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Transition of the Energy Sector

The project is conceived as a tool for assisting UNECE member States in delivering on effective transition to low-carbon energy and green economy through helping them to plan approaches to modernising their mining and energy sectors.

The objective is to explore a great potential that lies in transformation of large industrial complexes. Many of these complexes were constructed prior to the emergence of carbon-constrained economies and are now, to a greater or lesser extent, relics of economies that no longer exist. Around the world there are a number of these locales where coal mines, power-generating plants, metallurgical processing plants, manufacturing and shipping facilities are integrated into dense, interrelated businesses. Nearby population centers provide the workforce for such complexes and thus, on the one hand, benefit from the employment opportunities, and on the other hand, unavoidably render themselves vulnerable to secondary impacts on the local economy, and expose their communities to a degraded local environment.

Consequently, the objective of the project is to develop tools, which can be used to make a member state’s economy more efficient, more sustainable, and more friendly to the environment.

In the initial stage, the project will seek to develop a plan for greening the selected State’s economy through modernisation of its fossil fuel based industrial sites by reorienting them towards modern technologies and more efficient use of available resources. In the subsequent stage, the project, on the basis of lessons learnt throughout the initial phase, will develop a robust and flexible business model for efficient industrial site’s transition, replicable in other industrial sites in like countries or regions. It will also contribute to development of innovation-led socially and environmentally responsible sustainable national energy strategies.

Modernization of energy sector cannot be avoided, particularly in light of the states’ voluntarily made environmental pledges, nor can it be further delayed as the energy infrastructure in many cases is at the very end of its life-cycle. Consequently, since modernization is necessary and inevitable, it is in the state’s best interest to undertake it in the most cost-efficient manner. The more profound the transition towards low-carbon energy and green economy that is undertaken by a member State, the more competitive the state’s economy will become. It is because in a long run a cleaner modern economy is more cost-effective, for it has an impact not only on the efficiency of the production itself, but also on a wide number of other intertwined issues, which constitute indirect costs to the state, such as e.g. social costs, healthcare costs, reputational cost, etc. 

Because of its experience and multidimensional approach that is due to the multiplicity of its subsidiary bodies, which serve as platforms for cooperation between states, business and industry, UNECE is the best suited partner for delivering such program. A replicable and flexible transformational business model that it seeks to develop will present states with tools for improving their energy efficiency through application of modern low-emission technologies, switch to more efficient yet available energy resources, more effective use of available resources, and building an integrated economy that is in harmony with the needs and capabilities of the state, its population, and its environmental commitments.

Documents
Documents
Draft Project Document
Key messages resulting from the Eighth Forum on Energy for Sustainable Development 
Track III: Modernizing energy industry

11-14 June 2017, Astana, Kazakhstan
Summary (excerpts) of the Eighth International Forum on Energy for Sustainable Development 
11-14 June 2017, Astana, Kazakhstan 
Agenda of the meeting on Modernization of the energy sector – a pathway towards low-carbon energy and green economy
14 June 2017, Eighth International Forum on Energy for Sustainable Development, Astana, Kazakhstan
Report from the meeting on Modernization of the energy sector – a pathway towards low-carbon energy and green economy
14 June 2017, Eighth International Forum on Energy for Sustainable Development, Astana, Kazakhstan
Agenda of the meeting on Transition of the Energy Sector; Modernising Infrastructure
13 November 2018, Ninth International Forum on Energy for Sustainable Development, Kyiv, Ukraine
Report from the meeting on Transition of the Energy Sector; Modernising Infrastructure
13 November 2018, Ninth International Forum on Energy for Sustainable Development, Kyiv, Ukraine
Presentations
Presentations
Modernization of the Energy Sector  a Pathway towards Low-Carbon Energy and Green Economy
General Slides 
Eighth International Forum on Energy for Sustainable Development, Astana, Kazakhstan,14 June 2017
Modernization of the Energy Sector - a pathway towards low-carbon energy and green economy
Mr. Raymond Pilcher 
Workshop on Coal Mine Methane and Abandoned Mine Methane in the context of Sustainable Energy, 23 October 2017, Geneva Switzerland
Modernization of the Energy Sector - a pathway towards low-carbon energy and green economy
Mr. Rahul Bansal
Workshop on Coal Mine Methane and Abandoned Mine Methane in the context of Sustainable Energy, 23 October 2017, Geneva Switzerland
Columbia University Study on the Challenges of the U.S Coal Industry and Lessons for Europe
Mr. Raymond Pilcher  
12th Session of the Group of Experts on Coal Mine Methane, 25 October 2017, Geneva Switzerland
EIT Climate-KIC Re-industrialise Flagship
Ms. Sarah Teller-Tokarska, Key Account Lead DACH, EIT Climate-KIC  
13th Session of the Group of Experts on Coal Mine Methane, 25 September 2018, Geneva Switzerland
Coal Regions in Transition Initiative
Ms. Aleksandra Tomczak, Policy Coordinator – EU coal, Directorate General for Energy; B3: Retail Markets; coal & oil, European Commission
13th Session of the Group of Experts on Coal Mine Methane, 25 September 2018, Geneva Switzerland
CCC Overview of Areas of Relevant Expertise
Ms. Lesley Sloss, Principal Environmental Consultant, IEA Clean Coal Centre
13th Session of the Group of Experts on Coal Mine Methane, 25 September 2018, Geneva Switzerland
Kopernikus Project for the Energy Transition - ENavi
Mr. Stefan Stückrad, Scientific Managing Director - Kopernikus ENavi Coordination Office 
13th Session of the Group of Experts on Coal Mine Methane, 25 September 2018, Geneva Switzerland
Modernising Infrastructure - Transition of the Energy Sector
General Slides  
Ninth International Forum on Energy for Sustainable Development, Kyiv, Ukraine, 13 November 2018
German Climate Policy
German Climate PolicyMr. Heiko Thomas, Research Associate, Institute for Advanced Sustainability Studies, Potsdam 
Ninth International Forum on Energy for Sustainable Development, Kyiv, Ukraine, 13 November 2018
Energy Transition
Mr. Phil Grainger, Manager, Climate Change, IPIECA
Ninth International Forum on Energy for Sustainable Development, Kyiv, Ukraine, 13 November 2018
Modernising Infrastructure - Transition of the Energy Sector; Pathways to Sustainable Energy
Ms. Stefanie Held, Project Manager, Pathways to Sustainable Energy Project, UNECE
Ninth International Forum on Energy for Sustainable Development, Kyiv, Ukraine, 13 November 2018
Kopernikus Project for the Energy Transition - ENavi
Mr. Stefan Stückrad, Scientific Managing Director, Kopernikus ENavi Coordination Office  
Ninth International Forum on Energy for Sustainable Development, Kyiv, Ukraine, 13 November 2018