An exclusive illuminem interview with Max Masi, author of "Total Renewable Energy: A Tale of a Decarbonized World, empowered by AI", by Andrea Gori, CEO of illuminem

Massimiliano

Andrea

Andrea: Welcome, Max, and congratulations on your insightful new book, <a href="https://www.amazon.it/Total-Renewable-Energy-Decarbonized-Intelligence/dp/B0C6BSZFG8" target="_blank" rel="noopener">"Total Renewable Energy: A Tale of a Decarbonized World, empowered by AI"</a>. It's a riveting read - I was completely absorbed throughout the weekend! It would be great if you could share what drove you to pen down such a thought-provoking piece.
Max: Thank you, Andrea. My increasing concern about the escalating global climate crisis was the primary catalyst behind this novel. I start introducing the concept of the S curve in the book. Derived from the logistic curve, this idea illustrates how the initially inconspicuous impact of climate change could rapidly become exponential, leading to potentially catastrophic consequences, once a certain threshold is crossed. We are experiencing a kind of cognitive dissonance, underestimating or even overlooking the gravity of the climate crisis we are actively contributing to, and I felt the urgency to address this issue.
Andrea: That's a grim but compelling concept, Max. It underscores why it's crucial for us at Illuminem to spread awareness about global warming and the necessary steps we must take. Could you perhaps illustrate this S Curve phenomenon with some examples from recent history?
Max: Absolutely, Andrea. Look at the nuclear disasters of Chernobyl and Fukushima. Initially, the situation seemed under control, but as soon as the crisis reached a critical point, the nuclear reactors underwent a meltdown, leading to devastating long-term consequences. I fear we are nearing a similar tipping point with climate change. The impact of natural disasters like wildfires, hurricanes, floods, and droughts have always been there but now are intensifying. The proof is in the average temperatures that year after year increases. Just recently, in Northern Italy, we witnessed disastrous flooding due to unprecedented rainfalls over a few days. It's sobering to contemplate the potential devastation if such extreme weather lasted for weeks instead of days. This can be representative of moving from the base of the &lsquo;S&rsquo;, almost flattish, to the rollercoaster of the middle of the &lsquo;S&rsquo;.
Andrea: That's an alarming scenario, indeed. Given such escalating crises, why do you think people and institutions are failing to respond appropriately?
Max: There's a multitude of reasons, but a significant psychological element is the "normalcy bias". This bias is a tendency for humans to underestimate the potential impact of disasters, hoping that things will soon revert to normal. We've seen this during the early stages of the Covid-19 pandemic, when many perceived it as just a severe flu outbreak, until the reality of the global catastrophe fully unfolded. Covid was everything but a flu, as all of us in our heart and mind deeply hoped for at the beginning of what we lately metabolized was a severe pandemic.
Andrea: It's frightening yet illuminating how these concepts intertwine, underscoring the urgency of addressing global warming. Let's pivot towards the heart of your story. Can you share more details about your main characters - Ava, Jeff, Sofia, and Daniel, and how they contribute to the narrative?
Max: Each character is unique, with their own specialized fields - Ava is entrenched in climate science, Sofia is an ardent environmental activist, Daniel is an AI whiz, and Jeff excels in complex project execution. They band together in a common mission to revolutionize the renewable energy sector, creating a convincing case for a future where solar, wind, storage, and AI can entirely replace our reliance on fossil fuels. This echoes the broader message of the book, emphasizing the need for multidisciplinary collaboration to counter climate change.
Andrea: Interestingly, I noticed your narrative steers away from establishing a single hero or leader. What is the thought behind this approach?
Max: That's a very sharp observation, Andrea. It's a deliberate choice to highlight the importance of collaboration over individualistic leadership. Unlike conventional narratives where a single hero saves the world, "Total Renewable Energy" emphasizes equal contribution from all characters, who face victories and setbacks collectively. I believe that transitioning to renewable energy necessitates a unified effort, not a competition among technologies, individuals, or organizations. Resistance to change often stems from inflated individual egos, hence the introduction of AI characters, which are, at least for now, objective and untouched by personality biases.
Andrea: The integration of advanced AI in your narrative seems integral. Could you elaborate on the role AI plays in our quest for renewable energy?
Max: AI indeed plays a central role in the narrative and in our real-world efforts towards renewable energy. Renewable energy sources like solar and wind are intermittent, which presents a challenge in managing the energy grid. This is where AI comes into play - advanced AI systems are capable of forecasting weather patterns, balancing energy supply with demand, utilizing energy storage systems to fill any gaps, and ensuring a consistent, seamless flow of energy in real-time.
Andrea: That's fascinating. Your book also delves into the ethical implications surrounding AI. Could you shed some light on this?
