Financial Times: The race to net zero should be at a human pace 

The race to net zero should be at a human pace 

Originally published in the Financial Times' Letters to the Editor on 13 February 2021.

The Financial Times (“The new green order”, Magazine, FT Weekend, Life & Arts, FT Weekend, February 6) is correct that Covid is resetting the pace of worldwide energy transition. But the article focuses on electricity generation which represents just 20 per cent of the world’s energy mix, and not the full energy usage spectrum that has for centuries driven global geopolitics, social and environmental justice and human development. 

There is no single “race to (net) zero”. There are multiple transitions in progress as big energy, big digital, big investor and big state interests compete for share. The old geopolitics of energy supply supremacy are being superseded by forces of customer-centric “pull”. 

A human pace is the only way to ensure humanity builds forward and grows together, and crosses the finish line intact. 

Angela Wilkinson Secretary-General and Chief Executive, World Energy Council