WIREC 2008 another step towards a sustainable energy future
Several thousand delegates met in Washington DC in March for the
Washington Renewable Energy Conference, or WIREC, including official
delegations from more than 100 countries. The Conference was the third
of its type, following earlier conference in Bonn (2004) and Beijing
(2005).
Placed in the centre of American political power, the Conference
succeeded in setting an increasing agenda to develop renewable energy.
The event itself was the positive message, as it was organised by the US
State Department with the American Council on Renewable Energy.
Delegates were even treated to an address by US President, George Bush,
who told them "America has got to change its habits. We've got to get
off oil."
In time for the WIREC Conference, REN21 published the REN21 Renewables
2007 Global Status Report. REN21 Chair, Mohamed El-Ashry, presented the
report at the opening of the Conference, and copies were distributed to
all participants as background information for discussions during the 2˝
day meeting.
With more than 130 concrete pledges to advance renewable energy in
countries, cities, or the businesses, the Washington International Action
Program (WIAP) is a major outcome of WIREC 2008. WIAP will be managed
by REN21. Although most pledges are not related to entirely new
policies, WIREC may very well have changed the perception of politicians
unfamiliar with the potential of renewable energy, resulting in more
development and implementation of renewable energy policies.
The WIREC presentations and rapporteurs’ summaries are available on the
conference website.
Read more...
WIREC
2008
ACORE
IISD
WIREC Pledges
Regional trends reflected in WIREC 2008 pledges and presentations
In Europe the publication of the draft Renewable Energy
Framework Directive has opened a discussion that will conclude with a
set of targets for each European Union (EU) member as part of the
overall EU target for a 20% share of renewable energy in the overall
energy supply, including a specific 10% target for biofuels. Several
individual countries are expected to try and negotiate lower targets
than those proposed by the European Commission.
In a few cases, this is already reflected in the pledges submitted for
WIREC, which fall short of the targets proposed for the respective
countries in the draft Directive. In other cases, Member countries have
pledged at WIREC to attain their national goals, specifying the
strategies and measures they intend to take. The Netherlands, however,
has set a higher target than the one proposed. The UK government is
pledging to make its policy to promote renewable energy 30% more
effective in terms of delivering new electric generating capacity.
Overall, the draft Directive was positively received by the renewable
energy community, particularly the renewable energy industry. This was
very evident at a Policy Workshop organised by the European Renewable
Energy Council and the European Commission on January 30th.
For several months, renewable energy proponents had feared the draft
Directive would suggest a company-level trading mechanism that could
undermine national targets and support mechanisms such as
feed-in-tariffs. However, the inclusion of renewable energy certificates
from third countries via Guarantees of Origin - something demanded by several
countries - remains a hotly debated topic.
More concerning are reports that members of the UK government have
suggested revising the EU targets, particularly for biofuels. The UK
also wants to broaden the definition of renewable energy and to make
investments in renewable energy outside the EU count towards the UK´s
target. It remains to be seen whether these are more than bargaining
chips.
Read more...
Directive
proposal incl. suggested country targets
EREC
policy workshop
In the Americas and Oceania perceptions, attitudes and even
policies have changed in favour of renewable energy during the last
month. In US policies the perception of renewable energy seems to
be changing, with different US Government departments submitting WIREC
pledges. Unlike Europe, there is much optimism and government support in
the US for biofuels, including support for R&D. It remains to be seen,
however, whether the Bush Administration will finally extend the
Production Tax Credit, in addition to significant loan guarantees. The
US
Senate for its part recently voted in favour of an extension.
The US States remain at the forefront of renewable energy promotion with
almost daily reports about a US state introducing or modifying its
renewable energy promotion programme - almost always a Renewables
Portfolio Standard (RPS). California is reported to be the first US
State to introduce some kind of feed-in law.
The Canadian Government has announced substantial renewable energy funds
as policy instruments. Several funds are also being established in
Australia, in addition to new targets that are not as high as New
Zealand targets. Such measures make Oceania an ambitious region for
renewable energy.