Max: Indeed, the ethical dimension of AI is a recurring theme in the book. An AI managing energy distribution should be unbiased. It should not discriminate by routing electricity preferentially to wealthier neighborhoods over poorer ones. Similarly, it should prioritize critical infrastructures like hospitals during emergencies. This ethical dilemma surrounding AI's decision-making process is extensively discussed in the book.
Andrea: Your book introduces an AI entity acting in a coaching or mentoring capacity. Could you please elaborate on this novel character and for my understanding is it even more that a fictional character?
Max: I'd be happy to. As a certified professional coach with an evident passion for artificial intelligence, I was inspired to craft the character of CoachKing. This virtual AI coach aids renewable team members in maintaining their focus amidst very challenging circumstances. Yes, it is absolutely real! I've made CoachKing accessible to readers as well, offering them a taste of AI-based coaching, there is a link at the end of the book everyone can click to start having a conversation with their personal AI Coach!
Andrea: Great! Next level of the game triggered for the weekend! Your narrative spans numerous global locations. Could you explain the relevance of this international perspective in the context of your story?
Max: The global scope of the narrative serves to emphasize the universal applicability of renewable energy technologies. By situating the story in diverse geographical regions, such as Europe, California, Saudi Arabia, Dubai, Australia, and other locations, I wanted to highlight that renewable energy can be viable and efficient anywhere in the world, provided there is unity and cooperation among stakeholders to surmount the inherent resistance to change, such as permitting, providing data, access financial resources to name a few.
Andrea: The narrative also involves conflict with an entity known as the SQ Foundation. Could you clarify what this represents in a broader context?
Max: Absolutely. The SQ Foundation stands as a metaphor for the entrenched resistance to change, particularly in relation to our dependence on fossil fuels. It is a reflection of the real-world hurdles we encounter in our push to transition towards renewable energy. The narrative asks us to question whether the energy industry's titans are truly prepared to invest wholeheartedly in renewables and abandon their firmly established fossil fuel assets.
Andrea: Innovation features prominently in your book. How does it tackle the contentious question of whether innovation should be open to all or remain shrouded in secrecy?
Max: This indeed is a challenging topic. On one hand, open innovation can catalyze collective progress, promoting shared knowledge and collaboration. However, it also leaves the process vulnerable to destructive and malevolent criticism and potential regulatory roadblocks. For instance, take the crypto ecosystem&rsquo;s experience whether you find it right or wrong. Conversely, maintaining secrecy allows for controlled innovation but inhibits wide-scale collaboration and necessitates a stringent observance of confidentiality, limiting 360 degrees contributions. This tug-of-war between openness and secrecy in the realm of innovation forms a recurring theme in the book.
Andrea: Totally, the role of information management is crucial for the success or sinking of any innovative initiative, therefore social media also seems to play a significant role in your book. Could you elaborate on its impact on the narrative?
Max: Yes, no doubt about it. In the book, reactions on social media platforms often lean towards hyperbole, reflecting real-life scenarios where sensationalism often prevails to capture likes or incite controversy. I intended to underline the importance of critically assessing and interpreting information in this digital age. As we all know, social media can both enlighten and mislead us. Hence, the ability to sift truth from fiction is a critical skill in any sphere of our contemporary society.
Andrea: Absolutely, and illuminem too is committed to providing accurate and transparent information on the most pertinent topics on sustainability. Your book doesn't shy away from delving into intricate descriptions of cutting-edge renewable technologies, notably energy storage, which is vital for the continuous operation of renewables. Yet, it's not just a technical manual; it's also a gripping read with a plethora of unexpected plot twists.
Max: I'm glad you found it engaging. My aspiration is for the book to inspire the younger generations to play an active role in the energy transition. Moreover, I hope it contributes to persuading those in decision-making roles to trial and scale up zero-emission energy systems. We can't afford to while away time on fruitless debates. The &lsquo;S&rsquo; shape is going to hit very hard in the next few years. Instead, we need to unite our efforts to make a decarbonized future a tangible reality in the next 2 or 3 decades.
Andrea: Max, our discussion today has truly been enlightening. We're excited to delve deeper into "Total Renewable Energy" and we eagerly anticipate engaging with you more in future blogs and forums.
Max: I appreciate your support, Andrea and Illuminem Team. My sincere hope is that the book sparks thoughtful discourse and disseminates meaningful dialogues about our shared renewable energy future.
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Interview with Max Masi, on “Total Renewable Energy: A Tale of a Decarbonized World”

