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• All power requirements can be met by renewables combined with storage systems; technologies,
such as nuclear and gas-fired power plants will not be needed in this transformed energy infrastructure.
• Furthermore, carbon capture and storage technologies are not needed to achieve 100% renewables.
• Besides the electrification of the heating and cooling and the transport sectors, there will remain
a need for other renewable technologies to decarbonize many processes that cannot be
easily achieved through electrification, such as the production of process heat
in manufacturing, mining and food processing. As costs come down, green hydrogen
produced by electricity and power-to-gas technologies can also be used to meet a portion of
our end use energy requirements.
• The technological capabilities for a 100% renewable energy world are already in existence, and
as their costs come down the access to finance for this transformation will continue to increase.
What will be needed are ambitious policy initiatives, including, perhaps, a global price on carbon,
and excellent communication strategies to ensure public understanding and acceptance, as well as
equitable access to energy for all people within the energy transformation process.
• A well-educated research community as well as a strong workforce training program and easily
accessible retraining activities must be an inherent part of this energy transformation. Among other
key interventions, governments should still support and expand the financing of renewable energy
technology innovation.
• Aggressive action to ensure global quality standards for renewable technology manufacturing and
installation processes must be inherent in all aspects of the energy transformation and included as
part of this workforce development.
12.4 What Will Be the ISES’ Role in Leading and Supporting the
Renewable Energy Future?
For its next 50 years, ISES will focus its work on these ten basic elements of a transformation to a 100%
renewable energy system. Specific examples of the ISES activities will be as follows:
• Advocate for R&D to support technology innovations that further brings down costs, improves
system efficiency and reliability (as well as longevity) and reduces financial risks and improves
investor confidence and project bankability essential to achieve a 100% renewable energy target.
• Support specific enabling policies (e.g., carbon pricing, innovative financing schemes, technology
deployment targets) to advance the transformation.
• Broaden our effective communications to our stakeholders and the public through our publications,
journals, (infographics, webinars, congresses, press releases) to achieve broad and, ideally, universal
support for the energy transformation.
• Develop educational programs that focus on building an equitable and sustainable energy
transformation, as well as programs that broaden the awareness of renewable energy curricula to
young students and make mentorship programs available to students without access to institutions
that carry these curricula.
• Expand our Young ISES activities to encourage much broader participation in the energy
transformation by young people from a wide variety of backgrounds and interests entering their
professional careers.
• Continue to engage with and provide technical support to key partners (REN21, IRENA, ISA, IEA,
GSC, etc.) and establish new partnerships with broad and diverse communities that are stakeholders
in the transformation.
• Commit to ensuring that all ongoing and future ISES programs embrace the JEDI (Justice, Equity,
Diversity and Inclusivity) principles.
These actions all support the ISES vision of a 100% renewable energy world readily available to the entire global community.
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