Speaker: Leo Figueira, Director, Structuring & Commercial at Canadian Solar, Inc., located in Australia.
The Paris Climate Accords in 2015 concluded that green-house gas emissions (GHG) emitted by human activities—operating electric power plants, driving vehicles and certain manufacturing processes—must be decarbonized by 2050 to maintain average temperatures no more than 1.5O of pre-industrial figures. However, in the past 5 years, the world has fallen well short of their interim targets. Australia appears to have shown how it can be achieved, and the example of South Australia shows why there can be reason for optimism. For example in 2020, SA demonstrated that 60% of the annual demand was met by wind and solar energy backed by long-duration storage.
This talk will focus on how rapid decrease in the price of solar and wind coupled with innovative energy policies have laid the foundation for how Australia plans to achieve net zero by 2050.
Leo Figueira Bio:
Leo Figueira (LU Business Economics C/O '03) has over 20 years of experience in energy and renewables spanning the US, Europe and Asia Pacific. Over the last 16 years, he has been based in Australia at the forefront of the country's rapid transition from predominantly coal reliant power generation to predominantly renewable generation. Leo is Commercial Director for Canadian Solar in Melbourne and a frequent contributor to regulatory rule changes working alongside regulators as well as other industry advocacy groups.
