Statements were made during the opening of CEM15/MI9, which began on Tuesday morning (1st), in Foz do Iguaçu
On the morning of Tuesday (October 1), in Foz do Iguaçu, representatives from governments and energy sectors of various countries highlighted the importance of international cooperation for promoting the global energy transition, focusing on replacing fossil fuels with renewables to address the climate emergency.
This topic set the tone for the remarks made by officials during the opening ceremony of the 15th Clean Energy Ministerial (CEM) and the 9th Mission Innovation – CEM15/MI9. Both events are taking place concurrently at the Mabu Hotel this week, alongside the agenda of the Ministerial Meeting of the G20 Energy Transitions Working Group at the Bourbon Hotel. The events in Foz are coordinated by the Ministry of Mines and Energy (MME), with support from Itaipu Binacional.
The Brazilian General Director of Itaipu, Enio Verri, discussed the 50-year journey of Itaipu, which has enabled the Binational to take on a leadership role in the transition, not only as the power plant that has generated the more quantity of clean and renewable energy in history but also by promoting other renewables such as biogas, solar, and hydrogen, as well as numerous socio-environmental projects in 435 municipalities in the States of Paraná and Mato Grosso do Sul.
“Water is our raw material, and therefore, it is impossible to separate energy production from technological innovation and environmental defense,” Enio Verri assured. “We have much to show the world, and there are great expectations regarding what will be taken from here to the G20 Summit in Rio de Janeiro in November. We hope that what comes out of here will be the state of the art in energy transition, respecting the realities of each country.”
For Mariana Espécie, coordinator of the G20 Energy Transitions Working Group and special advisor to the MME, holding these meetings in Brazil reinforces the Federal Government’s commitment to a fair and inclusive transition, a sentiment echoed by André Corrêa do Lago, the Secretary of Climate, Energy, and Environment at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MRE). Brazil has a significant share of renewables in its energy matrix, but it continues to invest in further decarbonizing electricity production and the transportation sector, which ensures its prominent role in the global energy transition landscape.
“The topic of sustainable fuels is a priority for Brazil,” Mariana stated. “Our proposal in bringing this topic to discussion with other countries is basically to start thinking about what we have been calling the second wave of the energy transition. It’s about how we can ponder new fuels that will be necessary for the energy transition to also reach sectors that are challenging to decarbonize, especially transportation and industry,” she added.
Rosalinde van der Vlies, General Director of Research and Innovation at the European Commission, pointed out Itaipu’s presence as a source of inspiration for cooperation. “How symbolic it is to be where you can see the strength of collaboration between these two countries to accelerate the energy transition. And that is why we are here, to collaborate for a cleaner future,” Rosalinde said, taking the opportunity to announce that Mission Innovation is launching a new initiative called Inclusion Catalyst, which reinforces the social aspect of the transition.
Both heads of the CEM and MI secretariats, Jean-François Gagné and Eleanor Webster, emphasized the critical moment for joint action to implement energy solutions that will shape the world of tomorrow. “We are here to catalyze investments, accelerate research, and scale up projects so that clean energy becomes attractive and accessible to all people, and for Net Zero to be not just a wish, but achievable by 2050,” Eleanor said.
The energy transition represents the greatest opportunity for value creation in today’s world, according to Albert Cheung, Vice President and Head of Global Transition Analysis at BloombergNEF. He delivered an optimistic presentation, highlighting that the window to achieve Net Zero by 2050 is closing, but “there is still time.” He pointed out several positive data points among CEM member countries (29 in total, including some of the world’s major economies), such as the 20% share of electric vehicles in new vehicle sales and the predominance of renewables in the generation capacity added in recent years, particularly in 2023, when 72% of new installed capacity came from solar sources and 20% from hydro.
Photo: Jean Pavão/Itaipu Binacional.
