Political leaders, private sector representatives and stakeholders from all over the world will convene on 16 and 17 March, 2021 for the 7th “Berlin Energy Transition Dialogue (BETD)” conference held virtually, the largest global event on the transition towards new and renewable energies. Against the backdrop of growing energy demands and the need to reduce CO2 emissions to attain the goals set by 175 countries, including Nigeria, in the 2015 Paris climate agreement, experts, decision makers and civil society representatives will discuss how to switch energy production towards clean technologies and applications.
As prices for renewable energies have come down significantly in the past decades, this approach is con- sidered not only necessary to preserve our planet, but also to offer enormous economic advantages for countries that realise their potential in renewable energy production. German Foreign Minister Heiko Mass said ahead of the conference: “The energy transition has to suc- ceed, so that our planet has a future. Worldwide support has never been this broad-based before. With the end of the fossil age drawing near, the world will change significantly in the decades to come. This is why we need a forward-looking energy policy that fosters cooperation in order to assure a smooth tran- sition”.
Among the participants at the conference are Fatih Birol, the head of the International Energy Agency, the new US Special Presidential Envoy for Climate and former Secretary of State John Kerry, and the President of the EU Commission Ursula von der Leyen. Discussions during the two-day event will focus on issues such as how to finance energy transitions, intelligent mobility and carbon neutral cities or “greening the industry”. A special focus will be dedicated to the “hydrogen economy”, considered by experts as one of the most promising avenues for clean energy production in the 21st century. As hydrogen can be produced from renewable (“green hydrogen”) or fossil energy sources (“blue or grey hydrogen”), it can provide a link for oil and gas producing countries to the post-fossil age. Nigeria and Germany have cooperated through the “Nigerian-German Energy Partnership” since 2008, covering issues ranging from energy security and efficiency to renewable energies and capacity building, including vocation
