U.S. Department of State to Host 2008 Washington International
Renewable Energy Conference
The U.S. Department of State has announced that it will host the
Washington International Renewable Energy Conference (WIREC 2008) in
Washington, DC on March 3-7, 2008.
WIREC 2008 will be the third global ministerial level event on renewable
energy, following on the precedents of the Bonn renewables 2004 and the
Beijing 2005 world meetings. It will be an important opportunity for
world ministers to show their commitment to renewable energy. The
ministers will discuss how renewable energy advances our shared goals
for climate, sustainable development and energy security...
Read more and comment…
The announcement of WIREC 2008 by the US State Department is a strong
signal from the United States that renewable energy merits political
support. This reassuring announcement comes at a time when the UN
Commission on Sustainable Development (CSD) ends its latest sessions
(14/15) on energy in disarray (see article below).
By not agreeing on a final document, CSD-15 stands in stark contrast to
the recent unambiguous and assertive – even alarming - conclusions of
another UN body, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).
The IPCC's Working Group III of experts with official backing agreed on
recommendations with a peaceful coexistence between energy efficiency
and renewables as well as fossil fuel carbon capture and storage (CCS),
and nuclear. CSD-15, however, was not able to find language to
accommodate such options or make meaningful political commitments.
Looking at the policies announced by individual countries - also during
CSD-14/15 - we see an overwhelming number adopting various renewable
energy development objectives, including those for the short or medium
term, for specific markets or for primary energy supply, binding or
non-binding commitments, market quotas, and blending rules or targets.
Although not all targets are very ambitious, the impression is clearly
that most countries see renewable energy as an important part of the
future energy mix, and believe that medium or long term development objectives
are useful. Among the countries not announcing renewable energy targets,
some governments do not set quantitative objectives as a matter of
principle as they consider such objectives as inconsistent with a market
economy. Most other governments have simply not dealt with renewables
yet.
Given these activities on the
national level, it seems the conflict that
broke into the open at CSD is not about renewable energy as such. Most
countries favour a mix for themselves with varying priorities, always
including renewable energy and sometimes excluding nuclear. The conflict in
the energy discussion at CSD-15 may have various reasons:
- Some countries do not want to be obliged to fix quantitative targets,
even non-binding ones.
- There is a competition for international (financial) resources between
different energy sectors.
- This is a signal for the beginning of the fight for world energy markets.
Fossil fuels can only survive when CCS is coming as soon as possible –
and provide a cost-competitive alternative to steadily dropping prices
of renewable energy.
The latter explains the fierce resistance of some oil producing
countries to accepting energy efficiency and renewable energy among the
priorities for achieving sustainable development. Do oil producers feel
that Sheik Yamani’s analogy - the Oil Age will come to an end not
because of lack of oil - is beginning to materialise? The position
displayed at CSD-15 seems to be a conservative and defensive reaction,
while the
Masdar initiative in Abu Dhabi demonstrates that there can
also be a progressive answer.
CSD-15 and the two-year cycle with its focus
on energy is over, and the lack of compromise should have no direct
consequences. The Sessions of the UNFCCC Subsidiary Bodies in Bonn
parallel to CSD-15 gave the impression that comprehensive negotiations
are about to begin on a post-Kyoto agreement. It will be of highest
importance for the outcome of the UNFCCC COP in November whether the
G77/China countries are able to deal with their internal antagonism
which became so clear in New York.
The progress of renewable energy
will, however, not depend decisively on the outcome of the next COP.
Countries like China and India that are very much in the focus in the
climate change mitigation debate already show a very dynamic development
in renewable energy. And the continuation of the series Bonn 2004,
Beijing 2005, and next the Washington 2008 renewable energy conference,
offers a specific, voluntary, non-UN but broad multi-stakeholder process.
This is quite apart from the importance the US government is giving to
renewable energy.
IPCC Working Group III expects large share
of RenewablesIn April, the IPCC's Working Group III provided its
contribution to the IPCC's Fourth Assessment Report (4AR). This part of
the report presents an impressive array of options to prevent some of
the worst effects of climate change. Renewable energy is considered a
very important part of the solution, and expected to provide up to 35%
of electricity generated in 2030. Feed-in tariffs and renewable energy
obligations are underlined as policy instruments that have proven
effective.
