The global energy transition is achievable

“The energy transition is a huge opportunity for all of you. And it is a lot less complicated than you think to implement it in your countries.” Anton Milner, a German-British entrepreneur and a pioneer in the German solar industry, made this powerful appeal to high-ranking representatives of more than 90 countries, who were listening to his speech in the packed Weltsaal hall of the Federal Foreign Office at the Berlin Energy Transition Dialogue (BETD) in the German capital. Though the conference was overshadowed by the warning in the latest IPPC report that we are not on track and not making fast enough progress, Milner had a rather different and very clear message: the global energy transition is achievable.

As Milner emphasised, the technology already exists and even today there is essentially no longer any cheaper alternative to renewable energies. The capital is also available, he asserted, appealing to policymakers: “You will generate incredible prosperity, you will generate millions of jobs, you will soon be using green hydrogen on a grand scale.” He said that there was only one parameter that required adjustment – namely the political will. “If the political conditions aren’t right, nothing will happen. Once the prerequisites are in place, however, markets will emerge and the transition will come of its own accord.”

Huge potential as a result of the energy transition

In saying this, the entrepreneur summed up a leitmotif of the entire Berlin Energy Transition Dialogue, which was held for the ninth time in 2023: the firm conviction that we have all the means at our disposal to successfully transition to a more climate-friendly future through concerted action.

The speech given by Kenyan President William Ruto revealed just how great the potential is that the countries of the Global South can mobilise to drive a global energy transition. His own country already derives 90 percent of its electricity from solar, wind and hydroelectric plants and is striving to reach climate neutrality by 2030. Ruto considered it important to point out that the countries of the African continent were indeed most susceptible to the impacts of climate change at present, saying that 600 million people had no access to energy. Ruto added however that Africa was not only a victim but also an important player when it comes to renewable energies on a global scale. If full advantage were taken of Africa’s potential for generating green electricity, one could assume that enough green power would be created to exceed the global energy consumption predicted for the year 2040 by a factor of 50.

More support for countries of the Global South

But what must happen for countries of the African continent, and indeed of other continents, to become key partners in the global energy transition? The most important parameter, it was claimed at many panels, involves increasing the investment volume for developing countries. As stressed by Sultan bin Ahmed Al Jaber, president of the next UN Climate Change Conference COP 28, they received only 20 percent of investments in renewable energies last year despite being home to 70 percent of the global population. According to UN Special Representative Damilola Ogunbiyi, the countries of sub-Saharan Africa receive only 1.5 percent of the global investment volume.

In addition, many countries are indebted and cannot access favourable conditions on the capital market, as Germany’s Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock also emphasised in her opening speech. This is one reason why Germany is pushing for a reform of the World Bank, the largest provider of funding for global development cooperation. The idea is to support global public goods to a much greater extent than before. Baerbock also explained that a possible cancellation of debt should also be negotiated in the G20 group of countries in the near future.

Deepening international energy partnerships

Germany’s foreign minister also believes it is important to understand that climate action is a challenge that can only be tackled jointly. Asserting that there was no “one size fits all” solution, she said that each country had specific underlying circumstances that needed to be considered. To this end, Germany has long been involved in a whole host of energy partnerships with countries around the world.

The will to bring about change was certainly palpable, at least among the participants in the Berlin Energy Transition Dialogue. Germany’s Economic Affairs and Climate Protection Minister Robert Habeck concisely summed up why there can be no alternative to achieving this as follows: “Ultimately, we need to understand that climate protection does not really mean protecting the climate, but protecting ourselves.”