Before we talk about decarbonization, let me first share a story…
#AcademicTwitter made it possible for me to be connected to people I never thought I would.
Why?
Because they are renowned people and professionals in their own right.
Meanwhile, I feel like a striving academic (making ends meet) in an identity crisis.
Anyway, back to my story…
So, #AcademicTwitter led me to Dr. Hoicka‘s tweet one day about the ENCLUDE Academy For Energy Citizen Leadership. (I’ve been following her online because I wanted to be admitted to one of her labs in the future 🤞)
What is this ENCLUDE Academy all about?
From its website:
The ENCLUDE Academy for Energy Citizen Leadership is an online program for leadership development and civic engagement for decarbonization.
I was just in time during the call of applications for the ENCLUDE Academy. So, right away, I took my chances to apply, hoping I would get a shot to be considered in this another global community, specifically on a topic close to my heart.
And after a month of waiting…
🎉🎉🎉
Right, so back to decarbonization …
Attending its kick-off meeting was fantastic, although the time zone difference is quite challenging.
But being empowered by the ability to talk to people from the other side of the globe was overwhelming (at least for me). And they are not just anybody. These people in the ENCLUDE Academy are all passionate about taking part in the energy transition and decarbonization, which is even more awesome!
So while we were given the time to meet people in small groups, I talked to people from Greece, Turkey, Sudan, Switzerland, and Germany and shared our personal take on decarbonization.
I expected it, but I was still surprised by how different our views were as we put them on the table.
I think of decarbonization as a path that shouldn’t compromise the Philippine economic growth. Meanwhile, my colleague from Sudan was more concerned about getting energy investors to his country to meet local demand, hoping they would also opt for cleaner energy options. Another colleague from Switzerland was more on switching away from nuclear power to distributed renewable energy resources.
Being part of this community is an eye-opener for me — that decarbonization means differently depending on who you’re asking and which country they live in.
jessa 