Read more…
UN CSD-15 ends in disarrayThe members of the 15th
session of the UN Commission on Sustainable Development, which ended on
11 May 2007, did not reach agreement on a negotiated outcome. The EU and
Switzerland rejected the Chair's proposed text. The G-77/China accepted
it as well as the US, Canada and Mexico. The
chairman’s summary is
available on the CSD website.
Read more…
Interim Session creates upbeat move to post-Kyoto regime
The Sessions of the UNFCCC Subsidiary Bodies on 7-18 May 2007 in Bonn
left participants in an upbeat mood. The UNFCCC executive director felt
that the conference served to "come closer to broadening negotiations on
a post-2012 regime".
Read more…
ADB features clean energy and environment beyond Kyoto
The Asian Development Bank posted clean energy and the environment as
main features of the 40th annual meeting of the Board of Governors held
in May in Kyoto. The ADB is boosting its Clean
Energy and Environment Programme set up in 2005 as part of its energy
agenda to look beyond 2012.
Read more…
IADB establishes Sustainable Energy and Climate Change Initiative
At its annual meeting in March in Guatemala, the Inter-American
Development Bank (IADB) held a seminar and reported on its initiative
SECCI to support the Latin American and Caribbean region in its urgent
challenge to find economically and environmentally sound energy options.
Read more…
Renewable Energy on the agenda of Europe Neighbourhood Policy
Delegates from 35 EU and neighbouring countries met in Berlin in April
to discuss innovative policies to promote renewable energy and energy
efficiency. This event introduced renewable energy into the agenda of the European Neighbourhood Policy (ENP).
Read more…
Asian and European Ministers eager to boost Renewables together
The 3rd Asia-Europe Environment Ministers' Meeting (ASEM), held in
Copenhagen from April 24-26, gave a strong signal for renewable energy
as a means to "boost economic performance and ensure energy security,
while at the same time reducing emissions of greenhouse gases and air
pollutants".
Read more…
Similarly, the ASEM Foreign Ministers underlined in their Meeting in
Hamburg, from May 28-30, the need for a global and comprehensive post
2012 climate regime, in accordance with the principle of common but
differentiated responsibilities. The Presidency's final statement
acknowledged the role played by targets in improving investment security
for renewable energies and energy efficiency.
Read more…
IEA Implementing Agreement refines analysis of Renewables policies
At a workshop in March, the IEA's Implementing Agreement on
Renewable Energy Technology Deployment (RETD) presented results from
recent analysis that included the effects on risks, financing and
capital cost of different renewable energy policies, an assessment of
externalities, and a comparison of scenarios.
Read more…
Leaders emphasise renewable energy and energy efficiency
On 10 May, the European Commission, the German EU-Presidency, and
REN21 staged a high-level panel discussion on EU leadership in renewable
energy and climate change policies. Ministers and EC Environment
Commissioner underlined efficiency and renewables as key choices.
Read more...REN21
announces new Renewables Finance Report Virginia Sonntag-O'Brien of
the REN21 Secretariat and UNEP Sustainable Energy Finance Initiative
revealed some information from the upcoming 2007 Sustainable Energy
Investment Report during the REN21 side event at CSD-15 on finance and
deployment. John Cavalier of Credit Suisse Securities and the other
participants underlined the importance of policies for promoting and
capacity building for renewable energy.
Read more...
REN21 Secretariat gives overview on partnerships and networks
Paul Suding and Philippe Lempp have published an article on "The
Multifaceted Institutional Landscape and Processes of International
Renewable Energy Policy". The article was published in the newsletter of the
International Association of Energy Economists.
Read more…
Also on the REN21 website:
- The Virtual Library continues to grow to
an ever-richer resource with a choice selection of publications, with recently added reviews on books by Karl Mallon, Nick Stern, Volkmar
Lauber, et al
.
- The systematic overview of global renewable
energy issues includes new papers on Renewables and Energy Security
and Sustainable Biofuels
.
- The concise overview of various
scenarios and
prospects feature two new surveys on the future of (renewable)
energy.
