Grantham Scholar Tinashe Mawodza reports on a Grantham Centre panel at COP22 on the energy-water-food nexus.
Grantham Scholar Tinashe Mawodza
Energy access and climate change through the energy-water-food nexus was organised by the OPEC Fund for International Development (OFID). Moderator Faris Hasan (Director of Corporate Planning and Economic Services at OFID) and broke the ice with a proverb.
“If you want to go fast, go alone, but if you want to go far, go together”. This captures OFID’s stance on the need for an all-inclusive nexus, connecting energy, water and food, in sustainable development.
The first speaker was David Carroll, President of the International Gas Union (IGU).
In his view, natural gas is essential in the transition from more traditional fossil fuels to cleaner and more sustainable energy alternatives. Carroll suggested that natural gas could be used as a complimentary energy source to more sustainable solar and wind technologies. Although they help to reduce our carbon footprint, solar and wind power are often unreliable and therefore are currently unsustainable in isolation, he explained.
Also, Carroll pinpointed the need for megacities in the developing world to embrace natural gas to minimise rampant air pollution. Doing so could improve environmental quality in these cities.
Our Director Tony Ryan spoke next. He gave an interesting overview of how interconnected the sustainability system is. Ryan highlighted the importance of co-operation between different sectors in order to achieve holistic global sustainability.
Tony also noted that current proven techniques and technologies had the capacity to provide possible solutions to global sustainability problems. But the challenge was engaging policymakers to create legislation is in line with recommendations given by researchers.
Martin Hiller, Director General of the Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Partnership (REEEP) followed Tony.
Hiller focused on the need for changes in farming methods to facilitate irrigation schemes powered by solar instead of fossil fuels. He also emphasised the need for investment in clean energy supplies for smallholder farmers in the developing world.
Philipp Knill form the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development echoed this with an example of how his government has invested in energy provision for developing nations, in particular in West Africa. And he highlighted the need for other development partners to assist in the initiatives that his government was embarking on.
The final speaker, Aurel Lübke, CEO of Compost Systems, focused on the engineering behind composting.
He pointed out how large landfills in many cities could be minimised by composting technologies that save on space. Plus they could provide energy to fuel other agricultural sectors, such as fertiliser manufacturing.
The audience was highly stimulated by these talks from the diverse range of panellists. Questions were asked on how effective natural gas, a fossil fuel, would be in mitigating climate change. Plus people asked about the lagging role of politics in achieving global sustainability.
Overall, the panel were in agreement that natural gas provided a first step rather than an ultimate solution to the Earth’s climate change woes.
COP22: corridor diplomacy and biodiversity by Kaisa Pietilä. Kaisa reflects on ‘corridor diplomacy’ at COP22 and how biodiversity was left out of the talks.
Impressions from COP22: Time is of the essence by Niall Bradshaw. In this blog Niall describes the reactions at COP22 to Trump pulling out of the Paris Agreement. He also tells us about some of the panels the Grantham Centre held, including one featuring his own work on fertilisers.
Sheffield delegation return from important COP22 in Marrakech. The Sheffield delegation at COP22 included Grantham Scholars and academics from across TUoS. They hosted and took part in panels on food and energy.
‘Shocking and scary’: how Trump’s victory was received at COP22 by Tony Ryan and Duncan Cameron. Reactions from COP22 as the world woke up to Donald Trump’s US election victory.