An exclusive illuminem interview conducted at the Villars Institute Summit, bringing together the world’s most distinguished sustainability experts

Peter BenHur 

Carla

Marie-Laure

At the 2023 Villars Institute Summit, illuminem's CEO Andrea Gori caught up with Illuminem Thought Leaders Peter Benhur Nyeko, Carla della Maggiora, and Marie-Laure Schaufelberger to get their insights on the latest global sustainability debate.
<a href="https://www.linkedin.com/posts/illuminem_key-insights-from-the-villars-summit-activity-7044304079090528257-Yuph/?utm_source=share&amp;utm_medium=member_desktop" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Watch the video here.</a>
illuminem Voices is a democratic space presenting the thoughts and opinions of leading Sustainability &amp; Energy writers, their opinions do not necessarily represent those of illuminem.

An interview with sustainability leaders at Villars Institute Summit

We took inspiration from the famous guides 'for dummies' to start this COP with a piece which is accessible to everyone, especially for our friends and colleagues outside the world of sustainability. Nothing about this article is for "dummies", but yes - you understand our mission: please share this with your friends. Sustainability requires joint action - that means from all of us!

illuminem

We took inspiration from the famous guides &#x27;for dummies&#x27; to start this COP with a piece which is accessible to everyone, especially for our friends and colleagues outside the world of sustainability. Nothing about this article is for &quot;dummies&quot;, but yes - you understand our mission: please share this with your friends. Sustainability requires joint action - that means from all of us!
The highly anticipated United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP 27) is opening its doors in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt. Tens of thousands of delegates, heads of state and government from more than 150 countries, and many of the world&#x27;s largest companies will have the difficult task of discussing and negotiating policies and actions to limit rising temperatures and counteract the damage caused by climate change.
On illuminem.com, we will keep you informed on the climate event of the year covering the most relevant news in our <a href="https://illuminem.com/cop">dedicated COP27 news portal</a>, updating you regularly with a <a href="https://startupitalia.eu/cop27-in-egitto-dieci-cose-che-devi-assolutamente-sapere?infinite">free COP newsletter</a> and publishing the most insightful editorials written by the <a href="https://illuminem.com/thoughtleaders">COP policy makers themselves.</a>​ 
<h1>Why is COP 27 important and what is to be expected?</h1>
In 2022, climate change is unfortunately an evident reality: record temperatures, wildfires, landslides, cloudbursts and droughts of an unprecedented scale are just the first consequences of the ongoing environmental crisis. Climate action is now an indispensable part of the solution to every other crisis of our time: the energy, food, migration and common security crises. COP27 is therefore the biggest opportunity of the year to move forward with intergovernmental commitments, public and private funding, and new policies to meet the challenges of our century.
Thus, on the 30th anniversary of the establishment of the United Nations Climate Convention (UNFCCC), emissions reductions, energy transition (moving away from fossil fuels to renewable energy), funding to developing countries for climate policies, and compensation for climate damages will all be urgently discussed in Sharm El-Sheikh.
At the technical level, the goal of this COP is thus to advance the implementation of the agreed-upon targets (not surprisingly, the slogan &#x27;Together for Implementation&#x27; was chosen). This marks a stark difference with the Glasgow edition, jointly chaired by the UK and Italy, where the focus was first and foremost on what targets to set.
<h1>Who participates in COP?</h1>
COP 27 will be attended by many governments and world leaders. U.S. President Joe Biden, French President Emmanuel Macron, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz will be directly present at the proceedings. Russia and China, on the other hand, will send more technical delegations, as is perhaps to be expected in this era of geopolitical tensions - from Ukraine to Taiwan (<a href="https://illuminem.com/illuminemvoices/46cfffbd-5931-4491-b154-0dda2c56c342">see more</a>).
Alongside governments, COPs are attended by the scientific community (which uses the event to showcase many of the latest climate change studies), many business leaders (seeking business, green visibility and/or greenwashing), non-governmental organizations, and think tanks.
Unfortunately, however, startups and activists will be essentially absent from this edition. Regrettably, the former are typically not invited to the table, with few exceptions. While the activist world, which had enlivened many events in previous editions, will be largely absent due to restrictions on public demonstrations imposed by the Egyptian government.
<h1>“Mitigation”</h1>
The first negotiating focus of this year’s COP is on <a href="https://illuminem.com/illuminemvoices/659e2768-5ab1-4bd4-8a06-63b123f9254e">&quot;mitigation&quot;</a>, that is, all policies that directly limit climate change.
