Christoph Frei, Secretary General of the World Energy Council, explains that the international community is facing an energy triple challenge of sustainability, affordability and security, the so-called 'energy trilemma' of our times.
Transcript
Title: Region Faces Triple Energy Challenge
Description: Christoph Frei, Secretary General of the World Energy Council, explains that the international community is facing an energy triple challenge of sustainability, affordability and security, the so-called 'energy trilemma' of our times.
Christoph Frei
Secretary General
World Energy Council
Q: How should we address the energy trilemma of affordability, sustainability and energy security?
A: I think its important to state that the world has a triple challenge. We need on the one hand to make sure that in the growing world the increase in demand is satisfied – that’s to name the security issue. We need to make that those we have no access to energy that’s still 1.2 billion people get access – that’s the affordability issue and the equity issue. But at the same time we need to make sure that the climate change issue and pollution issue are properly addressed – that’s the environment issue. And from the World Energy Council, we said, that’s a triple challenge. Trilemma that we need to balance and so from our side the key word is to mobilize capital into energy. We need to find the right policies that overtime balances those 3 challenges.
Q: How is the recovery and reconstruction going given the high expectations of local communities?
A: First, think of the extreme weather events that will simply make the electricity infrastructure, also vital energy infrastructure more vulnerable. Second, think of the energy water nexus which will make all the energy infrastructure depend on water. Also, more exposed a thermal power plant needs water for cooling, hydro is obviously exposed to water nexus, bio is requiring water, CCS has water footprint. I could go on. Every piece of energy somewhere depends on water. The water energy nexxus and the fact that climate is changing could expose that to a great risk. But there’s other threats the bold resilience issue coming in other places, I think therefore we have to take climate change seriously. It will change the way we think about financing, about the risk. It will change the way we think about infrastructure design.
