Decarbonising energy: a revolution brimming with opportunities

States, citizens, civil society and companies need to unite to meet the challenges created by the need for energy transition, for the decarbonisation of the economy and for digital transition in order to ensure the technological leap that will enable these changes in the economy to occur with no hiccups

The Portuguese Government intends to reduce national emissions by 45% to 55% by 2030. However, the investments made in the energy and digital transition processes necessary for this to happen must be regulated and be in line with the Millennium Sustainable Development Goals, with state funding based on tax incentives. These were the main conclusions drawn at the Decarbonisation and Energy Conference held within the scope of the celebrations of the 5th anniversary of the SDG (Sustainable Development Goals) Alliance Portugal. Organised by the Global Compact Network Portugal, the Portuguese network of the United Nations Organisation's corporate sustainability initiative, the event featured six areas of activity, identified as vectors of change that could leverage the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals on a global scale, including the topic of this conference.

EMISSIONS DOWN AND THE EU ECONOMY ON THE UP

According to data published by the European Commission, the level of emissions in the EU fell by 24% between 1990 and 2019, while the economy grew by around 60% in the same period. This data illustrates that the work done so far in Europe has been going well. However, countries are still a long way from reaching the emission reduction targets agreed upon at the Paris Summit and the European goal of carbon neutrality by 2050.

Consequently, climate change and global warming have faced the challenge of decarbonisation, which affects all sectors and companies, particularly those active in the field of energy, and represents one of humanity's greatest current challenges. Here in Portugal, the goals of the National Energy and Climate Plan indicate a 45% to 55% reduction in emissions by 2030 compared to 2005, a 35% increase in energy efficiency, a 47% increase in the production of renewable energy, and a 20% and 15% increase in the use of renewables in transport and electrical interconnections respectively. This data was released by Filipe Duarte Santos, a retired professor of physics at the University of Lisbon School of Sciences and president of the National Council for Environment and Sustainable Development, for debate at the digital conference on Decarbonisation and Energy.

As far as Teresa Ponce de Leão, chairperson of the Board of Directors of the National Civil Engineering Laboratory (LNEG), is concerned, this “is a time of major revolution, but also of great opportunities”. As the European Ecological Pact intends to decarbonise all sectors of activity, calling for systems integration and sector coupling, the agenda of the European Union and its member states is now focused, above all, on energy transition to deal with the issue of decarbonisation and digital transition in order to guarantee the essential technological leap to enable these changes in the economy to occur with no hiccups. Furthermore, the main current challenges in Europe and the world are overcoming the Covid-19 pandemic, demographic issues and social and economic inequalities. In the opinion of Carlos Costa Pina, Executive Director of Galp, all these issues are important and require a joint approach, not only by states and public powers and policies, but also by citizens, civil society and companies. “One of the main things promoted by the Sustainable Development Goals is the combined efforts of all those involved”, he argues, adding that “this isn´t something the market can solve on its own”.

Moreover, “integrated regulations in Europe for all energy sectors and vectors” will also be of paramount importance, declares Teresa Ponce de Leão, and the projects to be financed will need to be evaluated in accordance with the SDGs as a means of ensuring we only invest in those developed pursuant to the aforementioned indicators. "Otherwise, there will be no consistency in the use of the funds", she explained.

TAX REFORMS FOR THE ENVIRONMENT

In addition to defending tax reforms in the energy and environment sectors, João Dias Coelho, president of the Land Planning and Environmental Study Group (GEOTA) Executive Committee, emphasised, in turn, that the best way for the state to invest in energy transition is through the creation of tax incentives for companies and individuals, as although “the state needs to invest, this needs to be done well, reserving subsidies for the most needy only, thereby ensuring everyone has access”.
The debate also addressed various renewable energy solutions for decarbonising the Portuguese economy, with an emphasis on solar energy, whose technology is on the market at highly competitive prices. According to Pedro Furtado, director of Regulation and Statistics at REN, "the current challenge is to incorporate this renewable energy into the system while guaranteeing end consumers security of supply”.