Clean Energy Finance Forum

Vastly higher clean energy targets are essential to empower the international community to make the leap to a sustainable future, according to Richard Heinberg, coauthor of “Our Renewable Future: Laying the Path for One Hundred Percent Clean Energy.” In this interview, he delves into the practical challenges involved in the global transition to renewable power sources.

“There are no jobs on a dead planet,” said Sharan Burrow, general secretary of the International Trade Union Confederation. Burrow is vice-chair of The B Team, a coalition of business and civil society leaders that was founded by Richard Branson and Jochen Zeitz. In an attempt to address the dual dangers of economic injustice and environmental disaster that Burrow’s remark references, The B Team launched the Pledge for a Just Transition to Decent Jobs in August 2018.

Community microgrids can be initiated by a wide range of individuals or organizations. They include mayors and utilities. They also may include “anchor” off-takers like hospital management, development companies, or community organizations. But to succeed, they require that at least one person really take the lead and energize the project.

Because energy storage can help the power industry with many problems ranging from intermittency issues hamstringing renewables to energy crises threatening entire population centers, it is being acclaimed by many as the linchpin of tomorrow’s clean energy future.