The world population is already more than 7 billion – a number that could exceed 11 billion by 2100, according to projections from the United Nations. This rising population, coupled with environmental challenges, puts even greater pressure on already strained energy resources. Historically, there has been a limit to the number of things that can run on electricity: many industrial processes and transportation technologies rely on their own combustion engines to run. However, as technology improves, it is increasingly possible for this need for an on-site, fossil-fuel powered combustion engine to be replaced with electricity, a process known as electrification.
Broadly speaking, energy transition refers to the move from fossil fuels as the primary source of energy to green and renewable sources of energy. This is a process that started almost 40 years when scientists concluded that global warming (climate change), if left unchecked, would rob us of the Earth as we know it today. Since then, climate goals, including the most recent Paris Climate Accord of 2015, have set global carbon emissions goals to save the environment. With energy being one of the biggest contributors of carbon emissions into the atmosphere (during its production and use), targets were set to reduce the share of dirty fuels in the global energy mix by moving away from coal and diesel and adopting cleaner sources of energy like gas and nuclear, and developing more sustainable energy sources like hydro, solar and wind.
The just energy transition refers to a transition to renewables that takes into consideration the lives and livelihoods of those currently involved in the energy set up we have and wish to move away from. From coal miners (owners and workers) to coal transporters and those working in coal-fired power plants, many families would be negatively affected by a transition that is not inclusive and properly planned. Every government has a responsibility to manage its energy transition in a pace and way that is sustainable for all its key stakeholders.
The ambitious targets established at the Paris Climate Agreement in 2015 set the tone for the energy transition drive. The widely accepted target is to limit the increase in global temperatures to 1.5 degrees or 2 degrees at most, by 2050. Meeting these targets means decarbonising the energy sector, quickly. Meeting these targets requires a transition of the global economy from one based on fossil fuels to one largely powered by renewable and low to zero-carbon production and consumption of energy, with increased emphasis on circular economy.
By promoting solar-based renewable energy solutions in a decentralized and self-generation model, MiPOWA puts the power to affect the achievement of climate goals right in the hands of ordinary people. We must be the change that we want to see. Ordinary electricity consumers, from households to small businesses and corporates, have the power to save the planet by adopting renewable energy, implementing energy efficiency practices, and optimizing energy consumption with smart demand management technology. The solar and energy storage solutions promoted and implemented by MiPOWA will also plug seamlessly into the e-mobility future that is increasingly becoming a reality, with more and more electric vehicles hitting the road.
