation in the governance of the energy transition, officially recognizing its critical role and to adopt a regional approach to favor the integration of European markets; as regards the external dimension of the European Union, the study proposes to encourage the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) at an international level and to promote more effective mechanisms to ensure that Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) are consistent with the objectives of the Paris Agreement. Finally, as regards the Italian sphere of action, it is proposed to simplify the authorization procedures for renewable source plants and promote interventions in favor of energy efficiency, to create a homogeneous and standardized interaction mechanism between local authorities on the one hand and electricity distributors (Distribution System Operators, DSOs) and charge point operators (CPOs) on the other, to encourage the development of the charging infrastructure, and finally to promote the full integration of industrial districts and clusters of businesses at local level, innovation ecosystems and energy communities with the national distribution network.
Article published on energiaoltre.it
This is a machine translation from Italian language of a post published on Start Magazine at the URL https://www.startmag.it/energia/ecco-come-accelerare-la-transizione-energetica-report-enel-ambrosetti/ on Sat, 25 Sep 2021 04:52:27 +0000.