Policy Dispatch: The FORESIGHT podcast on the policies underpinning the energy transition

Gas heating is not an affordable heating option anymore. Instead, the demand and uptake of heat pumps in Europe’s building stock have seen a major surge in the past few months. Global heat pump sales rose 15% in 2021. In Germany alone, demand rose by 25% in the first half of 2022 year-on-year. And in Finland, by as much as 80% year-on-year.Heat pumps bring multiple benefits. So much so the European Commission and the International Energy Agency (IEA) have praised the technology: it saves emissions from heating (and cooling), it is proven that it can be installed in existing buildings and it brings multiple advantages for our grids in helping to electrify faster. Russia’s unprovoked war on Ukraine has had a huge impact on a market that has been in constant development for the past ten years.In this episode, we discuss the present and future of heat pumps in Europe—and dispel the myths around it—with Thomas Nowak, Secretary General of the European Heat Pump Association (EHPA) in Brussels. Before working for the EHPA, he worked on several projects on the economic and social benefits of renewable energy. Thomas holds a university degree in business administration and economics.Enjoy the dispatch!If you have any thoughts or questions about anything that has been discussed in this week's episode, you can reach us at our Twitter accounts:Thomas Nowak: https://twitter.com/ThomasNowakEUSam Morgan: https://twitter.com/SamJamesMorganAnna Gumbau: https://twitter.com/AnnaGumbau@Policy Dispatch: https://twitter.com/PolicyDispatchFORESIGHT Climate & Energy: https://twitter.com/FORESIGHTdkListen and subscribe to Policy Dispatch wherever you get podcasts. Follow us on Twitter at @PolicyDispatch or email us at [email protected]. You can also find FORESIGHT Climate & Energy on LinkedIn.Show notes:FORESIGHT Policy Section: https://foresightdk.com/category/policy/TRY FULL ACCESS TO FORESIGHT CLIMATE & ENERGY FOR €1 A DAYJoin over 100,000 policymakers, energy experts in business, finance, and academia, city leaders, and leading NGOs in having access to FORESIGHT Climate & EnergyGET YOUR 30 DAY TRIAL: www.foresightdk.com/subscribe/. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The European Green Deal must put consumers at the heart of its policies. The European Commission has put strong emphasis in the social dimension of its energy and climate policies, and the energy price crisis has made it more evident that our most vulnerable consumers must not be left behind.But even when Brussels and EU capitals have some exciting ideas to democratise and make clean energy affordable for all consumers, Europe needs to put the means and the structural measures to ensure those who need it the most can benefit from the energy transition.In this episode, we discuss with Marine Cornelis on questions around energy poverty, consumer rights and access to clean and affordable energy as a fundamental right. Marine Cornelis is the executive director and founder of Next Energy Consumer, a policy consultancy focused on the social aspects of the energy and climate transitions. Previously, Marine served as the Secretary General of NEON, the European network of energy dispute resolution services and ombudsmen in Brussels.Enjoy the dispatch!If you have any thoughts or questions about anything that has been discussed in this week’s episode, you can reach us at our Twitter accounts:Marine Cornelis: https://twitter.com/marinecornelisSam Morgan: https://twitter.com/SamJamesMorganAnna Gumbau: https://twitter.com/AnnaGumbau@Policy Dispatch: https://twitter.com/PolicyDispatchFORESIGHT Climate & Energy: https://twitter.com/FORESIGHTdkListen and subscribe to Policy Dispatch wherever you get podcasts. Follow us on Twitter at @Policy Dispatch or email us at [email protected]. You can also find FORESIGHT Climate & Energy on LinkedIn.Show notes:FORESIGHT Policy Section: https://foresightdk.com/category/policy/TRY FULL ACCESS TO FORESIGHT CLIMATE & ENERGY FOR €1 A DAYJoin over 100,000 policymakers, energy experts in business, finance, and academia, city leaders, and leading NGOs in having access to FORESIGHT Climate & EnergyGET YOUR 30 DAY TRIAL: www.foresightdk.com/subscribe/. