A huge first few days at COP30 in Belem, with the urgency of the climate crisis impossible to ignore, here at the edge of the Amazon. I'm here for the full two weeks, joined in week one by Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) Board member Ruby Heard and in week two by ARENA's COO, Christopher Faris. Days are full of panels, bilats, opportune conversations, and lots of questions about who will host COP31.
Catch me tomorrow (Friday) speaking on the panel for CALSTART’s "Powered by Renewables: Zero-Emission Freight Corridors for a Global Transition, 16:00 – 17:00, We Mean Business Pavilion, Blue Zone, and then Saturday for Global Solar Council (GSC)’s "Solar. Storage. Energy Secured. How is solar plus storage critical to achieving energy security?" 15:00-16:15, Global Renewables Hub.
Key takeaways thus far:
👣The global movement of First Nations leadership is growing, amplified here in Brazil. The Aboriginal, Torres Strait Islander and Pacific voices here are loud and speak with great clarity: what we're doing isn't working. Systems change is required. As Barbara Ibuai put it on "The Answer is Us" panel yesterday: at some point in our histories, our bloodline reaches back to a First Nations ancestor, If that ancestor was talking to a First Nations person today, the message would be the same: protect country.
☀️Global push for the rooftop revolution (300 million rooftops by 2030!) equals huge opportunities for households, for decarb and plenty of challenges for the grid, and to ensure all that rooftop PV is complemented by storage. Ruby was on Boston Consulting Group (BCG)’s DER panel yesterday with the CCA's Matt Kean, CEFC's Paul McCartney and Zoisa North-Bond from Octopus Energy. Ruby reminded us all that V2X presents a huge opportunity to soak up all that solar (By 2050, utilising just 10% of expected V2X capacity could provide more than 1/3 of NEM's storage needs).
💰Matt Kean also made the point that Australia is a great place to invest, given the policy certainty that comes with a secure government committed to net zero (and some further points on other policy positions recently announced).
🏭Strong desire to for coordinated work in the APAC region for green metals. More on that next week.
🔋Did you know Solar Citizens staged a wedding for their solar panel and battery mascots the day the Minister announced the Cheaper Home Batteries Program? Now you do! (pic attached as proof)
🇺🇸Also, spotted Gavin Newsom being mugged like a rockstar, wandering through the Blue Zone with no US pavilion to visit.
#COP31
