Alberto Pototschnig, first director of the Agency for the Cooperation of EU Energy Regulators (ACER), and Nick Butler, founder of the Policy Institute at King’s College London, highlighted the need to adjust regulatory policies to face the technological, economic and environmental changes required by the decarbonization process.
Nick Butler emphasizes the fundamental role that emerging economies will play in the fight against climate change, since in 2025 the majority of global demand will be concentrated in Asia and the South. In his opinion, the data is significant since “Europe, which once generated 100% of global emissions, now only represents 10%. But that doesn’t mean we can sit back.”
Ensure competitiveness
Butler also emphasizes the economic cost that new networks, the electrification of mobility and the increase in energy demand that AI will generate will entail. “Society is aware of the changes to be addressed in the fight against climate change and on the path towards decarbonization, but we must take into account who will assume the cost of emissions neutrality, since this is closely linked to competitiveness ”.
During his speech, Alberto Pototschnig highlighted such relevant aspects in the current debate on energy as the necessary flexibility of the electrical system, the importance of increasing investments in electricity networks or the role of green hydrogen in decarbonization.
Pototschnig has been optimistic about Europe’s role in the fight against climate change and reducing emissions, Europe must face major regulatory challengesfrom the promotion of electromobility to the flexibility of electrical networks, through the promotion of renewable sources, the impact of offshore wind energy, or the future role of hydrogen.”
For Pototschnig, the development of modern and flexible infrastructure will be crucial to integrate these new energy sources into current electrical systems. According to the expert, tools such as contracts for difference (CFD) can play a decisive role in reducing financial uncertainty for investors in emerging technologies, such as green hydrogen.
The same happens with electric cars since their massive implementation will depend on adequate infrastructure that guarantees fast and accessible recharging, which poses great challenges in terms of capacity and pressure on electrical networks.”
Incentives and technological innovation
Furthermore, both experts have had the opportunity to debate, moderated by Javier Díaz Giménez, professor at IESE, on aspects related to the power of incentives and technological innovation as battering rams to accelerate the energy transition and both agreed that Renewable gases, such as biomethane and hydrogen, play a key role in this process, although there is still much to be determined regarding its development.
Nick Butler highlighted that, although there is significant progress in the adoption of clean energy, the transition cannot depend solely on regulatory policies, but must involve the private sector in the design of sustainable and economically viable strategies. “We need clear incentives that encourage investment in innovative technologies. Without these mechanisms, the market may fall behind global decarbonization needs.”
For his part, the president of the Naturgy Foundation, Rafael Villaseca, has referred to that “the urgent and unavoidable need to fight against climate change has led the sector to a change in costs, technology of operations and functioning. and market behavior, which impacts prices and the consumer.”
At the opening of the day, Rafael Villaseca, president of the Naturgy Foundation, pointed out that changes in costs, technologies and energy markets are redefining the sector’s priorities. Furthermore, to the now classic “trilemma of sustainability, supply guarantee and price efficiency, a new dilemma is added: ensuring that regulation does not endanger Europe’s competitiveness.”