Resilient Infrastructure Vital to Reaching Net-Zero Energy Future
The energy industry must strengthen the resilience of infrastructure to protect market stability, address emerging threats and reach climate goals, experts told a recent conference co-hosted by the International Energy Forum (IEF) and the Global Association of Risk Professionals (GARP).
The "Emerging Threats to Energy Security: Enhancing Network Security and Infrastructure Resilience" conference, the fourth part of the IEF and GARP Global Energy Risk Forum, explored how critical energy networks adapt to rising climate demands and a more dynamic market environment while addressing energy equity and affordability.
Joseph McMonigle, Secretary General of the IEF, told delegates that achieving climate, social and digital resilience would enable the transformation of ageing infrastructure and allow the industry to invest in new technologies. "Enhancing infrastructure resilience is central to meeting society’s needs," said Mr McMonigle.
Yet, governments face a severe deficit when trying to protect infrastructure from threats such as cyber attacks and climate change. Even the strongest networks are helpless in the face of a "weak link" because governments often are too reactive in their efforts and lack the frameworks to respond to them offensively and in real time.
One of those threats is extreme weather events. Increasing network failures across the globe illustrate the dangers of not prioritizing infrastructure investments. Blackouts witnessed over the last two years reflect a lack of resiliency and a reliance on infrastructure that has either reached the end of its life or is overstretched in respond to new demands. Yet those fragilized networks remain vital for operational stability.
Developing new energy resources must remain a focus going forward, delegates heard. While investment in new sources such as hydrogen are growing, natural gas remains an indispensable element in the transition. It is hard to double the amount of electricity needed for the transition without thinking about a stable and adaptable supply of energy. That’s why it’s important that governments don’t over-regulate new sectors because they risk killing off innovative growth and the early investments that can come with it.
Many believe the energy industry and governments should let the market drive future energy innovation and investment. Instead of having the government pick the technology to achieve a clean energy future, delegates argued for agile governance in which market forces decide.
Determining who will pay for the global energy transition and how it will be equitably distributed across society is essential. Experts highlighted that energy poverty remains a danger to global economic and energy stability, and a persistent threat to community health, education, and economic growth.
