Two years after the Bonn International Conference for
Renewable Energies (renewables2004) implementation of measures making
good progress
2 June 2006 - "Since the Bonn conference we have made excellent progress
and therefore successfully continued the transformation of energy
systems that was introduced then," stated Federal Development Minister
Heidemarie Wieczorek-Zeul on the occasion of the second anniversary of
the International Conference for Renewable Energies, renewables2004. The
conference took place in Bonn in June 2004 and was the largest ever
international conference on renewable energies. A major outcome of the
conference was the
International Action Programme for renewable
energies. It includes approximately 200 concrete commitments to promote
the increased generation of wind, solar and hydropower, biomass and
geothermal energy worldwide.
"Two years after the Bonn Conference we
are well on the way to successfully implementing the Action Programme,"
said Federal Environment Minister Gabriel.
The Interim Report on the Implementation of the International Action
Programme prepared by the Renewable Energy Policy Network - REN21 is
proof of that: almost 80 percent of the responses reported that projects
had been launched or already fully implemented. A number of countries
announced that they would significantly raise the share of renewable
energies in electricity production. China's target, for example, is to
generate 15 percent of electricity from renewable energy sources by
2020. Turkey has introduced a law granting priority to renewable
energies modelled on German legislation and has already approved the
construction of wind and hydroelectric power plants with a capacity of
3,000 MW. Pakistan plans to supply approximately 30,000 households
especially in remote areas with wind and solar power. With German
support small hydroelectric power plants with a capacity of up to 10 MW
will be built in Armenia in the period up to 2010.
"We want to put greater emphasis on promoting cooperation between those
countries that have new energy technology and those that want to use
it," said Federal Environment Minister Gabriel. "In Germany we were able
to more than double the share of renewable energies within a few years.
Within the framework of the Kyoto Protocol's Clean Development Mechanism
the international use of renewable energies is an excellent,
cost-efficient instrument. Germany will strongly increase the use of
this instrument so that climate gases will be quickly cut down worldwide
in as many regions as possible - for an energy supply that meets future
demands and for sustainable economic growth."
Some measures in developing countries will be supported by the
Special Facility for Renewable Energies and Energy Efficiency provided
by Germany.
"The Special Facility is a huge success, as about one third of the 500
million euros for the years 2005 to 2009 has already been allocated due
to the great demand from developing countries," explained Minister
Wieczorek-Zeul. "Especially for developing countries it is important
that sustainable energy sources are made use of and energy efficiency is
improved", she emphasised, noting that sustainable energy sources save
resources and support countries' growth. "Both are important
prerequisites for fulfilling the millennium goal of eradicating poverty.
The Federal Government therefore made the promotion of renewable
energies a key issue of international cooperation," said Ms
Wieczorek-Zeul.
The complete implementation of the International Action Programme
will reduce global CO2 emissions by 1.2 billion tonnes every year in the
period up to 2015. That is approximately 5 percent of today's global CO2
emissions. The implementation of the International Action Programme will
lead to investments in renewable energies of approximately US $ 320
billion.
Go to the
section dedicated to the IAP and the
follow-up process.
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