Specifically, all participating countries are committed to limiting the global average temperature increase to +1.5 °C above pre-industrial levels (the upper limit to avoid a &quot;climate catastrophe&quot; as defined by the Paris Agreement). To achieve this common goal, each country has unilaterally formalized its own emission reduction targets, so-called &quot;NDCs&quot; (&#x27;nationally determined contributions&#x27;). The choice of unilateral rather than common targets (characteristic of the previous Kyoto Accord) permitted the Accord to be reached with the approval of countries traditionally more hostile to climate policies.
However, even if all national commitments (NDCs) are perfectly implemented, we would still experience a 10% increase in emissions in 2030, equivalent to a temperature rise of up to +2.5°C. Thus, the world would fall short of the target of 45% reductions needed to reach the maximum threshold of a 1.5°C temperature rise.
In addition, COP27 will be crucial to check the progress of the plurilateral mitigation agreements signed a year ago at COP26 (and hailed as the best wins of the previous edition). These agreements, namely on the abandonment of fossil fuels, and the reduction of methane emissions and deforestation, were hailed as the real success of the last COP by the press.
<h1>“Adaptation”</h1>
The second focus of the negotiations is &quot;adaptation,&quot; understood as policies to adapt to (and not counteract) future climate conditions.
Historically, this issue has received less attention and funding than mitigation. It was only at the previous COP that a major financial agreement was reached, promising a doubling of the resources provided by developed countries to fund adaptation policies. Furthermore, there is still a lack of clear definitions of the goals of these policies (&quot;global goal on adaptation&quot; or GGA) - which would serve as a parallel aim to the 1.5°C goal at the heart of the mitigation agreement.
<h1>Funding for the Developing World</h1>
The third negotiating focus, already implied in the work on the first two, concerns financing for developing countries&#x27; climate policies.
The goal is twofold. On the one hand, it strives to enable each country to develop economically without endangering common climate stability. On the other hand, it aims to compensate for the costs that vulnerable countries suffer as a direct result of climate change, which is caused mainly by the growth of emissions from BRICS countries and the West. This last issue, called &quot;loss and damage&quot; in technical jargon, refers to impacts that cannot be avoided by mitigation or adaptation actions.
Undoubtedly, this will be the negotiating focus where the biggest clash is expected between developing countries (recipients of such contributions) and developed countries (donors). In anticipation of the COP, the International Monetary Fund estimated a financing need of $2.5 trillion annually through 2030 to meet the goals of the Paris Agreement and the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). This figure may compound the frustrations of many governments over the failure of developed countries to meet previous financing agreements, such as the promised $100 billion annual &quot;climate finance&quot; expected in the years 2020-2025.
<h1>The Role of Carbon Markets</h1>
The fourth major negotiating focus is on carbon markets, which are financial markets where certificates corresponding to the reduction of pollutant emissions are traded.
Each certificate in the market typically corresponds to one ton of carbon dioxide (CO2) avoided or sequestered as a result of a green investment, such as building a solar farm to replace fossil fuels or protecting a forest that would otherwise have been cut down.
At the previous COP26, an agreement was reached to create an international carbon market, where governments can sell/buy carbon credits in order to meet their respective national climate targets (the NDCs mentioned above). For insiders, this is the work on Article 6 of the Paris Agreement.
One year later, however, only 20 percent of governments have a plan on how the international carbon market can help meet their NDCs, according to a report by the leading carbon procurement firm Abatable. COP27 can therefore be an opportunity to get an international carbon market off the ground by aligning important public and private interests.
<h1>What role will technology play at COP27?</h1>
Finally, we couldn&#x27;t help but wonder what role technology will play in the climate event of the year?
While we pointed out that startups will unfortunately again be missing at the negotiating table, Big Tech companies will be more than active among stands and national pavilions. Microsoft and IBM are even major sponsors of the conference.
As was the case a year ago with the launch of the First Movers Coalition, some major bilateral agreements and financial announcements are expected to invigorate the Tech industry toward increasingly green goals.
Stay up-to-date on the climate event of the year on the <a href="https://illuminem.com/cop">dedicated COP27 portal on illuminem.com</a> and with our <a href="https://illuminem.us14.list-manage.com/subscribe?u=0bf0a939efb146177749a6b7f&amp;id=fd31cfb418">free newsletter</a>. And perhaps most importantly, we invite everyone to feel part of the common challenge against climate change - starting right now with “small big” actions which can make a huge difference (from taking public transportation to reducing our power consumption).

Andrea Gori

Andrea Gori

Interview with Max Masi, on “Total Renewable Energy: A Tale of a Decarbonized World”

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