Brazil has renewed its targets, which rival those of New Zealand.
Mexico has revealed an impressive wind potential in various parts of the
country. Some wind sites situated closer to US consumption centres have also
attracted attention of US investors.
In Asia reports indicate that Japan is considering increasing to its
low renewable energy target, while Korea has started a practical
programme with its local governments. China may surpass its targets
while Indonesia has presented new energy targets, including targets for
renewable energy. Despite their political struggles, Afghanistan and
Pakistan have set renewable energy objectives, and Azerbaijan, an oil
country, is starting to explore its renewable energy sources.
Promising news from
Africa indicates real progress and realistic
targets from diverse countries and regions, including Morocco and Egypt,
Kenya, Uganda, Ruanda, and Madagascar. With a growing economy, South
Africa also seems to be accelerating its drive towards renewable energy
to meet urgent needs for new capacity.
Generally, more funding seems to be available for
development in
renewable energy. Germany has pledged to double its special facility
for renewable energy and energy efficiency. Switzerland has also pledged
to double the budget of its interdepartmental platform to promote
renewable energy and energy efficiency within programs for international
cooperation. Japan is promising very high funding, particularly for
energy efficiency. The US and UK are reportedly contributing to a USD 5
billion World Bank lean development fund.
The pledges and presentations during WIREC also indicate that more
public money will be available for urgently needed
R&D in
renewable energy, although this remains to be seen.
All the pledges made at WIREC by governments and other participants can
be found on the REN21 website.
Read more...
WIREC Pledges
G8 snubs renewable energy
The 4th round of the G8 Gleneagles Dialogue in Japan during March did
little to promote renewable energy and the issue mostly went unreported, apart from
a speech by Tony Blair on his trip to Asian capitals in search of
possible solutions to climate change. The Japanese Government tested the
idea of sector mitigation targets aimed at protecting industries in
countries with GHG reduction targets from competing industries in
countries without reduction targets. No consensus was reached. The
Chair's summary is expected for the G8 summit in June.
Read more...
Results from the Chiba meeting
International Renewable Energy Conference in Senegal
From 16-18 April, a conference on renewable energy, organised jointly by
the African Union, the Government of Senegal, the German Federal
Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development, and UNIDO, took place
in Dakar, Senegal. In the face of record oil prices, the deliberations
reflected a growing consensus on the need to develop clean alternative
energy in order to sustain the considerable economic growth African
economies have experienced over the last half decade. There was strong
awareness on the critical role for political framework conditions that
level the playing field on the energy market, and for capacity
development. The conference produced the
Dakar Declaration on Scaling
Up Renewable Energy in Africa as well as a
Draft Plan of Action. REN21 and AFREPREN presented a forthcoming paper on
opportunities and success stories for renewable energy in Africa.
Read
more...
UNIDO
conference website
REN21-AFREPREN
side event
IPCC to prepare special report on renewable energy
On 10 April, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change decided at
its 28th Session held in Budapest to produce a
Special Report on
Renewable Energy Sources and Climate Change Mitigation, to be
completed by 2010. In a press statement issued by the Global Wind Energy
Council (GEWC), Secretary General Steve Sawyer describes the future
report as "
the reference document for governments and
policymakers around the world on renewables", while GWEC chairman
Arthouros Zervos expects that the report will highlight "the key role for
renewable energy in combating climate change; particularly because of
their ability to deployed rapidly and on a large scale in every country
of the world at reasonable cost..."
Read more...
Outline
of Special Report
Major Economies Meetings seek to support UN
climate process
At the second US-initiated Major Economies Meeting (MEM) on Energy and
Climate Change in Honolulu at the end of January, participants welcomed the hot-off-the-press
"Bali
Action Plan" and expressed their willingness to "assist the UNFCCC
toward a successful outcome". While this might ease some fears about the
MEM being a distraction from the UN climate policy process, the
Chairman’s Summary does not mention mandatory country-based emission
cuts. Discussions focused on technological innovation and energy
efficiency.
