Background:
One of the major accomplishments of the 2002 World Summit on Sustainable
Development (WSSD) in Johannesburg, South Africa was the recognition
that renewable energy is a critical component of sustainable development,
energy security, climate change, and air quality. Building upon WSSD’s
focus on renewable energy, the international community met in Bonn,
Germany in 2004 for the inaugural government-hosted international
conference on renewable energy. 154 countries attended the Bonn
Conference which produced the Bonn Action Plan and created the Global
Renewable Energy Policy Network (REN21).
The Chinese government hosted the second global renewable energy
conference in 2005. The Beijing event drew senior representatives from
more than 80 countries to review the Status of the Action Plan and
present new ideas for promoting and advancing renewable energy worldwide.
Worldwide enthusiasm for renewable energy has increased dramatically
since 2005. Nations now more fully recognize the imperative to promote
wide spread adoption of renewable energy such as biofuels, wind, solar,
geothermal, and hydro energies.
In the spirit of Bonn and Beijing, the United States proposes to host
the Washington International Renewable Energy Conference 2008 (WIREC
2008), the third global Ministerial-level event on renewable energy.
WIREC 2008 will be held in Washington DC, March 4-6, 2008. The timing
for WIREC 2008 is optimal because many countries have established
leadership positions in renewable energy technology development,
manufacturing and market adoption through innovative policies. The
United States is well positioned to host such an event; as America is a
principal developer of many renewable energy technologies such as solar,
wind energy and battery, is a major producer of renewable energies such
as biofuels, and is a substantial marketplace for renewable energy
industries globally.
Proposed Conference Goals:
WIREC 2008 will provide an opportunity to advance renewable energy
globally by bringing world leaders together to raise issues, exchange
information, share experiences and best practices, and provide a global
platform to highlight and promote strategies for significant development
and adoption of renewable energy systems worldwide, including second
generation biofuels. WIREC 2008 goals include:
- Advancing energy security, climate change, air quality, and sustainable
development goals, including agriculture and rural development;
- Demonstrating global leadership in renewable energy research, policy
development, technology innovation, commercialization and deployment;
and
- Fostering collaboration between industry and government to help solve
global energy challenges.
Organizing Principles:
Conference planners are considering four processes focussed on finance,
market adoption, research and development, and other cross-cutting
issues. The outcomes of these processes will be reported at WIREC 2008
and will comprise major elements of the WIREC 2008 agenda.
Joint Public-Private Initiative:
The U.S. Department of State will lead the event, assisted by the U.S.
Department of Energy, the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the U.S.
Agency for International Development, the Environmental Protection
Agency, and the Overseas Private Investment Corporation. Other key U.S,
government departments and agencies would participate actively including
the Department of Commerce, Export-Import Bank and the Trade and
Development Agency. This intergovernmental team will co-operate with the
American Council on Renewable Energy (ACORE), the Renewable Energy
Policy Network for the 2lst Century (REN21) and other relevant
stakeholders to organize and implement a five day event which will
include a ministerial meeting and a legislator meeting. Currently, WIREC
2008 funding is through contributions made to ACORE. However other
funding sources may be available in the future. In addition, ACORE is
solely responsible for a proposed renewable energy trade show which
would be separate from, but co-located with, WIREC 2008.
Expected results:
WIREC will advance energy security, climate change, air quality, and
sustainable development goals by producing the following outcomes:
- Political Support and Public Awareness: WIREC will showcase broad,
high-level commitment for deployment of renewable energy technologies as
a key strategy for dealing with energy security, climate change, air
quality, and sustainable development. This includes broader market
opportunities for agricultural producers and wealth creation in the
rural sector worldwide.
- New and Strengthened Actions: WIREC will serve as a showcase and
launching pad for concrete initiatives undertaken by the public and
private sectors to promote widespread adoption of cost-effective
renewable energy technologies. Building on the hundreds of practical
initiatives in the Bonn International Action Plan and UN’s database of
Partnerships for Sustainable Development, WIREC can continue the
dialogue about practical, on-the-ground action.
- Innovative Tools for Disseminating Solutions: WIREC will play a catalytic role in putting
the world’s best renewable energy solutions at the fingertips of those
facing the world’s biggest energy challenges. WIREC will seek to advance
the state of the art in collecting and disseminating best practices to
end users, building on work done by the UN Commission on Sustainable
Development, the European Commission, the U.S. Government, donor
agencies, international financial institutions, and multi-stakeholder
partnerships (e.g., REN21, REEEP)‚ as well as many other organizations
and programs.
See also:
Press announcement by Mike Eckhart of ACORE, in the
Daidalos Forum
WIREC 2008 Conference Website
