The new issue of Energy Journal, CESI’s House Organ, focuses on the evolution of energy markets in light of the ongoing energy transition.
“Decarbonized and interconnected: the future energy markets” focuses on new dynamics that are overturning established ones, driving to new market models (related to various types of environmental technology) and raising great interest in regions of the world, which are endowed with a great natural wealth in critical materials and rare earths.
The four pillars of the energy transition – decarbonization, electrification, digitalization, and decentralization – are consolidating around China’s strong technological competitiveness, the green revolution advocated by President Biden in the United States, the leadership of the European Union on the path to decarbonization (thanks, amongst other factors, to the European Green Deal) and the emergence of new territories, once considered secondary in terms of energy markets (Africa, Central and South America, Asia, and Australia).
In this respect, the starting point of EJ 21 is to understand why the transition towards renewables cannot happen instantly, and why we need to plan a gradual but progressive phase-out of fossil fuels. There are many reasons for this. The foremost is our historical dependence on coal and oil, two fuels that have driven energy markets for well over two centuries.
In particular, the Scenario section describes how the transition from fossil fuels will be a gradual and complex process that will profoundly alter global energy markets, with economic, political, and social implications that extend far beyond the energy sector. In addition, Top Stories addresses interconnected systems and the energy market, two areas that are increasingly regulated by the digital revolution.
Furthermore, in Industries & Countries, we analyze how rare-earth elements, the metals used to develop key products for the energy transition, are essential to cutting-edge developments in renewable energy (wind, solar, electric), consumer technology (smartphones and LCDs), industry (microchips, optic fiber) and even in the military (missiles, radar). Moreover, the Future and Technology section focuses on how CESI is at the forefront of the modernization of power networks, a challenge posed by vast interconnections, and system digitalization, through innovative projects, master plans and simulation tools.
The Opinions section provides invaluable comments by Laura Cozzi (Chief Energy Modeller at IEA and Head of the Demand Outlook Division with responsibility of producing the annual World Energy Outlook), Anna Creti (Professor of Economics at the Paris Dauphine University, LeDA-CGEMP – Dauphine Economics Laboratory-Center for Geopolitics of Energy and Raw Materials) and Michael Pollitt (Professor of Business Economics at the Judge Business School, University of Cambridge). Finally, in New Skills, Bruno Cova (Advisory Services & Studies Unit Director of CESI) introduces readers to the skills required to work on the energy market, an area that is increasingly interconnected and interdisciplinary.
You can read the full issue of Energy Journal 21, for free, at this link.
