EconomyEnergy transition: do all roads lead to Rome?

Energy transition: do all roads lead to Rome?

(Expansion) – The right of future generations to inhabit planet Earth under conditions that guarantee the survival and continuity of the human species has been installed at the epicenter of the current international debate on energy.

As part of the great projects of economic development of the countries, it is common to find public policies related to the transition of their energy systems towards the coming decades.

At the international level, more than 190 signatory countries of the Paris Agreement have committed to adopt progressive measures, in cycles of five years, aimed at reducing the emission of greenhouse gases and thereby contributing to the great goal of limiting global warming to less than two degrees Celsius, taking pre-industrial levels as a reference.

The path outlined is intended to be built from the development of technologies that allow the expansion in the use of clean and renewable energy sources, which once and for all replace the current energy system based on fossil fuels. We insistently hear in various public opinion forums that it is urgent to advance in energy conversion to ensure the continuity of the planet and improve the life expectancies of our descendants.

No one in their right mind can deny the moral forcefulness of this aspiration, however, in an unequal world the cases and possible solutions can be diverse. Are all countries capable of carrying out this energy transition? Should we consider the right of current generations of young people to their full development, for which they require today, not tomorrow, prosperous countries that forge adequate opportunities for job placement and entrepreneurship? How can we reconcile the development needs of present and future nations in an equitable and sustainable manner?

The energy transition has multiple aspects and starting points. European countries have been applying common policies for more than half a century to advance economic development models that are increasingly oriented towards sustainability, which, however, have been insufficient to prevent their vulnerability from coming to light as a result of the war between Russia and Ukraine.

Faced with this emergency, the main European economies are trying to reach agreements to jointly replace purchases of Russian gas and oil in the short term, and speed up the necessary investments to achieve energy self-sufficiency.

The United States and China are the main consumers of fossil fuels and the ones that generate the most greenhouse gases, but they are also the countries that are currently making the largest investments in the development of renewable energy sources.

The reality for developing economies is different. Some of these countries have large reserves of fossil fuels that they have not exploited but that they intend to do so to boost their economic development, just as the now developed nations did after the second post-war period.

It is no coincidence that in Asia, a region that has become the locomotive of the world economy, the largest number of refineries are being built to process fossil fuels that will be transformed into gasoline or inputs for the petrochemical industry.

Today one of the great challenges of the energy sector is to be able to use renewable energies in a uniform and constant manner. In addition, there are differences in the availability of primary energy sources and in this sector there is a wide technological gap between developed and emerging countries and the poorest.

On the other hand, it is a fact that fossil fuel processing techniques are being improved, which is contributing to the reduction of greenhouse gases, such as carbon sequestration technology, which consists of eliminating carbon dioxide from the atmosphere through natural or artificial means, storing it in liquid or solid form in oceans, soils or forests.

We are therefore facing a scenario where technology plays a fundamental role in optimizing the use of different energy sources, complying with safety, reliability, stability and sustainability criteria.

Beyond these technical conditions, governments must design their energy transition based on their resources and needs, implementing well-articulated programs, with a vision of the present and the future, that ensure the rational exploitation of energy resources, take advantage of competitive advantages, generate favorable conditions for an adequate complementation of public and private investment, and guarantee energy security within the framework of sustainable economic development.

How prepared are we in Mexico to carry out this energy transition? The question is pending for a next installment.

Editor’s note: Celsa Guadalupe Sánchez Vélez is Director of the College of Administration and Business of the CETYS University System. Follow her on . The opinions published in this column belong exclusively to the author.

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