Profound shifts are reshaping the global landscape. Despite uncertain conditions, economic growth nevertheless remains steady. Technological progress continues and is also being used in new contexts. Increasing political divides, global conflicts and geopolitical uncertainties are playing out on the world stage. And the ongoing energy transition away from fossil fuels and towards cleaner sources is no longer a question of sustainability but of competitiveness in the changing face of globalisation. As these elements become increasingly intertwined, The Business Booster 2024 examines the interplay of economic growth, geopolitical resilience, and the clean energy transition: does this present a challenge or an opportunity? Is the age-old energy trilemma of security, sustainability and affordability being replaced by economics, geopolitics, and the energy transition – or can opportunity abound when we weave these together?

Growth in the new Green Economy
With recession fears, supply chain disruptions, soaring energy prices, a significant skills gap and labour shortages, the past years brought much uncertainty about economic growth. While slowdown and inflation persisted, economies are now rebounding conservatively with predictions of continued moderate growth, although Europe may lag behind other regions. Even still, governments face pressure to ease the emerging cost of living crisis by recovering even faster, with related measures and policies often contributing to the implementation of climate plans being delayed. This in turn is slowing progress of the energy transition, pitting the dual mandate of growth and sustainability against one another. But does it need to be a trade-off or can economic prosperity bolster energy security and the move to clean energy provide new economic streams and stability?

Profitable markets for renewable energy technologies have already been established, demonstrating that economic growth and the clean transition can work in tandem, and that the energy transition offers fertile ground for investment and innovation. By redirecting capital toward clean technologies, we stimulate economic activity, create jobs, and foster entrepreneurship. As traditional energy sectors evolve, reskilling the workforce also becomes paramount. Investment in education and training ensures a seamless transition, ensuring that citizens benefit from the growth opportunities with new, quality jobs created in climate tech. Key green sectors including wind, solar, storage, EVs, mobility and hydrogen hold immense promise. Corporates, investors, and governments must collaborate to unlock this potential.

Beyond borders: strengthening geopolitical resilience
Energy has long been a driver of globalisation, creating interdependencies but also geopolitical tensions. With the green transition, nations are grappling with competing imperatives: safeguarding energy security, protecting domestic interests, and advancing global sustainability. International relations are currently heavily focused on ongoing global conflicts, diverting attention away from crucial energy collaboration efforts. At the same time, a green industrial race between large economies such as China, the US and the EU has unfolded, with each region looking to strengthen domestic value chains for new clean energy technologies. Through the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), the US seeks to boost investment in domestic green industry, just as the EU now does through its Green Deal Industrial Plan. China for its part has successfully developed green manufacturing capacities domestically at speed and its affordable global exports are now a key part of their strategy. But should nations look to decouple global supply chains or continue collaboration and de-risk strategic dependencies?

The EU has already taken concerted actions to secure its strategic value chains in clean tech in an effort to scale up domestic manufacturing capacities through an enhanced regulatory framework and public finance toolbox. Reinforcing relationships with those considered strategic partners has also been part of this work, notably for the access to strategic raw materials for the clean transition with partners such as Norway. Maintaining cooperation with the US also remains important, for instance through the EU-US Trade and Technology Council to boost trade and investment opportunities in climate tech. Meanwhile, the EU has reassessed its own approach to trade with China, moving towards de-risking strategic dependencies and combatting unfair trade practices such as subsidies to Chinese battery EV industry.

But as the acceleration of the green transition has created resistance from citizens and political parties in all regions, project deployment, new investments and job creation in climate tech demonstrate that the green transition comes with socio-economic benefits. In the United States for example, the IRA initially faced mass opposition by Republicans, but those same policies are now attracting billions of dollars in investment to those red states.

The global competition for the most attractive business case for climate tech investments is fully underway. In a decisive election year in Europe, the US and across the world, will green policies be challenged or enhanced? Will the geopolitical trends be confirmed?

Driving the clean energy transition
The global energy landscape continues to undergo a profound transformation — one that transcends technological advancements. Renewables are growing at an ever-increasing pace and continue to make up a greater share of the energy mix. But as even more intensive energy demands need to be met due to growing industry, new sectors requiring data centres, and as economies are electrified, it is not only clean energy demand that is growing – oil and gas demand is also on the rise. The challenge is to ensure that the transition goes ahead and at pace. Clean energy ambitions must be economically viable to ensure that the level of investment required for a net-zero future is met.

The clean energy transition is multi-faceted and presents complex challenges. Will the current global growth trends and geopolitical landscape undermine the ambitions to achieve a sustainable energy future? Or can we tap into disruptive innovation and ecosystems to foster collaboration and redefine the energy landscape?

A new trilemma or an emerging opportunity?
The Business Booster, taking place 16-17 October 2024 in Barcelona, will bring together the largest sustainable innovation ecosystem to answer the burning question: does today’s economic growth, geopolitical landscape and the clean energy transition present a trilemma or an opportunity? Can profit align with purpose, geopolitical tensions yield to collaboration, and clean energy become a shared legacy?

During a fireside chat with pioneers in energy technologies and two roundtable sessions: ‘Industrial unicorns: A made-in-Europe strategy’ and ‘Powerplay: Institutional insights on Economics, Geopolitics, and the Energy Transition’, the entrepreneurs behind some of the most innovative energy companies in Europe and abroad, high-level institutional speakers and government representatives from both sides of the Atlantic will bring their experiences and perspectives to this year’s theme.

Join us in Barcelona to contribute your own expertise and spark new ideas, develop new partnerships and discover the sustainable energy innovations of tomorrow, today. Registrations are now open!