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The European Commission’s climate chief Frans Timmermans said before leaving to COP27 that the EU’s emissions reduction target “can be increased to 57%”. This news came as EU legislators concluded the revisions of two key pieces of the EU’s climate legislation, the Effort Sharing Regulation and the LULUCF Regulation.Why are these two pieces of legislation so relevant and what is the state of play of many of the files that are still under negotiation? Should we start calling this climate legislation the ‘Fit for 57’ package?In this episode, Policy Dispatch host Sam Morgan is joined by FORESIGHT’s podcast producer Anna Gumbau to discuss the latest developments in the EU’s climate policy agenda. Because, even if the energy price crisis continues to take center stage in the Brussels debates, the bloc’s climate agenda continues to advance.Enjoy the dispatch!If you have any thoughts or questions about anything that has been discussed in this week's episode, you can reach us at our Twitter accounts:Sam Morgan: https://twitter.com/SamJamesMorganAnna Gumbau: https://twitter.com/AnnaGumbau@Policy Dispatch: https://twitter.com/PolicyDispatchFORESIGHT Climate & Energy: https://twitter.com/FORESIGHTdkListen and subscribe to Policy Dispatch wherever you get podcasts. Follow us on Twitter at @Policy Dispatch or email us at [email protected]. You can also find FORESIGHT Climate & Energy on LinkedIn.Show notes:Agreement on ESR: https://www.europarl.europa.eu/news/pt/press-room/20221107IPR49205/fit-for-55-deal-on-stricter-rules-for-member-states-greenhouse-gas-emissionsAgreement on LULUCF: https://www.europarl.europa.eu/news/es/press-room/20221107IPR49206/fit-for-55-deal-on-carbon-sinks-goal-will-increase-eu-2030-climate-targetCAN Europe and Fern’s statement on LULUCF: https://caneurope.org/eu-settles-for-paper-target-to-increase-carbon-absorption-in-forest-and-land/FORESIGHT Policy Section: https://foresightdk.com/category/policy/TRY FULL ACCESS TO FORESIGHT CLIMATE & ENERGY FOR €1 A DAYJoin over 100,000 policymakers, energy experts in business, finance, and academia, city leaders, and leading NGOs in having access to FORESIGHT Climate & EnergyGET YOUR 30 DAY TRIAL: www.foresightdk.com/subscribe/. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Carbon dioxide removals (CDR) are, in essence, the opposite of carbon emissions: their goal is to remove CO2 from the atmosphere, ideally permanently. The UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) sees an increasing role of removals in reaching net zero and limiting global warming.However, the concept of CDR is often misunderstood and confused with other storage and usage methods. To discuss this, we sat with Mark Preston Aragonès, a policy manager for carbon accounting at NGO Bellona Europa.Together with Mark, we will find out what CDR is and what isn’t, as the European Commission expects to put forward a proposal on the certification of carbon removals that should bring more integrity and accountability to the system.Enjoy the dispatch!If you have any thoughts or questions about anything that has been discussed in this week's episode, you can reach us at our Twitter accounts:Mark Preston: https://twitter.com/markprstnSam Morgan: https://twitter.com/SamJamesMorganAnna Gumbau: https://twitter.com/AnnaGumbau@Policy Dispatch: https://twitter.com/PolicyDispatchFORESIGHT Climate & Energy: https://twitter.com/FORESIGHTdkListen and subscribe to Policy Dispatch wherever you get podcasts. Follow us on Twitter at @Policy Dispatch or email us at [email protected]. You can also find FORESIGHT Climate & Energy on LinkedIn.Show notes:FORESIGHT Policy Section: https://foresightdk.com/category/policy/TRY FULL ACCESS TO FORESIGHT CLIMATE & ENERGY FOR €1 A DAYJoin over 100,000 policymakers, energy experts in business, finance, and academia, city leaders, and leading NGOs in having access to FORESIGHT Climate & EnergyGET YOUR 30 DAY TRIAL: www.foresightdk.com/subscribe/. