Energy transition in practice

Governments, other jurisdictions, and corporates are making headlines with high-ambition climate target announcements for the mid-century and the midterm. The implementation of these pledges now requires intensive and radical policy plans, and in this task the energy sector and the energy transition are of central importance.

As think tanks, our role in the policy process is to help prepare the path for robust decision-making and policy implementation for the goals defined under the Paris Agreement. With this in mind, in December 2020, an international group of think tanks working for the energy transition in major and emerging economies around the world came together to create the International Network of Energy Transition Think Tanks (INETTT).

INETTT’s members undertake research and the preparation of policy “homework” in a proactive and strategic way that does not wait for policy-makers or industry decision-makers to be ready to seek solutions. Rather, they generate breakthrough analysis and major policy proposals and use these to accelerate debate into action.

This official UNFCCC COP26 side event was designed to show the different angles of diversity represented by the INETTT partners: regional, thematic, and developmental. It focused on the role of the think tanks in implementing the Paris Agreement, highlight their major studies, and explained strategic goals and the impact they have had on accelerating domestic energy transition, as well as their future plans for engagement.

The presentation of the side event was paired with the publication of the network’s first joint publication “The Net-Zero Energy Transition. Policy Case Studies from the International Network of Energy Transition Think Tanks” which went online on the same day.

PROGRAMME (time zone GMT)

15:00-15:10: Introduction and moderation, Lidia Wojtal, INETTT Secretariat

15:10-15:35: Part I – Cases of successful interventions in the domestic policy-making

• Denise Fontanilla, Institute for Climate and Sustainable Cities (ICSC), Philippines
• Mika Ohbayashi, Renewable Energy Institute (REI), Japan
• Ayşe Ceren Sari, SHURA Energy Transition Center, Turkey

15:35-16:00: Part II – How to identify and deal with future challenges of energy transition

• Ngo Thi To Nhien, Vietnam Initiative for Energy Transition (VIET), Vietnam
• Emilio Matsumura, E+ Institute, Brazil
• Tracy Ledger, Public Affairs Research Institute (PARI), South Africa

16:00-16:15: Q&A session and final remarks

RECORDING
The recording can be found above.