Green and Digital: discussing frontier technologies for a successful climate transition at EUSEW 2020

26 June 2020

The 15th edition of EUSEW 2020, the biggest event dedicated to renewables and efficient energy use in Europe, has now come to an end. Under the theme: ‘Beyond the crisis: clean energy for green recovery and growth’, this first ever fully digital EUSEW brought together experts from policy, industry and other key stakeholders.

On 24 June Orgalim, together with the European Heat Pump Association and UNIDO, hosted a stimulating discussion on the different solutions that frontier technologies offer for a successful climate transition.

 

Carla Montesi, Director, DG DEVCO at the European Commission, set the scene with an overview of the Green Deal and the Green recovery, focusing on how climate, environment and the digital agenda can guide growth and Europe’s recovery from the Covid-19 crisis.

 

Thereafter, Christoph Luykx, Policy Director at Orgalim, opened the floor to the panellists who provided concrete examples of the challenges and opportunities ahead. 

Watch the session recording here

Malte Lohan, Director General at Orgalim, explained the interconnection between the Green deal objectives and the digital transformation, and how technologies can help achieve the climate objectives. Lohan presented some ‘no-regrets’ recommendations that EU decision-makers should act on now: “put energy efficiency first and invest in clean energy and digital infrastructure”.  

 

Thomas Nowak, Secretary General at European Heat Pump Association, built on these points and explained the business case for clean heating technologies instead of fossil boiler technology. The technology is already available, and focus should now be in making these systems economically more efficient and building up renovation capacity. Nowak outlined the important role that policymakers have in providing incentives to move demand to these cleaner technologies .

 

Adrian Hiel, EU Policy & Communications at Energy Cities,  provided the perspective of city managers. He stated that there is a need for policy makers to step in and ensure companies are aware of the long-term benefits for them of sustainable heating and this way stimulate them to invest in it.

Cassandra Pillay, Climate Change Expert at the United Nations Industrial Development Organisation, presented three key policy recommendations that are essential for the digital transition and the future sustainability goals. These were, to manoeuvre the innovation race, increase the agility of governments, and prevent the deepening of global inequalities.

 

Throughout the session, attendees were able to join the debate and express their views using Sli.do. A copy of the recording, including the results of the different polls, is available via this link.

Luykx closed the session outlining the broad agreement that concerted actions at all levels were needed to realise the energy and climate objectives in a cost-efficient manner; and digital was key to translating these challenges into drivers of sustainable growth. As he said, “ultimately, Green and Digital will help Europe and its industries maintain global leadership”.

 

Want to read more on this topic? Check out Orgalim’s priorities for energy and climate, join us in the autumn for our Circular Economy roundtable, and subscribe to our newsletter to stay tuned on events and news about our industry.

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