France invited the group to the third meeting, held in Paris from 17-18
April. French President, Nicolas Sarkozy, reminded the group of the
urgency to "overcome... defensive reactions" and prepare bold climate
action to be adopted in the UN process. On behalf of UN
Secretary-General BAN Ki-moon, UNFCCC Executive Secretary Yvo de Boer reported on the recent Bangkok Climate Change Talks and further
underlined the important contribution the MEM group could make in
preparing concrete proposals to be tabled at the COP meetings in Poznan
in late 2008 and Copenhagen in 2009. Like its predecessor, however, this
meeting was no major breakthrough in terms of emission cuts. The Bush
administration, in fact, was very harshly criticised for having proposed
a "national goal" to peak emissions in 2025, just prior to the Paris
meeting. This proposal, which came without any mandatory caps or even
specific measures, was seen as utterly insufficient by other
participants.
Read more...
Chairman's
Summary of Honolulu meeting
Paris
meeting, French Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Preparatory Conference for the Foundation of an IRENA
From 9 to 11 April, 2008, the German Federal Government hosted the
Preparatory Conference for the Foundation of an International Renewable
Energy Agency (IRENA) in the German Federal Foreign Office in
Berlin. 170 participants from 60 countries attended and discussed the
possible objectives, activities, organisation and finance of an IRENA.
Read
more...
New UNEP Climate Change Strategy
UNEP’s Governing Council approved the agency’s new
Climate Change
Strategy at the Global Ministerial Environment Forum in Monaco. The
strategy focuses and strengthens UNEP’s climate change activities across
six intersecting thematic priorities, with renewable energy playing a
key role.
Read
more...
Clean Energy Investment Framework for Africa
The African Development Bank (AfDB) is to launch a
Clean Energy
Investment Framework for Africa in response to the request of the G8 and
2007 African Union Summit. AfDB is putting a strong emphasis on
renewable energy, the huge unused potentials of which need to be tapped
with appropriate investment and policy frameworks.
Read more…
REN21 Seventh Steering Committee meeting on future strategy
Preceding the Washington International Renewable Energy Conference (WIREC)
2008, the Steering Committee met for a one-day meeting in Washington.
Read more...
REN21 Renewables 2007 Global Status Report 2007 goes multilingual
The 2007 GSR, launched at WIREC and presented in the Daidalos Forum on
REN21's website, will be translated into Spanish, Chinese, Japanese, French,
German and possibly Arabic.
Read more…
REN21, WIREC and WIAP
REN21 has been pleased to support WIREC 2008 as its international partner.
Many REN21 network participants served as speakers, moderators, and
side-event sponsors, and the Secretariat provided support and advice in
designing the programme, selecting speakers, identifying the host for the
next IREC, and especially in organising and managing the pledge process.
After the International Actions Programme (IAP) from Bonn renewables 2004,
there is now a set of new commitments from 2008.
Read more...
Washington International Action Programme
Plenary Speech by REN21 Chair Mohamed El-Ashry
REN21 Seeks New Head of Secretariat
After playing a key role in establishing REN21 in the international arena, Paul
Suding will be leaving REN21 for new responsibilities in development
cooperation.
Read more…
ACORE receives Skoll Award
REN21 congratulates the American Council on Renewable Energy and its
President, Michael Eckhart, on being one of the recipients of the Skoll
Award 2008 for Social Entrepreneurship. ACORE joins 11 organisations working
around the world in the areas of tolerance and human rights, health,
environmental sustainability, peace and security, and economic and social
equity.
Read
more...
Also on the REN21 website:
- The Virtual Library continues to
grow as a choice selection of publications and book reviews. Recently
added:
"Property Tax Assessments as a Finance Vehicle for Residential PV
Installations: Opportunities and Potential Limitations" by Mark Bolinger,
Berkeley Lab - The Event
Calendar features policy events relevant to renewable energy, such
as the "West Africa Biofuels Summit"
taking place Nigeria.
- A new section on the website, the
Community Pinboard, allows people and
institutions active in renewable energy policy to 'pin' announcement on
the front page of the REN21 website for a certain period of time.
