Science at UM [S02-ep26]: From the cost of electricity to Agropolis conferences

[Podcast] - Published on June 8, 2023 in Science-Society

This week on A l’UM la science, François Mirabel, a researcher at Montpellier Recherche en Économie (MRE), explains the reasons behind the explosion in electricity prices. This is an opportunity to revisit the latest issue of LUM magazine, which focuses on energy. In the second part of the program, Ly Yann Kauv, program manager at Agropolis Fondation, announces three conferences on the theme of climate change in Africa. The program is broadcast on Divergence FM-93.9 every Wednesday at 6 p.m.

And today we present the 19th issue of LUM, the science and society magazine produced by the University. This issue is devoted to the question of energy in a context that will not have escaped your attention: the energy crisis. A crisis that sometimes shines a harsh light on our dependence on oil, electricity, and gas for heating, transportation, food—in short, for living. So mobilizing this energy means first knowing how to produce it, then storing it, and above all, managing it. The priority is to respond to the need to reduce our consumption of oil, through geothermal energy 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 these issues involve a wide variety of fields of research: geology, chemistry, nuclear science, biology, and political science, as demonstrated by the yellow vest crisis, which, I remind you, was triggered by the carbon tax. We address all these topics in this issue.

Energy is also, of course, an economic issue, and it is to this discipline that we have chosen to give a voice. Since 2021, energy prices have been rising steadily (read Energy sobriety plan: moving towards the best possible balance). The media and politicians have largely linked this increase in costs to the war in Ukraine, but does that really explain it? And besides, who among us really knows how energy prices are set? By whom? Based 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 specialist in energy and transportation.

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

At UM Science, you have the program, so let's get started!

Co-production: Divergence FM / University of Montpellier
Host: Lucie Lecherbonnier
Interview: Lucie Lecherbonnier / Aline Périault
Production: Naomi Charmetan / Bruno Bertrand

Listen to the program “A l’UM la science” on Divergence FM 93.9

Keywords: Science at UM, Economy, Energy, LUM Magazine, Market, Research, Company