Beyond Kyoto: A New International Framework to Address Climate Change
We should not wait till 2012 to conclude a new agreement beyond the
2012 Kyoto finish. The presentations and discussions at the Second
Ministerial meeting of the Gleneagles Dialogue on Climate Change in
Monterrey demonstrated the urgency for early action. These discussions
must now evolve to a framework for an international agreement beyond
Kyoto. Following is my proposal for such a framework….
Read more and comment…
GEF Replenishment
The GEF’s forth replenishment was completed with stable – some say
stagnating’ – commitments, including some USD 385 million for renewable
energy.
Read more…World Bank CEDIF
The World Bank’s new version of its “Clean Energy Development Investment
Framework” that includes renewable energy has received a better response
from donors than previous versions, but it still remains to be adopted.
Read more…
IEA Energy Technology Perspectives
The IEA has
developed long-term “Energy Technology Perspectives” demonstrating that
climate change mitigation is technically feasible – even economically
feasible – providing the necessary policies are put in place. The
scenarios consider renewable energy in various ways.
Read more…
G8 Gleneagles Dialogue
All these results
and proposals were discussed at the second ministerial meeting of the
Gleneagles Dialogue of the G8 plus 5 countries in Monterrey, Mexico, in
early October. REN21 Chair Mohamed El-Ashry made his proposal for a new
post-Kyoto Framework (see above).
Read more…
UN Climate Change Conference COP-12 in Nairobi
All policy eyes
will be focused on Nairobi for the Conference of the Parties to the
Climate Change Convention (COP-12) from 6 to 17 November 2006. There are
some indications that the outlines of a post-Kyoto agreement will become
visible. The IEA’s new “World Energy Outlook” will also be presented at
a high-level COP-12 side event.
Read more…
UN CSD-15 and Major Groups Input
The next meeting
of the Commission for Sustainable Development is also on the horizon. At
the request of the UN Department for Economic and Social Affairs (UNDESA),
REN21 has joined five other partners to submit a set of concrete
suggestions for effective outcomes of CSD15.
Read more…
Resume - Renewable Energy in International Debate
Bioenergy is
currently at the top of the international renewable energy agenda.
Sustainable solutions are discussed among numerous technical options
while suitable national policy frameworks are set to direct bullish
markets.
Overall, however, the current international policy debate is not all
comforting for renewable energy proponents. The tide is turning towards
issues such as energy efficiency and clean coal technologies. Rather
than insisting on the mutual complementarity of these options and
renewable energy technologies, the former are increasingly being
promoted at the expense of renewables. Moreover, the growth of ‘new’
renewable energy capacity, reported in the “REN21 Global Status Report
2006 Update”, may lead to complacency and a slow-down in renewable
energy policy implementation.
Regional Developments
While the
international debate is loosing focus, actual policy development in the
countries demonstrates that the momentum for renewable energy remains
strong. REN21 investigates policy trends in the different regions.
Read more…
Mika Ohbayashi joins REN21 Steering Committee
REN21 welcomes
Mika Ohbayashi who replaces Jennifer Morgan on the REN21 Steering
Committee. Ms Morgan has been seconded from WWF to Third Generational
Environmentalism (E3G) where she leads the energy and climate security
work.
The Nominating Committee unanimously accepted Ms Ohbayashi from ISEP,
Japan, to fill the NGO vacancy on the Steering Committee.
Read more...
New Daidalos Forum on Renewable Energy Policies
REN21 is creating
opportunities for active participation in the renewable energy policy
debate. One feature is the new “Daidalos Forum”, designed to stimulate
discussion and constructive suggestions for renewable energy policies.
The inaugural column is from REN21 Chair Mohammed T. El Ashry, with a
his proposal for an international framework agreement beyond Kyoto
Read more…
New Website on National Renewable Energy Policies
REN21 has opened
a new website section on national renewable energy policies with
systematic access to authoritative documents on policy in the most
relevant markets for renewable energy.
Read more…
Global Status Report - German Language Version
The Global Status
Report 2006 update has been translated into German language. The
original 2005 Report is available in English, German, Chinese, and
Japanese. The REN21 Secretariat wishes to thank the Institute for
Sustainable Energy Policies, Japan, for their translation.
Read more…
