Statements at C20 Troika Webinar

Guest Speaker – Hawa TK Diallo (United Nations Department of Global
Communications)

The United Nations takes work by civil society very seriously because civil society
has an important position in the development of dialogue in international bodies. It
provides opportunities for people to bring together communities for collective actions.
And also to mobilize society at local, regional, or international level.

• Challenge the status quo, whenever you see something that you feel needs to be
  held accountable.
• Civil society builds bridges among people and authorities, and it must be done
  through an intergenerational approach. Intergenerational partnership should be the
  core of civil society work.
• Promote a common good in what everybody is doing, such as sustainable
  development and everyone cannot do it alone.
• What can civil society do? Take COVID-19 pandemic as an example where local
  level actions take place. Civil society supports the works of the United Nations, and
  works to fill the gap where government or international organizations cannot do the
  work.
• The work of civil society travels through to the most remote areas and helps to raise
  awareness about an issue that otherwise cannot reach the most remote part of
  society.
  Teresa Giuffre (C20 ECE WG Member – Italian Climate Network)
• Young people have the right to be involved in shaping their future → youth led social
  innovations have a significant transformative potential
• Renewables are key to energy security and they empower local communities. With
  adequate support, the renewable energy sector can provide universal energy access
  and generate youth employment (more than 42 million jobs by 2050).
• More young people pursue employment in the renewable sector, but there’s
  something that must be done because most of the support is only lip service to youth
  participation.
• Support: financial support for youth-led initiatives, capacity building, academic skills
  that is aligned with green labor market, accessibility to career advancement
  opportunities, support for vulnerable and underrepresented communities
• Global initiatives for youth participation in RE: UN Energy Compact (support
  youth-led initiatives clean technology program by 2030), Student Energy (virtual
  energy education program), EU Youth for a Just Transition Toolkit, Next Energy Italy
• Need combined efforts of all stakeholders to remove barriers to youth access; need
  tangible access rather than only words of praise → youth participation is not a token.
• “Young people do not want to feel honored by seating at the table with the grown-ups
  because young people are professionals that need support to build the sustainable
  energy transition.”
  Rahmat Maulana Sidik (C20 ECE WG Member – Indonesia for Global Justice)
• Stockholm Declaration principle on resource governance → natural ecosystems
  must be managed sustainably. However, demand for critical minerals keeps
  increasing and is projected to increase still due to the increase in renewable energy
  infrastructures.
• Unsustainable resource management led to environmental pollution and an increase
  of GHG emissions.
• If the pattern of exploitation does not change and there is no safeguarding policy in
  place, renewable energy that is truly ‘clean’ and sustainable cannot be realized.
• Cobalt and lithium are metals that has high concern for future demands
• Accountability and responsibility of producers to acquire the resources sustainably.
• Trade agreements that promotes resource exploitation can hinder the actualization of
  energy transition policies; several trade agreements that exploit critical mineral
  resources must be canceled
• The impacts of unsustainable resource management: environment → contamination,
  deep sea mining; social → land conflicts, deprivation of housing, displacement;
  economic → loss of livelihood, poor working conditions, child labour
• Important to manage energy transition that is based on human rights: FPIC for
  indigenous people, community-led governance, bottom-up approach, limit
  exploitation space by curbing trade agreements that encourage natural resources
  exploitation
  Kavin Kumar (C20 ECE WG Member – Youth for Green Hydrogen, India)
• Renewable energy is currently on the rise, but there is no sense of integration
  between all these sources, that someday it could power up heavy industries and
  even small appliances. The most suitable form of energy could be green hydrogen.
