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By Ross Kerber
June 24 (Reuters) - Government incentives could help make
new energy-transition technologies like carbon capture and green
hydrogen more commercially viable, financial industry executives
said on Thursday.
Allan Baker, global head of power for Societe Generale,
cited how the wind and solar power industries first
took off with the help of public policies, speaking on a panel
at the Reuters Events: Global Energy Transition conference.
In order to get to net zero emissions, "It is very much the
subsidies or support you need to close the cost gap between,
say, green hydrogen now and the fossil fuel that's being used"
currently to make products like steel or cement, Baker said on
the panel, which was webcast.
Pooja Goyal, head of renewable and sustainable energy for
Carlyle International Energy Partners, said public-private
partnerships could be useful to create more infrastructure for
electric grids and to improve their resilience. Such
partnerships could also foster the development of expensive
green hydrogen projects, she said.
"The economics around green hydrogen might not be
competitive right now. So there is a bridge that is needed from
a policy perspective in order to attract private capital," Goyal
said.
So-called "green hydrogen," made by using renewable energy
to power electrolysers to convert water, is being backed by many
governments for vehicles and energy plants but it is currently
too expensive for widespread use.
Panel moderator Scott Greer, a partner at law firm King &
Spalding, cited estimates that total spending needed to limit
global warming to acceptable levels by 2050 could reach $115
trillion, or roughly equal to all U.S tax revenue during that
timespan.
Financial executives were also aligned with power company
CEOs who argued at this week's global energy conference that
natural gas will have a long-lasting role in the transition to a
climate-friendly global economy.
Mark Florian, managing director for BlackRock Inc,
said reducing emissions will require investments in a wide range
of technologies, including battery storage and gas-fired power
plants to supply power at during periods of peak demand.
"We need a village, essentially, a variety of (power)
sources to fill the gaps," he said.
Mark Lacey, head of global resource equities for Schroders
, also said gas-fired plants will remain needed in some
emerging market countries where it would not be realistic to
move entirely to renewables soon.
"I don't think you just can basically put hard deadlines in
with every single country," Lacey said.
For more on the Reuters Events: Global Energy
Transition conference please click here https://reutersevents.com/events/energy-transition-global
(Reporting by Ross Kerber
Editing by Marguerita Choy)
