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Last week The Solar Impulse, an aircraft powered only by solar energy, completed its first international flight − Going non stop from Switzerland to Brussels.
While this solar spectacle thrilled green enthusiasts around the world, I was humming “Baby you can drive my car” - experiencing my own LICENSE TO THRILL, co-driving a Tesla in an electric car race.
And between you and me I must admit, that my heart DROPPED, as the speed went right UP.
And I can’t say any great calm, came over me, even if I did try to catch my cool, when my co-driver pointed to his glass eye, right after crossing the finishing line.
The only thing cool about that was all the shiny new electric cars and hybrids: As ’Newsweek’ recently wrote; ”These babies aren’t just for vegans who compost and watch reruns of An inconvenient truth”.
The only problem with these cars seems to be, that they aren’t making enough noise. Although I sincerely doubt, that this is a huge problem in daily traffic.
Electric cars are not the solution to all of our problems,
But transport is certainly a tough nut to crack.
It is however one we need to crack to obtain a fossil fuel free society.
The question is no longer if we need to change, but how we are going to change.
But why has change become so crucial?
I’ll here point to 3 explanations.
First, in 2050, there will be nine billion people on Earth. All of them, not least the Chinese and Indians,
will demand the same material goods as us – whether that’s cars, travel or just basic electricity at home.
That’s going to send global energy needs soaring.
Secondly, in the next 25 years alone, the world’s energy consumption is predicted to increase by a third.
At the same time, extraction of oil from known fields is declining.
Although new analysis from the International Energy Agency show a slow down in global energy demand, the IEA still expects oil prices to stay at the current high level.
So, there is no ease in sight for the strained world economy.
The writing on the wall is clear: oil dependence is a dangerous habit.
That’s why we can’t just continue with conventional sources of energy.
Or to quote Albert Einstein: ”The problems we have today cannot be solved by thinking the way we thought, when we created them”.
Hence, we simply need to embark upon a paradigm shift in our energy policy.
Almost all countries worldwide want to limit their energy consumption and overreliance on fossil fuels.
Hence, green tech is one of the world’s fastest growing markets.
And that’s obviously my third argument; those who manage to crack the green code will create new jobs: The European Commission estimates that the total employment in the EU could potentially increase by 1.5 million jobs by 2020.
And there’s money in it, too: According to McKinsey, clean tech centers of growth are developing a global market potential of approximately 2,5 trillion dollars in 2020.
So, ladies and gentlemen, to me the case is crystal clear. Together the three arguments make a compelling case for action.
And that’s why the Danish government recently presented its strategy towards independence of fossil fuels.
We call it: Energy Strategy 2050.
The goal is independence from coal, oil and gas.
No one questions the magnitude of this task. We are talking about the biggest energy revolution since the oil crisis in the 70ties.
The two main results of the strategy over the next ten years will be:
First, an increase in the share of renewable energy up from 19 pct today to 33 pct.
And secondly, an increase in the share of renewables in electricity consumption by 33 pct.
Saving energy and bringing the intake of renewable energy up are the core pillars of the governments strategy.
Denmark is already one of the world’s most energy efficient countries. Now we are taking it to the next level.
Just to give you three examples:
First, we suggest tightening existing energy efficiency requirements for energy companies and building materials.
This has proven to be a very effective tool.
Secondly, we will create a Smart Grid, enabling us to balance power demand and supply through storage and consumption, when the price is right.
Finally, we are pushing for more ambitious targets in terms of energy appliances in the EU.
For instance the labeling of appliances, which has proved to be one of the most cost effective instruments to increase energy efficiency.
Denmark is obviously not an “energy island”.
No country is.
We are part of the European Union,
And that’s why we’ll pursue our energy transformation with the rest of Europe.
The European Commission recently announced its climate plan, and now several member states are following the lead.
When the Danish strategy was announced, Chris Huhne - the British Minister for Energy and Climate Change - called it both ambitious and impressive.
And just last week the UK announced its own ambitious and impressive five year plan towards a low carbon UK.
But we also have to act together in developing a common European energy infrastructure, the so-called Super Grid.
In fact ambitious European climate and energy goals cannot be met without an integrated grid.
To be very concrete, such a system would enable us to export extra wind energy to Germany when their solar panels are not producing any energy.
Similarly, we could import solar energy from Spain, Portugal and Germany when our wind turbines are not running.
As a result the price of energy will come down and we will be able to adapt large volumes of renewable energy into our grid.
This will certainly contribute to the development of a European internal energy market.
To pave the way to a green future, political leaders must act without delay to prevent Europe from losing its leadership in green technologies.
But obviously industry has a huge role to play in terms of bringing forward new research and innovation.
I hope green energy in a longer time perspective becomes a cost efficient alternative to fossil fuels due to
− technological innovation,
− economies of scale
− and the future price on carbon
The market for energy efficient products are growing,
while energy efficiency is absolutely crucial in achieving our goal of a greener future.
Just take China, who is right now taking a giant green leap. China has already a successful track record on industrial energy efficiency.
Now the goal is to improve energy intensity by 16 pct. in 2015.
As the American secretary of energy Stephen Chu recently said in Abu Dhabi:
“I cannot impress upon you how important energy efficiency is. It doesn't mean you eat lukewarm food and your beers are lukewarm. You can still have it; you just make a better thing”.
Now, I took off to the tones of “Leaving on a jetplane”. And now it’s time to prepare for my own landing.
By the ambition of flying around the world without fuel or pollution, confining solely on solar power, the Solar Impulse is not only writing the next pages in the history of aviation with solar energy, but the next pages in the book of renewable energy.
Obviously no one can predict the future, but we do have a pretty good notion of the means to break free from fossil fuel dependency in the next ten years.
As the first man on the moon - Neil Armstrong - once said:
“Science has not yet mastered prophecy. We predict too much for the next year and yet far too little for the next ten.”
I’m sure we’ll make many mistakes in our journey toward a low-carbon society.
But the mistakes will make us wiser, and they will bring us forward.
Forward to a greener and safer world.
Thank you.