COP28 delivered some promising results, including a commitment to tripling the capacity of renewable energy sources by 2030 and making the first ever call to transition away from fossil fuels. But, the much called-for term ‘phasing out’ of fossil fuels was explicitly left out from the deal. Two-thirds (67%) of European business leaders agree that the conference will accelerate the green energy transition in their country. However, despite this positive sentiment, doubts remain with more than one in ten (13%) business leaders saying that COP28 will actually slow the green energy transition down.
This is according to a Censuswide survey commissioned by BayWa r.e., with over 2,500 business decision makers across Germany, the UK, Italy, Spain and France.
The survey also found that sentiment around COP28 varied across Europe. In Germany 22% believe the conference will not have any significant influence on the green transition, while 17% of French business leaders believe it will slow the transition down in their country.
Shared accountability and more collaboration needed
While the effectiveness of COP is in question, European business leaders agree that politicians are most responsible for the success of the green energy transition.
According to the research, national governments (21%) hold the most responsibility for the green transition, while additional accountability on a European-wide level is largely shared by regional organisations (like EU) (17%), as well as businesses and citizens (16% respectively). However, in Spain, business leaders call out themselves as being most responsible for the green transition (21%), while UK business leaders point towards regional organisations as being most accountable (20%) – despite no longer being part of the EU.
“We are already more than a third of the way through the decade that matters. Our research shows us the breadth of the challenge that still lies ahead for speeding up the renewable transition in time,” says Matthias Taft, CEO at BayWa r.e. “COP28 delivered some promising outcomes, but we need more collaboration especially between businesses and politicians on national and regional level to see potential realised.”
Phasing out fossil fuels top of the agenda for 2024
While the research points to a range of factors to tackle in 2024, European business leaders are aligned that the phase out of fossil fuels is the biggest issue we must address this year (22%) followed by building more storage facilities (chosen by 21%). COP28 ended with the first-ever call to move away from fossil fuels, but the much called-for term ‘phasing out’ was explicitly left out from the deal.
The three biggest factors to tackle in 2024 to bring forward the energy transition
| Europe-Wide | Germany | UK | France | Spain | Italy | |
1
| Phase out | Build more storage facilities | Phase out fossil fuels | Regulation and | Build more nuclear power plants | Phase out fossil fuels |
2
| Build more storage facilities | Grid connection issues | Regulation and permitting of new renewable energy projects | Build more storage facilities | Build more storage facilities | Bureaucratic barriers |
3
| Regulation and permitting of new renewable energy projects | Phase out fossil fuels | Build more nuclear power plants | Build more storage facilities | Supply chain issues | Regulation and permitting of new renewable energy projects |
Matthias Taft, CEO, BayWa r.e. comments: “When it comes to what we need to tackle in 2024 to advance the energy transition, phasing out fossil fuels must be a top priority. To achieve this, we need a more resilient renewable energy supply network and robust storage solutions. Businesses are ready for the green transition, but bureaucracy and the lacking availability of green energy is standing in their way. This is leaving more than one backdoor open for the fossil fuel industry - on top of the weakened language we saw at COP28. We have to finally slam these shut.”
Businesses are ready, some obstacles remain
European businesses are ready to contribute to the renewable transition with 80% already having a green energy strategy in place, but almost half (48%) of businesses are only just getting started.
Despite this progress, there is still a range of barriers for businesses achieving their green energy objectives. A quarter (26%) of European business leaders state that the availability of green energy supply and infrastructure is the top barrier and cite bureaucratic hurdles and cost factors as the second and third biggest challenges.
The importance of renewable energy deployment is shared by business leaders across Europe, however each country is facing its own specific issues. In France the skills shortage is a top barrier (27%), in Spain it is the lack of management/staff commitment (27%), while a lack of consumer commitment is the biggest challenge in Germany (28%).
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About the research
This research was conducted on behalf of BayWa r.e. by Censuswide in December 2023, surveying 2,505 business decision makers across Europe in Germany, the UK, Italy, Spain and France.
