Your podcast discovery platform
Curious minds select the most fascinating podcasts from around the world. Discover hand-piqd audio recommendations on your favorite topics.
piqer for: Climate and Environment Global finds
Passionate about solutions that empower citizens in their fight for energy democracy. She will be curating an online discussion about the current energy transition, covering news on smart grid developments, new regulatory solutions supportive of citizen-owned renewable energy and much more.
Sustainable Energy Transition Has To Be Non-Partisan
More and more often, while following conversations on the energy transition, I get the feeling that racing for numbers sidetracks everyone from the actual goal, or at least from discussing what the goal should be.
Which is why the arguments put forward by the German scientist and author of the Energy Democracy — Germany’s Energiewende to Renewables, Arne Jungjohann, are so valuable.
Energiewende got a lot of international attention, but for the wrong reasons, argues the analyst. It is often portrayed as a leader in deploying an increasing number of renewables. What makes Germany’s story so unique, though, is that it is citizens that are driving the transition.
When asked how Germans got utility companies to accept citizen-owned renewable energy, Jungjohann replies: "The real question is, how did Germans convince politicians to pass laws that would allow citizen energy?”
He further argues that the clean energy transition must remain non-partisan: "if we want to make meaningful progress on climate change, we have to get big money out of politics". He adds: "otherwise we cannot create the stability and certainty that is needed".Renewable energy is clearly starting to win the price race. Now might be the time to focus on the HOW. If we want to transition in a sustainable manner, we need to make sure that citizens are legally allowed to take part in this rally.
