Transportation Decarbonization and Green Hydrogen Key Topics at P4G Summit Sessions on the Energy Transition

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Energy sources are shifting in countries all around the world. From electric vehicles to developing green hydrogen corridors, the private sector is leading the charge on innovative solutions to meet renewable energy needs. Governments need to provide clear and consistent signals that they will support this change and that there will be a huge market for clean energy. 

Speakers in the energy transition sessions at the 2023 P4G Colombia Summit shared ambitions, solutions and successful strategies for how they were accelerating the energy transition from a policy and business perspective. 

Felipe Salgado, Partner-Director, KPMG set the context at a panel discussion on decarbonizing transport by sharing background on how the transport sector contributes to one-fifth of global carbon emissions and the majority of governments have not clear set dates for banning internal combustion engines. 

“We need to think differently,” he said to overcome the various challenges associated with decarbonizing the transport sector such as addressing the high upfront costs of electric vehicles, increasing the demand for batteries, and being able to meet this demand. 

Advocating for city-led change, Andrea Bizberg, Air Quality Expert, C40 Cities, spoke about need to diversify financing options and noted that public-private partnerships are important for commercial banks to provide finance. She spoke about the growing societal pressure for better air quality and need to focus on the climate impact on health. 

Inkeun Lee, Director General for Environment & Energy Bureau, Seoul Metropolitan Government, Republic of Korea also came from the angle of city leadership and underscored the need for infrastructure in cities instead of only subsidies for vehicles. He shared Seoul’s strategies for increasing the uptake of electric mobility that includes a focus on subsidies for public vehicles traveling longer distances, spending on fast charges and discounted fare cards for public transport to encourage the use of buses and reduce emissions. Lee also spoke about the Republic of Korea’s investment in green hydrogen to decarbonize the sector. 

Hyoeun Jenny Kim, Ambassador and Deputy Minister for Climate Change, Republic of Korea shared how major Korean companies such as Hyundai Motors are aggressively investing in green hydrogen. She emphasized the role of the government in promoting this shift by providing support for research and development, and a regulatory framework to make the sector commercially viable. 

The role of governments in supporting the green corridor model was another topic of conversation in a fireside chat on renewable energy and green hydrogen. The term refers to specific routes between two ports where zero emission shipping solutions are supported and demonstrated. Policymakers can put enabling systems with targeted regulatory and financial incentives in place along these corridors. 

Ingrid Sidenvall Jegou, Project Director, The Global Maritime Forum shared how this model is gaining traction internationally with 22 governments coming together to make this a reality and 30 green corridor projects announced since 2021. Ambassador Kim mentioned that the Republic of Korea was one of the few countries with a dedicated ministry for maritime and ocean affairs and highlighted the country’s agreement with the United States of America to create a green shipping corridor. 

When it comes to the energy transition, private sector engagement is key and business leaders such as Samira Fadul, Corporate Affairs Vice President, Bavaria advocated for more robust incentive schemes. She shared their experience as a P4G partnership working on electrifying their truck fleet and how P4G helped them with financing from a Colombian bank. She spoke candidly about how without charging infrastructure, the process of electrifying trucks was futile. 

Carlos Naranjo, Founding Partner and Sustainable Relations Director, Gaia shared that for Colombia to meet its ambitious zero emissions targets there needs to be more action on finance and tax incentives. He also mentioned the collaborative effort between the private and public sector to meet these targets. 

Nguyen Thanh Cong, Deputy Head, Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, Vietnam spoke about Vietnam’s ambitious climate targets and its place as the third country to implement a Just Energy Transition plan after South Africa and Indonesia. He explained how the ministry set internal implementation targets to meet the country’s zero emissions goals. 

There was an overarching consensus on the need for collaboration between the public and private sector to make the energy transition a reality and the need for “out-of-the-box” innovative thinking. To achieve net zero by 2050, panelists shared that everyone also bears the responsibility to rethink and change how and what they consume.