A l'UM la science [S02-ep26]: From the cost of electricity to Agropolis conferences

This week in A l'UM la science, François Mirabel, a researcher at Montpellier Recherche en Economie (MRE), deciphers for us the causes of the explosion in electricity tariffs. An opportunity to look back at the latest LUM magazine devoted to energy. In the second half of the program, Ly Yann Kauv, Program Manager at Agropolis Fondation, announces 3 conferences on the theme of climate change in Africa. A program broadcast on Divergence FM- 93. 9 every Wednesday at 6pm.

And today we present the 19th issue of LUM, the science and society magazine produced by the University. An issue devoted to the question of energy in a context that will not have escaped you: the energy crisis. A crisis that sometimes casts a harsh light on our dependence on oil, electricity and gas to heat, move and feed ourselves - in short, to live... So mobilizing this energy means first of all knowing how to produce it, then how to store it and, above all, how to manage it. This means first and foremost meeting the need to reduce our oil consumption, through geothermal or solar energy, for example. It also means knowing what to do with nuclear waste, reducing the impact of wind turbines on biodiversity, optimizing wood combustion processes and developing innovative batteries to store energy. All of these issues involve a wide range of research fields: geology, chemistry, nuclear, biology, political science, as we have seen with the Yellow Vests crisis, which I would remind you was triggered by the carbon tax. All these subjects are covered in this issue.

Energy is also, of course, an economic issue, and it's to this discipline that we've chosen to turn the microphone. Since 2021, energy rates have been rising steadily (read Energy sobriety plan: moving towards the best possible balance). The media and politicians have largely linked this rise in costs to the war in Ukraine, but does this really explain it? And besides, who among us really knows how energy prices are set? Who sets them? On what criteria? What are the consequences of opening up this essential commodity to competition? We put all these questions to François Mirabel, a researcher at the Montpellier Research Laboratory in Economics, Dean of the Faculty of Economics and a specialist in energy and transport.

Our guest for the last three minutes is Ly Yann Kauv, program manager at the Agropolis Foundation. She will be presenting a series of 3 conferences on the theme of climate change in Africa, led by three IPCC authors, and taking place on June 13 at the Corum in Montpellier. 

At UM la science you've got the program, here we go!

Coproduction: Divergence FM / Université de Montpellier
Animation: Lucie Lecherbonnier
Interviews: Lucie Lecherbonnier / Aline Périault
Production: Naomi Charmetan / Bruno Bertrand

Listen to the program "A l'UM la science" on Divergence FM 93.9