Europe’s transition to a green energy future

Sweden gets more than half of its energy from renewables but how is the rest of Europe doing when it comes to generating clean power?
http://www.euronews.com/2018/02/06/europe-s-transition-to-a-green-energy-future

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Did you know sweet gets more than half of all this energy from renewables well that’s why real economy is kicking off its 5th year of the show freezing here in Stockholm I’m Mai Tracy Drummond and I’m here to find out how do the Suites stay warm while leading the energy transition in

Europe and aiming to be carbon neutral by 2045 change can be really scary when so many jobs in Europe’s many regions are dependent on coal but it’s inevitable as the Swedes will tell you considering how dependent their economy was on fossil fuels and it’s even more inevitable when you’re competing in a

Globalized world and the Giants are transitioning to green energy as well not to keep up Europe’s countries have transition targets they have to meet by 2020 but many countries are well lagging behind so Damon m-link set out to understand what’s holding people back in countries like Poland [Applause]

You don’t have to look far here in Poland southern Silesia region to see how rely this country is on burning coal to generate power its mining territory – this stuff providing jobs for generations of workers 80% of Poland’s power comes from coal that means a lot

Of jobs dependent on it and a reluctance to change marek district is a former miner and is torn decisions I think we have to use in our wealth of coal and I’m from a coal mining family but I know that we have to facilitate change because of pollution

And our climate this vendor which has been a nasty month and things are changing Merrick’s did is eldest son towards a high school specialising in green energy and : the environment is very important to me because I don’t need to smoke cigarettes just by breathing it’s like smoking 10

Packets of cigarettes a day but my generation will make a change we’re starting sugar bunny despite the bleak weather this solar farm is harnessing the Sun funded by EU regional development funds it’s a sign that even Poland has to slowly go green by 2020 15% of Poland’s energy needs to

Come from renewables in 2016 there was eleven point three percent of energy use with Poland still keen to use coal researchers are trying to make it cleaner at this EU funded lab they’re developing gasification technologies for industry classification of coal is better than conventional burning because it makes possible to reduce

Environmental impact of the colonization by removing contaminants such as sulfur and Mercury for example this old mines now a museum in selicia’s regional center Kassovitz ax gripping on to the past as some call for a much faster energy transition a lot of enthusiastic people that start to use

Different kind of renewable energy if our government will let them to to be active in this way the situation will change very fast I think too Damon’s point we’ve accomplished a pretty mean feat right here in Europe where we managed to double our renewable energy

Use in just the last 12 years now here are a few more things you may not have known about Europe’s energy transition did you know the energy we waste in Europe could power all our buildings needs or the energy efficient product could save families up to 500 euros a

Year the technology to make that happen is getting cheaper and more than a quarter of the innovations the new tech in renewables are made by European companies making it possible for one wind turbine to power one thousand five hundred home or help solar power travel from sunny southern Europe to the north

Whose wind can power the South – and the ocean at Europe’s doorstep could power 10 percent of all our demand sounds great right but it all comes at a cost we know that European countries have some strong disagreements about the transition targets for 2030 not everyone

Began to move as early as the Swedes or have the financial clout all the ability to convince voters and unions but the Swedes do have a crew of the challenges and solution – transitioning so I’m going to get us a few ideas from the Swedish energy minister Ibrahim Balin Minister we set

You a challenge of bringing an object that represents energy transition to you and to Sweden what is it well I brought a bathtub I’m born in in southeast Turkey a rural village taking about with your family in my case three siblings my parents my grandparents and my uncle’s

Family well it was always a challenge if you are in the beginning it was too hot if you are in the end it was not only cold it wasn’t that clean either so and coming from that to society like Sweden very modern society well you could have this at the tip of your

Fingers never sweeter takes a bath or shower today will get his water from heated from almost 97% renewable energy but not everyone in Europe can afford what you accomplished ie the country accomplished what we have been doing for the last with the introduction of carbon tax with the introduction of a lot of

Measures and requirements that are at the time were seen as very strict is that we have also enhanced the competitiveness of our industry of our economy coal is not anymore the cheapest way of producing electricity or energy Soler’s this year we are seeing offshore wind being built without any subsidies

So I think for those countries are still arguing for for for fossil fuels for coal from economic point of view I could not understand it any more maybe it’s political maybe it’s the vote bank it’s jobs that need retraining they don’t have the money I think so but you have

To see that there is also lots and lots of jobs coming when you are doing the transition let me take the example of my bath bathtub here Sweden at the time we’re using a lot we are importing huge amounts of oil to burn obviously when we have made that

Transition has also created tens of thousands of local jobs cut because today we are using residuals from the forestry things that were at the times in justice waste as a politician you have to see not only the jobs that you have today our topic on is that those jobs

Will go away anyway a final question to you if you had to give one piece of advice to the countries lagging behind in one sentence what would it be look back in history when has ever a country been developed with all technologies when you take new more

Efficient and just in this case more clean technologies that have emerged can I have my telephone please one of the best examples came just ten years ago right at the time when this came you had the company with a 40% share of the world market they didn’t believe in this

In the end do you want to be the iPhone or do you want to be the nokia of the future Minister thank you so very much for your insight and thank you for having us back on your airwaves for a fifth year we’ll catch you again in about two weeks time