Policy Dispatch: The FORESIGHT podcast on the policies underpinning the energy transition FORESIGHT Media Group

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Renewables are going from strength to strength in many European countries. Everyone is making some sort of progress towards their targets but if current trends continue, the EU will fall short of its benchmarks.
That is why there are a number of policy options available to national governments to turbocharge their renewables rollout. One of those options are so-called renewable acceleration areas.
Flore Belin, renewable energy policy coordinator at CAN Europe, joins this episode of the Policy Dispatch to explain what these areas are and how they should be rolled out.
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Farming emissions are not falling at the same rate that they are in sectors like power generation or industry. Complex factors like land-use change and livestock emissions make agriculture’s carbon footprint a difficult beast to tame.
Factors like food production, geopolitics and strong cultural ties almost make an already complex decarbonisation challenge even more difficult.
Carbon markets have helped bring down the emissions of power grids and manufacturing centres. In Europe, sectors like shipping, road transport and buildings are now set to get the same treatment. Could agriculture soon be rolled into the same system?
The Institute for European Environmental Policy’s Krystyna Springer joins this edition of the Policy Dispatch to explain why this might be a good, albeit tricky, idea.
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Clean technologies are the indispensable hardware of the energy transition. Whether its wind turbines, grid components or futuristic fusion power, without clean tech, we won’t get anywhere. 
The United Kingdom has proven itself to be an attractive place to develop and scale up clean technologies but the sector has begun to lose momentum and stagnate. A general election on 4th July could well mark a change in policies.
Sarah Mackintosh, director of the Cleantech for UK initiative, joins the Policy Dispatch to explain what the UK is doing right and where it could stand to improve. Also check out Cleantech’s manifesto here for more details.
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Parts of the world that have introduced some form of carbon pricing have been able to disconnect their emissions from economic growth, thanks largely to the polluter-pays principle. 
But there is somewhat of a disconnect between carbon markets and the most important part of the energy transition: consumers. So is it possible to democratise emissions trading? To involve more people in carbon pricing? Is this something that would benefit the energy transition? 
Valentin Lautier, founder of Homaio, a startup that aims to unlock carbon markets for individual investors, joins this edition of the Policy Dispatch to explain his view on these issues.
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Grids are a key part of Europe’s energy system but they need a massive overhaul to be ready for the growth in renewables and electricity demand expected up to 2050. Kristian Ruby joins the Policy Dispatch to look at the current situation and what is needed to make the change happen.
Europe’s grids need a major revitalisation to be able to support the energy transition. As more renewables and electric vehicles are rolled out, they will need to be bigger and smarter than ever.
Grid industry group Eurelectric has come out with two new reports, one on investment and supply chain needs and one on digitalisation, to look at the current state of Europe’s grids and what is needed for the energy transition to be a success.
The shift comes with a big price tag – Eurelectric estimates that it needs €67 billion every year until 2050 to keep up with the doubling of electricity consumption. But that could be reduced to €55 billion a year if the rollout is done efficiently and is supported properly.
Eurelectric’s secretary-general Kristian Ruby joins the Policy Dispatch to talk about the group’s latest research into the state of Europe’s grids and what is needed to get them fit for the 21st century.
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You can read Eurelectric’s two reports here:
Grids for speed
Wired for tomorrow
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Heating soaks up a huge amount of energy demand and is responsible for an equally significant amount of carbon emissions. Technology likes heatpumps and more efficient buildings are starting to have an impact on both accounts.
Bankwatch Network’s Morgan Henley, the group’s head of EU heating decarbonisation campaigning, joins the Policy Dispatch to lift the lid on district heating in Central and Eastern Europe.
The region is a district heating heartland thanks to its legacy Soviet infrastructure. A lot of decarbonisation still needs to be done but it appears that it has all the tools needed to make a big dent in heating’s carbon footprint.
Morgan provides plenty of insights on which countries are leading the way, what policymakers need to bear in mind and why Europe should realise that district heating is potentially an industry that it could lead the world in.
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