FW: REN21 Newsletter – March 2019 #86934492
Newsletter – March 2019 In this issue News from the Secretariat | News from the Network | Upcoming Events Time’s up – time to act! It’s time that we collectively focus on integration when talking about the renewable energy transition. It’s time for better integration between power, heating, cooling and transport sectors; better integration of pivotal cross-cutting issues such as climate change, health and well-being, gender. Have you heard the term “multilevel governance” or “vertical integration” recently; perhaps with a discussion between colleagues or during a conference? Even though the expression dates to the early 1990s, it is being referred to increasingly in the renewable energy hallways. Defined as “distribution of decision making across multiple territorial levels”, multilevel governance is now a common term in the energy debate with increasing engagement of local and sub-national governments in the energy transition. With the rising ambition of sub-national governments, the current discussion focuses on how national and local government together can strengthen coherence in terms of energy planning and policy and regulation to advance the energy transition. This raises other questions: how to reflect such integration in institutional and budget structures? What role can the private sector play? What business models can support this process? What about citizen participation? To answer these, there is a fundamental need to have a holistic understanding of what is happening at the city level and feed this knowledge into the global energy debate; a debate which is predominately framed by ‘national/country’ thinking. Involving cities and local key actor is crucial to the energy transition. This development is a great opportunity to expand the debate by exchanging on a diversity of perspectives and across sectors on the issue of renewables, including the opportunity to move forward on the one thing we all agree: the need to accelerate the transition to renewable energy to ensure a sustainable future. One thing is clear: cities and sub-national governments have a role to play in the energy transition. REN21, as a multi-stakeholder network creates space for a diverse range of actors to engage and debate in events; the REN21 Academy, in our work, such as the upcoming Renewables in Cities, and through the collection of data and information. All these opportunities facilitate this exchange of information and creation of a common understanding. From citizens up to national government, and through industry, a renewable energy future is a reality that can only be achieved by working collectively Best regards. Rana Adib Executive Secretary, REN21 News from the REN21 Secretariat Your Expertise Needed! Review for Renewables 2019 Global Status Report REN21 is pleased to announce that the Round 2 Peer Review for the Renewables 2019 Global Status Report (GSR 2019) has started. This review draft round includes the chapter in Market & Industry Trends, which covers all the renewable energy technologies. There is also the Global Overview, a Sidebar on Costs as well as the Acknowledgement section for this report. We would appreciate any time you can dedicate to contributing to the latest edition of the GSR. The review period closes 14 April. For further information, contact us or visit our website. Documenting What Cities are Up To The second round of data collection for the REN21 Renewables in Cities Global Status Report is open! Share your expertise and be featured in the first edition of this new report series, which will showcase renewable energy action in cities. Do you have information on city targets, policies or innovative business models integrating renewable energy in buildings, industry, transport or power grids? What about how are cities mobilising finance and involving citizens in renewable energy projects? We invite you to share your renewable energy stories and actions. Be part of the inclusive effort to create the first global report on renewable energy in cities and improve collective understanding of cities’ role in shaping the energy future. Please visit our website for information on how to get involved. Your contribution will be featured on our web portal and acknowledged in the final report. KIREC- Seoul 2019 is Online The KIREC website is now live. Visit the website to find out information about KIREC, Seoul 2019. Here you can find all the conference information regarding registration, latest news and more on how to get involved. Look around and tell us what you think. Watch out for Data Collection on Asia-Pacific! And continuing with our Asia news, don’t forget that data collection for the first Asia and the Pacific Renewable Energy Status Report will start in April and we need your input. It will be a key input to KIREC – Seoul 2019, taking place in October 2019. Covering 18 countries ranging from Uzbekistan in the West to Tonga in the East, the report will look at renewable energy developments across Asia and the Pacific. A set of common indicators will allow readers to compare the energy situation across sub-regions. Contact us for more information if you are interested. Come and Meet Us at Upcoming Events Rana Adib, our Executive Secretary, will be joining the “Beyond electricity – Making the transition work in all sectors” panel 9 April at the Berlin Energy Transition Dialogue 2019. Come and discuss together the energy future! REN21 will also play an active role in the run up and during the ICCA 2019 conference 22 – 23 May in Heidelberg. The conference will bring together leaders and policy makers from states, regions and cities as well as stakeholders and experts from around the world to talk about the scaling up and speeding up coordinated and integrated climate action across all levels and sectors of government. A Warm Welcome to REN21’s New Members REN21 is excited to announce three new members: Islamic Development Bank (ISDB), Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Partnership (REEEP), Institute for Sustainable Technologies (AEE INTEC). These new members each bring a different perspective to the renewable energy discussion. ISDB works on promoting innovative and sustainable solutions for Member countries and Muslim communities; REEEP focuses on developing financing mechanisms to advance market readiness for clean energy services in low- and middle-income countries; and AEE INTEC focuses on advancing renewables in the heating sector by researching three main areas: thermal energy technologies and hybrid systems, building and retrofit as well as industrial processes and energy systems. Welcome on board! The REN21 Family is Getting Bigger! The REN21 Secretariat is pleased to announce the addition of a new staff member. Thomas André is an engineer with a PhD in Economics and a Master in Sustainability and Social Innovation. He comes from the Schneider Electric – based also in Paris – where he was Strategy & Performance Director, working on energy access. Thomas will be part of the research direction team for REN21’s Renewables Global Status Report and will focus on energy access, finance and economics. We Want You! REN21 is accepting applications for its fall internships (August – February 2019). We are looking for two interns; one in Communications and another to work on Community Management/Research. Come and learn how your skills can contribute to the renewable energy transformation! The application process closes 14 April 2019. A full description of the requirements and responsibilities, as well as instructions for applying, are available here. Spread the word! Remembering the 2018 REN21 Academy Remember the 2018 REN21 Academy? Instead of trying to recall what happened, watch the video to experience it all over again. We have published the final summary report and the videos on our website, along with a whole lot more. For those of you who couldn’t be there, get a glimpse of what we accomplished together. |