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Aviation has shortened distances across continents and connected people and cities all around the globe. However, it has also made our planet warmer. With a carbon footprint comparable to that of several countries – as well as a significant non-CO2 environmental impact – cleaning up aviation will be crucial to achieving our climate goals.In this episode, we dive deep into the outlook for ‘green’ aviation after the COVID-19 pandemic: which sticks and carrots are needed to decarbonise air transport, and why international organisations have been so slow in taking action? How can we incentive airlines to switch to sustainable alternatives to kerosene?To answer these questions, we sat with Jo Dardenne, Aviation Director at NGO Transport & Environment (T&E). Jo joined T&E in 2019 and manages their sustainable aviation campaigns which aim to address the impact of one of the transport sector's fastest growing greenhouse gas emitters. Her focus includes aviation taxation, the EU emissions trading system, and sustainable fuels.Enjoy the dispatch!Disclaimer - This episode was recorded on 7 October – just a few hours before the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) formally adopted a net zero by 2050 objective for global aviation.If you have any thoughts or questions about anything that has been discussed in this week’s episode, you can reach us at our Twitter accounts:Jo Dardenne: https://twitter.com/dardennejo?lang=enSam Morgan: https://twitter.com/SamJamesMorganAnna Gumbau: https://twitter.com/AnnaGumbau@Policy Dispatch: https://twitter.com/PolicyDispatchFORESIGHT Climate & Energy: https://twitter.com/FORESIGHTdkListen and subscribe to Policy Dispatch wherever you get podcasts. Follow us on Twitter at @Policy Dispatch or email us at [email protected]. You can also find FORESIGHT Climate & Energy on LinkedIn.Show notes:FORESIGHT Policy Section: https://foresightdk.com/category/policy/TRY FULL ACCESS TO FORESIGHT CLIMATE & ENERGY FOR €1 A DAYJoin over 100,000 policymakers, energy experts in business, finance, and academia, city leaders, and leading NGOs in having access to FORESIGHT Climate & EnergyGET YOUR 30 DAY TRIAL: www.foresightdk.com/subscribe/. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Sky-high energy prices have threatened to bankrupt households and businesses alike, prompting governments and the European Union to dig into their pockets and design new energy and economic policies meant to quell the crisis.There is a lot of uncharted territory to cover. Governments have never had to replace energy supplies at such short notice and so comprehensively before. The EU has never had to build policies that skim off the huge revenue profits made by energy companies. Sacred cows like electricity market rules are suddenly on the chopping block. It is an exciting time to track these developments.Business as usual also continues to some extent for legislators and policymakers. How has the current situation affected work on issues like long-term renewables deployment and energy savings targets? Is the crisis proving to be a disruptive or galvanising influence on policies that aim to make Europe the first climate-neutral continent?Policy Dispatch caught up with FORESIGHT-regular Michaela Holl from Agora Energiewende to discuss all of this and more. Once you’ve listened to this episode, be sure to check out the latest edition of Watt Matters, which goes into even more detail about how all these measures are going to affect energy utilities.Enjoy the dispatch!If you have any thoughts or questions about anything that has been discussed in this week’s episode, you can reach us at our Twitter accounts:Michaela Holl: https://twitter.com/CitizenSane1Sam Morgan: https://twitter.com/SamJamesMorganAnna Gumbau: https://twitter.com/AnnaGumbau@Policy Dispatch: https://twitter.com/PolicyDispatchFORESIGHT Climate & Energy: https://twitter.com/FORESIGHTdkListen and subscribe to Policy Dispatch wherever you get podcasts. Follow us on Twitter at @Policy Dispatch or email us at [email protected]. You can also find FORESIGHT Climate & Energy on LinkedIn.Show notes:FORESIGHT Policy Section: https://foresightdk.com/category/policy/TRY FULL ACCESS TO FORESIGHT CLIMATE & ENERGY FOR €1 A DAYJoin over 100,000 policymakers, energy experts in business, finance, and academia, city leaders, and leading NGOs in having access to FORESIGHT Climate & EnergyGET YOUR 30 DAY TRIAL: www.foresightdk.com/subscribe/. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

