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The energy sector is at a turning point and faces a range of growing challenges. The quest to finance and deliver the transition to a more sustainable energy system remains an issue that keeps energy leaders busy at work, while there is a growing acknowledgement that adaptation to a low-carbon world, supported by smart innovation and challenged by new resilience issues, is not optional but will define the winners and losers of tomorrow’s energy system.The coming decade will be guided and inspired by the landmark agreements achieved in 2015. Political and industry figures, while dealing with growing uncertainty, have shown leadership by embracing the new frontiers for energy and the climate of innovation.We have entered a period of what I would like to call a ‘triple transition’.First, there is a ‘decarbonisation transition’. The Nationally Determined Contributions presented at COP21 and agreed on by the countries that signed the Paris Agreement in April 2016, are a commitment to promote renewables and clean tech. Along with the Paris commitments, 20 countries agreed to double their clean energy research and development budget over the next five years. Industry leaders have also announced a Manhattan Project-type innovation drive.2015 was the start, but 2017 is where the climate of innovation gained traction. Germany hosted the G20, with a focus on issues with huge global significance such as digitisation.It is clear that there is a new reality in clean energy. INNOVATION: THE KEY TO ACCELERATING CLEAN ENERGY TRANSFORMATION“ADAPTATION TO A LOW-CARBON WORLD IS NOT OPTIONAL BUT WILL DEFINE THE WINNERS AND LOSERS OF TOMORROW’S ENERGY SYSTEM ”DR CHRISTOPH FREI, CEO & SECRETARY GENERAL, WORLD ENERGY COUNCIL (WEC)The world’s major emerging economies – including China, India, and several others – are moving to the centre stage of the clean energy transition.The one thing above everything else that is keeping energy leaders awake at night is the impact of digitalisation on the future of the energy system. The reality is that the way we produce and use energy is changing in all parts of the world. This is not only a challenge for developed economies who are struggling to come to terms with integrating new approaches into existing infrastructure. Also in emerging markets do new opportunities lead to choices that have little history to base important judgments upon. Industry leaders and policymakers across the globe are considering the impact of innovation with a mixture of excitement and unease.Energy companies that are not at the forefront of innovation opportunities are likely to lose out. There may be no legally binding deal to force the energy sector to act, but companies that are not part of the innovation frontier may not be around in the foreseeable future. This represents what I foresee to be the biggest outcome of the Paris climate accords. It creates a lot of pressure, but also offers a massive opportunity.Second, we can see the effects of ‘market design transition’: increasing shares of zero-marginal-cost energy from intermittent renewables in combination with the decentralization of systems, increasing use of smart data and decreasing entry barriers for new suppliers.These new realities have impacts beyond electricity and also affect natural gas infrastructure, transport and other sectors.036 GLOBAL VOICES