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Seeking Solutions: Energy, Climate Change and Development
Andris Piebalgs, European Union Development Commissioner, presented Europe's ambitious approach to energy sustainability and international development in an October 4 lecture, part of SIPA’s Leaders in Global Energy series.
Creating sustainable energy while protecting the environment and reaffirming corporate citizenship is one of the great challenges of this century. The Leaders in Global Energy lecture series is the centerpiece of SIPA's initiative to identify solutions to this challenge. In September, SIPA hosted Nobuo Tanaka, executive director of the International Energy Agency, José Manuel Barroso, president of the European Commission, and José Sócrates, Prime Minister of Portugal.
In addition to the lecture series, a panel discussion is scheduled for October 11 on climate change and congressional paralysis. The discussion is sponsored by SIPA’s Center for Energy, Marine Transportation and Public Policy (CEMTPP) and Columbia Law School.
SIPA faculty members and researchers also participated in the unveiling of the World Bank’s new Rapid Assessment Framework for analyzing energy efficiency opportunities in developing country cities. The CEMTPP’s Stephen Hammer and Adam Hinge served as technical advisors on the project, which is designed to help local authorities identify those sectors with the greatest potential for energy efficiency gains and develop a preliminary action plan.
Energy and development are inextricably linked, according to Piebalgs, formerly the European Union's Energy Commissioner. In his lecture, Piebalgs noted that fewer than 8 percent of people in rural, sub-Saharan Africa have access to electricity.
"Without access to electricity, how can we pretend that people have the chance to pull themselves out of poverty?" he said.
Watch a video of Piebalgs' lecture here. 
See his PowerPoint presentation here.
View a photo album from the lecture and reception. 
Climate change is also threatening to cause widespread famine and migration, Piebalgs said. The European Union is responding to the challenge of climate change, as well as the volatility of fossil fuel prices, with a sweeping new energy policy.
This "20-20-20" energy policy commits the European Union to reducing its greenhouse gas emissions by 20 percent by 2020 through renewable energy and increased efficiency. If the world reaches a sufficient international agreement on climate change, the European Union will reduce its emissions by 30 percent by 2020.
"These are indeed huge challenges, but the EU is determined to achieve them," he said. "We are willing to do anything to secure our children's future, and this is one of the most fundamental things we must do."
The European Union has already achieved notable progress on climate and energy. But Piebalgs noted that Europe cannot solve the problem on its own. Citizens in the United States use twice as much electricity as European citizens, he said. The developing world must also take part in an international agreement.
Nevertheless, the developed world is responsible for almost all of the world's accumulated greenhouse gas emissions, and an international agreement must not constrain the growth of developing economies, he said.
Ultimately, the best opportunities for countries to increase energy security and decrease greenhouse gas emissions are through better energy efficiency, Piebalgs said. That is where the World Bank’s Rapid Assessment Framework, developed with the help of SIPA faculty, may be useful.
“It’s a new approach to analyzing energy use at the city level,” says Hammer. “The user looks at energy ‘vital signs’ in a city, benchmarking that city’s performance against dozens of other cities. Using the data, city authorities target sectors for improvement and develop solutions to help them become more efficient.
All of this is done in less than three months, notes Hammer. “This system is not for every city, but it should be a real help in cities that don’t have a lot of trained staff capable of examining these issues.”
The World Bank expects to deploy the Rapid Assessment Framework in several cities around the world in the coming year.
Alex Burnett/Tim Shenk, 10/06/2010