• Green hydrogen can be a solution to achieve net-zero and sustain our way of life.
• However, there is no clear understanding of green hydrogen yet. It has not been
  classified yet what constitutes green hydrogen.
• India has launched a policy measure to encourage the development of green
  hydrogen because it has the goal to become the producer and also major exporter of
  green hydrogen. And this should not stop in India. Every state in India has their own
  green hydrogen policy.
• Some countries have not been able to translate policy into action, therefore it is up to
  us as civil society to remind these leaders. India tries to make sure that politics,
  policy, business, finance, and technology is going to come together.
• What Youth for Green Hydrogen has been doing is to spread awareness about green
  hydrogen, bring the narrative that this is the future of energy, and show a liking to the
  concept of green hydrogen. Narrative is important to get people onboard with the
  idea.
• Promoting skills of green hydrogen → introducing people to green skills and energy
  sector that will be profitable and sustainable in the future to ensure that people are
  involved in energy transition.
  Closing remarks: Sailesh Singhal (C20 ECE WG Member – Youth of India Foundation)
• Collaboration is important in the process of localized energy transition. Although
  there are challenges, in India, we have been receiving support from the local
  government.
• The fact is that Africa is among the first regions to make a commitment to green
  hydrogen. There is lots of potential in the global south for energy transition.
• In the United Nations General Assembly, the rights to a clean and healthy
  environment has been adopted as basic human rights.
• Milestone in the first G20 presidency to include disability rights
• Although there are challenges regarding the cost, eventually green energy will be
  accessible and affordable because the process has been there on most technological
  transformations.
  Q&A Discussion
  1) Dose (Togo) – Does Indonesia have renewable energy solar cookstoves?
  Rahmat Maulana: Actually, the policy in Indonesia about solar energy is still
  contradictory between the implementation and policy. There is still exploitation of
  mining for solar energy.
  2) Nishan (India) – Whether renewable energy prices will match conventional
  energy prices or it will be more expensive?
  Kavin: The price of renewables actually keeps decreasing, if it can be around $2
  dollar or below that then it can be a strong contender for conventional energy.
  Regarding the green hydrogen and its price, you can look at it from two perspectives:
  a) economy or b) the environmental benefits. Renewable energy is going to be
  around for a long time, so regardless of the price, we should continue to invest in this
  sector.
  Sailesh: Not so much usage in solar globally, but in Indonesia there is extensive
  development. Mr. Arifin Tasrif mentioned a plan to scale up solar energy and solar
  panels. Maybe at this rate it is still expensive, but if it became massive, the cost could
  be reduced significantly
  3) Omobola – Support for the partnership with schools and youth participation in
  our effort, but we need more synergy and collaboration across all levels. We
  can also collaborate in other climate advocacy: tree planting, waste reduction.
  We need to promote sustainability in the midst of conflict.
  4) Hawa – What is the problem with energy transition implementation? How will
  we bring this to the local level? What if they cannot afford this? How to spread
  awareness about energy transition at the local level?
  Teresa: At the very beginning, the public investment can be the catalyst, then the
  private sector will follow. In developing countries, policy can be the issue and they
  also need support from the developed countries. Developed countries often criticize
  developing countries that they do not make enough efforts, but they actually should
  look at themselves blocking the resources and access to take some steps. It’s not
  just about moral issues, they can also build partnerships on the basis of business
  opportunity.
  Kavin: We live in a very globalized world where problems transcend borders. You
  cannot communicate this at the local level. In India, they are given subsidies to move
  to gas and finally they shift for good after they experience the benefit. Narrative is
  important for everybody. We need to create compelling stories.

