Carlos Torres Vila at Davos: “We need to involve the end consumer in the energy transition”
BBVA Chair Carlos Torres Vila today advocated for "involving the end consumer in the energy transition" in order to step up decarbonization. Speaking on a panel at the Davos meeting hosted by the World Economic Forum (WEF), he called for "coherent and consistent policies" that go beyond the supply side to encourage consumers themselves to contribute to this transition.
Carlos Torres Vila pointed out that it is necessary to step up public policy on decarbonization. In his view, "current regulations focus too much on the supply side, seemingly forgetting that it is end users that drive emissions." To spur the development of low-carbon technologies and achieve large-scale production, policymakers must implement a coherent and consistent set of policies that involve the end consumer. Such policies must provide fair compensation for those most affected by the energy transition without distorting their decision making. He believes that the price of carbon is of critical importance in guiding end-consumer demand.
The BBVA Chair stressed the need to "go much faster and accelerate" decarbonization, a process in which banks are intermediaries that finance investments. "We're the ones who are backing companies in making new projects happen," he said.
Carlos Torres Vila shared the panel with Tan See Leng, Singapore's Minister for Manpower and Second Minister for Trade and Industry, Takeshi Hashimoto, President and CEO of Mitsui O.S.K. Lines, Anna Borg, President and CEO of Vattenfall, and Daniel Fisher, CEO of Ball. The panel was introduced by John Kerry, U.S. Special Presidential Envoy for Climate, and moderated by Rachel Kyte, Visiting Professor at the Blavatnik School of Government, University of Oxford.