INTRODUCTION Contributed by: David P. Flynn, Phillips Lytle LLP
the costs do not escalate out of control or lead to unintended economic consequences. Decarbonisation Ongoing efforts to decarbonise the energy and power sector, together with a push to use renew- able energy resources to replace carbon-based generation, is creating both opportunity and tension. The opportunity is an almost limitless market to provide new and/or emerging tech- nologies that do not rely on carbon or a carbon- based fuel to provide electric energy. There is also a very significant effort focused on further electrification of our economies and life – for example, transitioning from natural gas or coal as a source of heat, with an ever-increasing reli- ance on electric energy. This is creating incred- ible pressure on generation, transmission and distribution capabilities around the world. Certain estimates of growth in the energy sec- tor put this into some context. Growth in renew- able energy (primarily solar and wind) may result in renewable energy generation representing almost 40% of all global energy generation by 2040. In certain jurisdictions, the penetration of renewables and other non-carbon-based energy sources could reach double that number.
With the tangible impacts of climate change seemingly presenting themselves on an almost daily basis, more and more countries are recog- nising the need to decarbonise their economies. What could have been a more gradual transition is now taking on the feel of a crisis. This is forc- ing very significant (and costly) changes to occur in a very short period of time. It is also forcing the existing legal and regulatory frameworks and systems in many countries to evolve at a pace that is uncharacteristic for this sector. Conse- quently, it is imperative for those entities that are either impacted or involved in the decarbonisa- tion effort to use tools such as this Guide to bet- ter understand and facilitate the implementation of the decarbonisation efforts.
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