posted By Pincas Jawetz (PJ@SustainabiliTank.info)
on www.SustainabiliTank.info on February 16, 2006.

The following information comes from the Risoe Centre on Climate,
Energy and
Sustainable Development, a UNEP/Danish operation that favors Renewable
Energ
in context of Sustainable Development, attached to the Danish Risoe
National Laboratory at Roskilde.

A New Renewable Energy Policy Network for the 21st Century (REN21)
report links
Renewable Energy to Climate Change Solutions.

We find it of special interest that this report was first introduced at
the recent UNEP
high level meeting in oil rich Dubai, and then forwarded to the
UNEP/Industry Center in Paris.
The report, as it could be expected is thus seemingly not completely
oil and coal free,
but it makes inroads to areas that could have been seen as closed to RE
periodWe hope thus
that the report will be read now even in Washington.

‘Changing Climates’, the Role of Renewable Energy in a
Carbon-Constrained World’
cites an “emerging consensus” in both the scientific and political
communities
that a global warming limit of 2C degrees above pre-industrial levels
can avoid the
most serious climate change threats. But, the report adds, this level
can only
be reached with major long-term emission reductions from many different
and
combined options, including larger renewable energy markets, efficiency
improvements, and fossil fuels that are much cleaner than those on
which the
world’s US$60 trillion economy currently depends.

The report’s lead author, John Christensen from Risoe says that many RE
technologies have “moved from being a passion for the dedicated few to
a major
economic sector attracting large industrial companies and financial
institutions”.

However, basic policy questions remain, including the need to ensure
technical
progress, overcome implementation barriers, and accelerate the shift to
renewable energy. “Although there are many good political, economic and
social
reasons for stimulating a more rapid development of renewable energy -
not the
least of which is climate change - the sector is hampered by a number
of market
distortions and institutional, financial, and economic barriers,” says
Christensen.

‘Changing Climates’ follows the release of the ‘REN21 Global Status
Report’ that
found that US$30 billion was invested in the renewable energy sector in
2004,
which contributes 160 GW, or approximately 4% of global power capacity.
To
significantly increase this investment and contribution, ‘Changing
Climates’
says economic policy instruments can quickly improve the
cost-competitiveness of
renewable energy systems and technologies. The report uses a range of
different
“scenario” analysis form the International Energy Agency and other
institutions
to show how national and regional strategies can help to grow the
renewable
energy sector and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

“Using economic policy instruments, such as renewable energy targets
and tax
incentives can be an effective strategy to stimulate change and reduce
greenhouse gas emissions in energy markets that are increasingly
deregulated and
market orientated,” Christensen says, citing the evolving experiences
with
carbon finance and emissions trading as promising longer-term
incentives for
developing renewable energy markets.

One of the report’s conclusions is that specific policy tools need to
fit local
circumstances, but significant experience is already available in both
developed
and developing countries to guide the use of these policies. With the
current
and predicted cost competitiveness of many renewable energy
technologies,
however, it is not necessary to wait for strengthened global agreements
before
taking action at the national level.

‘Changing Climates’ was launched on Wednesday 8 February at a REN21
side event
at the 9th Special Session of UNEP’s Governing Council/Global
Ministerial
Environment Forum, which took place in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. The
launch
of the report coincided with the opening of a new REN21 secretariat
office in
Paris, headed by Paul Suding and supported by UNEP and GTZ, the German
Technical
Cooperation.

In his address to the Network, UNEP Executive Director Klaus Töpfer
thanked the
German government and other partners for the progress made in
establishing the
Network, and reconfirmed the support of UNEP to REN21. He emphasized
the
possibilities of renewable energies to provide decentralised energy
access as a
prerequisite for reaching the Millennium Development Goals.

Danish Environment Minister Connie Hedegaard, who had invited the
Network’s
Steering Committee to Copenhagen for the official launch of REN21 in
June 2005
welcomed the opening of the Secretariat in Paris. She underlined the
need for a speedy expansion of renewable energies in order to assure a
sustainable energy supply against the background of climate change:
“The task is
now to make it work fast”.

Piotr Tulej of the International Energy Agency underscored the
importance of
politics in ensuring the “spectacular” growth rates of the past years,
and the
need for long-term research and development in the future.

‘Changing Climates’ and the other REN21 policy issue papers (’RE Global
Status
Report’ and ‘Energy for Development: The Potential Role of RE in
Meeting the
Millennium Development Goals’) can be found on the Network’s website:
www.ren21.net

REN21 is a global policy network created in response to a commitment of
the
International Conference for Renewable Energies which was convened in
Bonn,
Germany, in 2004. Composed of representatives of governments, business
and civil
society, REN21’s goal is to support the rapid expansion of renewable
energy in
developing and developed countries by bolstering policy development and
decision-making at the local, national, and international levels.