As the United Nations’ COP 27 in Egypt approaches, Africa’s energy and climate transition is in the spotlight.The African continent has an opportunity to reduce its dependence on fossil fuels. Its main hurdle, however, is the need for cheap resources and access to financing to achieve its decarbonisation, and the need to incentivise participation from local companies and investors in its energy markets.The untapped potential is vast: solar and wind investments aren’t happening at the scale needed, but its onshore wind power in Africa could match the region’s electricity demand 250 times over. Moreover, COP27 is expected to bring new commitments from African nations to phase out coal and just transition partnerships with developed countries.We are discussing these topics with Saliem Fakir, Executive Director of the African Climate Foundation. Prior to establishing the ACF, Saliem served as the Head of the Policy & Futures Unit of WWF South Africa for 11 years. Saliem has worked as a Senior Lecturer at the Department of Public Administration and Planning and an Associate Director for the Centre for Renewable and Sustainable Energy at Stellenbosch University.Enjoy the show!If you have any thoughts or questions about anything that has been discussed in this week’s episode, you can reach us at our Twitter accounts:Saliem Fakir: https://twitter.com/AfricanClimateF + AfricaEuropeFdn: https://twitter.com/AfricaEuropeFdnSam Morgan: https://twitter.com/SamJamesMorganAnna Gumbau: https://twitter.com/AnnaGumbau@Policy Dispatch: https://twitter.com/PolicyDispatchFORESIGHT Climate & Energy: https://twitter.com/FORESIGHTdkListen and subscribe to Policy Dispatch wherever you get podcasts. Follow us on Twitter at @Policy Dispatch or email us at [email protected]. You can also find FORESIGHT Climate & Energy on LinkedIn.Show notes:FORESIGHT Policy Section: https://foresightdk.com/category/policy/TRY FULL ACCESS TO FORESIGHT CLIMATE & ENERGY FOR €1 A DAYJoin over 100,000 policymakers, energy experts in business, finance, and academia, city leaders, and leading NGOs in having access to FORESIGHT Climate & EnergyGET YOUR 30 DAY TRIAL: www.foresightdk.com/subscribe/. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Buildings are a crucial piece in the jigsaw of the energy transition, one that is often overlooked. The EU’s building stock is responsible for as much as 40% of the bloc’s energy consumption, and for 36% of its greenhouse gas emissions.The EU is updating its rules on energy performance of buildings at a critical time, since Russia’s war on Ukraine is putting EU’s gas supply at risk. In the first episode of Policy Dispatch, FORESIGHT Climate & Energy’s new podcast, we take a deep dive into these questions with MEP Ciarán Cuffe, the EU lawmaker responsible for the revision of the Energy Performance of Buildings Directive (EPBD).We will look into the need for Minimum Energy Performance Standards (MEPS), possibly “the most important part” of this revision according to Cuffe, as well as how he is ensuring that the review of the EPBD aligns with other key EU legislation currently under revision.Enjoy the show!If you have any thoughts or questions about anything that has been discussed in this week’s episode, you can reach us at our Twitter accounts:Ciarán Cuffe: https://twitter.com/CiaranCuffeSam Morgan: https://twitter.com/SamJamesMorganAnna Gumbau: https://twitter.com/AnnaGumbau@Policy Dispatch: https://twitter.com/PolicyDispatchFORESIGHT Climate & Energy: https://twitter.com/FORESIGHTdkShow notes:FORESIGHT Policy Section: https://foresightdk.com/category/policy/TRY FULL ACCESS TO FORESIGHT CLIMATE & ENERGY FOR €1 A DAYJoin over 100,000 policymakers, energy experts in business, finance, and academia, city leaders, and leading NGOs in having access to FORESIGHT Climate & EnergyGET YOUR 30 DAY TRIAL: www.foresightdk.com/subscribe/. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Listen to the trailer for the new podcast Policy Dispatch from FORESIGHT Climate & Energy, delving into the key policy and regulation that underpins the global energy transition.From FORESIGHT Climate & Energy, Policy Dispatch is a podcast all about the policies that underpin the energy transition. This is what will make or break the global decarbonisation effort. Through biweekly, short-but-sweet episodes, the Policy Dispatch will aim to explain what governments in the globe’s key markets are doing to boost clean energy and create sustainable ecosystems.Subscribe wherever you get your podcasts. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.