The United Nations takes work by civil society very seriously because civil society has an important position in the development of dialogue in international bodies. It provides opportunities for people to bring together communities for collective actions. And also to mobilize society at local, regional, or international level.

• Challenge the status quo, whenever you see something that you feel needs to be held accountable.
• Civil society builds bridges among people and authorities, and it must be done through an intergenerational approach. The intergenerational partnership should be the core of civil society work.
• Promote a common good in what everybody is doing, such as sustainable development and everyone cannot do it alone.
• What can civil society do? Take the COVID-19 pandemic as an example where local-level actions take place. Civil society supports the works of the United Nations, and works to fill the gap where government or international organizations cannot do the work.
• The work of civil society travels through to the most remote areas and helps to raise awareness about an issue that otherwise cannot reach the most remote part of society. Teresa Giuffre (C20 ECE WG Member – Italian Climate Network)
• Young people have the right to be involved in shaping their future → youth led social
  innovations have a significant transformative potential
• Renewables are key to energy security and they empower local communities. With adequate support, the renewable energy sector can provide universal energy access and generate youth employment (more than 42 million jobs by 2050).
• More young people pursue employment in the renewable sector, but there’s something that must be done because most of the support is only lip service to youth participation.
• Support: financial support for youth-led initiatives, capacity building, academic skills that is aligned with green labor market, accessibility to career advancement opportunities, support for vulnerable and underrepresented communities
• Global initiatives for youth participation in RE: UN Energy Compact (support youth-led initiatives clean technology program by 2030), Student Energy (virtual
  energy education program), EU Youth for a Just Transition Toolkit, Next Energy Italy
• Need combined efforts of all stakeholders to remove barriers to youth access; need
  tangible access rather than only words of praise → youth participation is not a token.
• “Young people do not want to feel honored by seating at the table with the grown-ups
  because young people are professionals that need support to build the sustainable
  energy transition.”
  Rahmat Maulana Sidik (C20 ECE WG Member – Indonesia for Global Justice)
• Stockholm Declaration principle on resource governance → natural ecosystems
  must be managed sustainably. However, demand for critical minerals keeps
  increasing and is projected to increase still due to the increase in renewable energy
  infrastructures.
• Unsustainable resource management led to environmental pollution and an increase
  of GHG emissions.
• If the pattern of exploitation does not change and there is no safeguarding policy in
  place, renewable energy that is truly ‘clean’ and sustainable cannot be realized.
• Cobalt and lithium are metals that has high concern for future demands
• Accountability and responsibility of producers to acquire the resources sustainably.
• Trade agreements that promotes resource exploitation can hinder the actualization of
  energy transition policies; several trade agreements that exploit critical mineral
  resources must be canceled
• The impacts of unsustainable resource management: environment → contamination,
  deep sea mining; social → land conflicts, deprivation of housing, displacement;
  economic → loss of livelihood, poor working conditions, child labour
• Important to manage energy transition that is based on human rights: FPIC for
  indigenous people, community-led governance, bottom-up approach, limit
  exploitation space by curbing trade agreements that encourage natural resources
  exploitation
  Kavin Kumar (C20 ECE WG Member – Youth for Green Hydrogen, India)
• Renewable energy is currently on the rise, but there is no sense of integration
  between all these sources, that someday it could power up heavy industries and
  even small appliances. The most suitable form of energy could be green hydrogen.
• Green hydrogen can be a solution to achieve net-zero and sustain our way of life.
• However, there is no clear understanding of green hydrogen yet. It has not been
  classified yet what constitutes green hydrogen.
• India has launched a policy measure to encourage the development of green
  hydrogen because it has the goal to become the producer and also major exporter of
  green hydrogen. And this should not stop in India. Every state in India has their own
  green hydrogen policy.
• Some countries have not been able to translate policy into action, therefore it is up to
  us as civil society to remind these leaders. India tries to make sure that politics,
  policy, business, finance, and technology is going to come together.
• What Youth for Green Hydrogen has been doing is to spread awareness about green
  hydrogen, bring the narrative that this is the future of energy, and show a liking to the
  concept of green hydrogen. Narrative is important to get people onboard with the
  idea.
• Promoting skills of green hydrogen → introducing people to green skills and energy
  sector that will be profitable and sustainable in the future to ensure that people are
  involved in energy transition.
  Closing remarks: Sailesh Singhal (C20 ECE WG Member – Youth of India Foundation)
• Collaboration is important in the process of localized energy transition. Although
  there are challenges, in India, we have been receiving support from the local
  government.
• The fact is that Africa is among the first regions to make a commitment to green
  hydrogen. There is lots of potential in the global south for energy transition.
• In the United Nations General Assembly, the rights to a clean and healthy
  environment has been adopted as basic human rights.
• Milestone in the first G20 presidency to include disability rights
• Although there are challenges regarding the cost, eventually green energy will be
  accessible and affordable because the process has been there on most technological
  transformations.
  Q&A Discussion
  1) Dose (Togo) – Does Indonesia have renewable energy solar cookstoves?
  Rahmat Maulana: Actually, the policy in Indonesia about solar energy is still
  contradictory between the implementation and policy. There is still exploitation of
  mining for solar energy.
  2) Nishan (India) – Whether renewable energy prices will match conventional
  energy prices or it will be more expensive?
  Kavin: The price of renewables actually keeps decreasing, if it can be around $2
  dollar or below that then it can be a strong contender for conventional energy.
  Regarding the green hydrogen and its price, you can look at it from two perspectives:
  a) economy or b) the environmental benefits. Renewable energy is going to be
  around for a long time, so regardless of the price, we should continue to invest in this
  sector.
  Sailesh: Not so much usage in solar globally, but in Indonesia there is extensive
  development. Mr. Arifin Tasrif mentioned a plan to scale up solar energy and solar
  panels. Maybe at this rate it is still expensive, but if it became massive, the cost could
  be reduced significantly
  3) Omobola – Support for the partnership with schools and youth participation in
  our effort, but we need more synergy and collaboration across all levels. We
  can also collaborate in other climate advocacy: tree planting, waste reduction.
  We need to promote sustainability in the midst of conflict.
  4) Hawa – What is the problem with energy transition implementation? How will
  we bring this to the local level? What if they cannot afford this? How to spread
  awareness about energy transition at the local level?
  Teresa: At the very beginning, the public investment can be the catalyst, then the
  private sector will follow. In developing countries, policy can be the issue and they
  also need support from the developed countries. Developed countries often criticize
  developing countries that they do not make enough efforts, but they actually should
  look at themselves blocking the resources and access to take some steps. It’s not
  just about moral issues, they can also build partnerships on the basis of business
  opportunity.
  Kavin: We live in a very globalized world where problems transcend borders. You
  cannot communicate this at the local level. In India, they are given subsidies to move
  to gas and finally they shift for good after they experience the benefit. Narrative is
  important for everybody. We need to create compelling stories.