Renewable and Energy Transition: Towards a Stronger Future

One of the key UN programs under the SDGs is the energy transition and management of the current global energy crisis.  The crisis itself describes a precarious, dangerous and serious situation of one kind or another.  While energy means the ability to do the job that may be in the form of heat, light, mechanical, chemical, and electromagnetic.  Therefore, the energy crisis is a dangerous condition that occurs in energy on earth, especially where there is a crisis.  People need sunlight to fertilize plants, water, energy to irrigate rice fields, oil and coal to produce fuel and electricity.  In fact, 80% of all energy consumed by humans comes from fossil energy sources.  As a global energy resource, fossil fuel reserves can be depleted.  This could happen because the speed of nature’s production of oil is not proportional to the speed of the population that will increase the number of orders.  Coal, oil, and natural gas are energy resources that take a long time to develop.

Global Energy Transition Program.

Energy is the golden thread that links all the SDGs’ development objectives.  Modern energy services are inseparable from the fight against poverty, food safety, public health and quality education.  Furthermore, energy is also the key to sustainable industrialization, healthier and more effective living.  Today, the world is still a long way from realizing the SDGs’ vision of affordable, clean energy for all.

In the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) agreed by world leaders, including Indonesia, clean and affordable energy is the 7th priority after gender equality and clean water.  It’s  clean, renewable energy.  This clean energy means energy that is produced with only a few negative impacts on social, cultural, health and environmental aspects, this clean energy is also referred to as renewable energy which is the energy that comes from nature and can be renewed in a short time, much less  shorter than fossil energy.

Understand the transitions in renewables and energy.

There are two terms in the energy we use today: new and renewable energy, which is sometimes mixed up.  In fact, new and renewable energy (renewable energy and energy transition) are actually two different kinds of energy.  New energy means all forms of energy derived from or resulting from new technologies for the treatment of non-renewable energy sources.  During this time, renewable energy is energy that originates or is produced from renewable energy sources.  New energy is an energy which has never existed and which is produced by technology, such as coal and hydrogen.  Renewable energy is a long-standing type of energy that has not been optimally used and its sources are limitless.  For example, solar energy, wind, waves, geothermal energy, water movement.

Globally, around 1 billion people or 13% of the world’s population lives without access to electricity, but around 30% of the world’s population still cooks using traditional fuels which have a direct impact on health.  Although this number is declining each year, it is unlikely that we will be able to meet the clean and affordable energy goal by 2030. Essentially, having access to energy means humans need to be close to this source of energy, like electricity.  It is estimated that over 60% of the world’s inhabitants will have access to electrical energy from renewable sources.  However, this global access to energy will be empty rhetoric until decision makers invest significantly in a centralized renewable energy sector.

Clean and renewable energy possibilities and constraints

Several emergencies speed up the transition to renewable energy, in particular

First, energy decentralization.  This is an important effort to try to find a solution to the problem of access to electricity in various regions, especially in the country.

Secondly, greenhouse gases are able to absorb infrared radiation from the Earth’s surface and return it to the surface.  This raises the temperature on the surface of the earth.

Third, climate change translates into long-term changes in average weather conditions that determine the local, regional and global climate.  Climate change directly impacts the clean energy produced on earth.

At least globally there are three things that are problematic in implementing this renewable energy.  Indonesian President Jokowidodo said that in the energy transition, the first challenge has to do with access to clean energy.  Where people are now confronted with the fact that not everyone in the world has access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy.  In addition, the second challenge has to do with financing.  The transition process requires huge amounts of money and new projects, and that requires new foreign investment.  The third challenge has to do with support for research and technology.  In the energy transition, the role of science and technology is needed to produce new technologies that are more efficient and competitive, so that they can reduce costs and increase added value in new, renewable energy industrial products, and human resources that are ready to compete are  needed.

The Paris Agreement and the energy transition: what is the real plan?

Renewables and the energy transition are part of efforts to limit the global average temperature rise to well below 2°C.  This energy transition is part of the main program of the Paris Agreement, which is still being drawn up.  And the good news is that renewable energy is developing, with a third of the world’s electricity capacity in 2018 based on renewable energy.  This transition to energy and renewables offers very positive possibilities and is entirely possible.  The International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) report outlines the potential for emissions to fall to 70% lower than current levels over the next three decades, and even reach net zero no later than 2060. However, in reality, this energy transition program is not  something which is easy to do when faced with reality, the need for large funds and human resources and the level of efficiency is still a problem that really hinders current work, at COP 26 then world leaders failed to agree on eliminating the use of coal as  an energy source, instead of “eliminating ” changed to “reduce” the use of coal. The COP27 conference, which took place this year, also required difficult negotiations and enormous efforts to reach an agreement on the issue of climate finance.

Energy transition is it easy?

The basic logic is that it is very possible to switch to new and renewable energy, the possible opportunities that have actually been cultivated gradually, starting from the transformation of technologies that are more environmentally friendly to the discovery of new technologies for energy, it is very clear that this effort can be achieved within 2030-2060  forward.  It’s just that if we look at the current condition, these programs for energy transfer are still being ridden with temporary and destructive political and economic interests, human resources are still uneven and there is a high dependence on the old energy use of fossil fuels.  Switching to new and renewable energy is a real commitment and very possible, but it takes time and a strong commitment to overcome the existing obstacles.

Syarifah Huswatun Miswar
Syarifah Huswatun Miswar
Syarifah Huswatun Miswar (孙美琳) from Indonesia. She received a Master of Law in International Relations from the School of International and Public Affairs, Jilin University, China. She is a research analyst with an emphasis on Environmental in International Relations issues. Now she is doing her doctoral degree in Central China Normal University (CCNU) in International Relations.