On 24 September, Ursula Von der Leyen, re-elected President of the European Commission, delivered the keynote address at the Global Renewables Summit in New York.
At the event, organized within the framework of the 79th session of the United Nations General Assembly, Von der Leyen stressed the need to “redouble efforts” to meet the new global targets, which include tripling renewable energy production and doubling energy savings by 2030.
To achieve this, she outlined four key areas of action: first, she highlighted the importance of planning.
“Governments must incorporate our global ambitions into their national climate policies, showing how they will contribute to these goals over this decade,” she stated.
Progress is already being made in Europe: in the first half of 2023, 50 per cent of the electricity in the European Union came from renewable sources.
However, she acknowledged that the work is far from over.
The second key point was the need to improve the business environment.
According to Von der Leyen, “We must create the right incentives and conditions for clean energy technologies to thrive.”
This includes implementing a solid regulatory framework, cutting-edge infrastructure, and more streamlined approval procedures.
She also stressed the importance of generating demand for sustainable products and technologies, as well as developing the skills required to meet that demand.
“My new 2024-2029 Commission is committed to these priorities, and we will work with our international partners to make them a reality,” she assured.
Thirdly, Von der Leyen focused on access to essential raw materials.
The increasing demand for critical minerals for the energy transition is inevitable, and it will be vital to ensure that their extraction benefits all parties involved.
In this regard, she expressed her support for the Secretary-General’s Group on Critical Minerals for the Energy Transition, committing to ensuring strong, transparent, and fair supply chains.
Finally, the President of the European Commission addressed the issue of investments, emphasizing that the transition to clean energy requires vast sums of capital, particularly in regions with high costs and limited access to affordable financing.
“Public finances will play a crucial role, and Europe will continue to contribute with its Global Gateway investment strategy, which in 2022 mobilized 28 billion euros in public funding to support emerging countries,” she stated.
However, Von der Leyen stressed that private capital will also need to be mobilized, aligning financial flows with the goals of the Paris Agreement.
OPEP’s Position
While the European Union and other nations advance towards the energy transition, the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEP) has responded firmly, calling the idea of a fossil-free world in the short to medium term a “fantasy.”
According to OPEP Secretary-General Haitham Al Ghais, the organization’s annual report, World Oil Outlook 2024 (WOO 2024), reaffirms that, far from declining, oil consumption will continue to rise.
Furthermore, its projections portray global demand for crude oil will reach 120 million barrels per day by 2050, a 15 per cent increase from current levels.
Al Ghais insisted that there are no signs of demand peaking in the coming decades.
“The fantasy of phasing out oil and gas has nothing to do with reality,” he stressed, noting that fossil fuels will still account for more than 50 per cent of the global energy mix by 2050.
Moreover, OPEP predicts that internal combustion engine vehicles will continue to dominate global roads, representing over 70 per cent of the world’s vehicle fleet by 2050, despite the rise of electric vehicles (EVs).
The OPEP report also highlights the challenges that electric vehicles face in gaining ground.
Obstacles such as the lack of adequate charging infrastructure, the high manufacturing costs of batteries, and the limited range of electric cars have slowed their global adoption.
It argues that while regions like China, Europe, and North America are making progress due to economic incentives, in developing countries, where the vehicle fleet is expected to grow significantly, combustion engine cars will remain predominant.
However, according to the latest report by Transport & Environment, electric cars are forecast to reach a 24 per cent market share, driven by the increase in sales that car manufacturers are making to meet the targets set by the European Union.
The report also determines that between 2022 and 2024, the growth of zero-emission vehicles was slower than anticipated, largely because manufacturers focused on maximizing profits from internal combustion engine models and large premium cars.
This drove up the prices of electric cars, reducing their adoption.
However, a source from Transport & Environment (T&E) revealed to Mobility Portal Europe that “while manufacturers opted to maximize their short-term profits with high-margin EVs, the EU’s CO₂ emissions regulations will force them to change strategy and offer more affordable alternatives to meet the 2025 targets.”
