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NEW YORK, New York, US, August 24, 2005 (Refocus
Weekly)
The global share of renewable energy is gradually
increasing, but the total share of commercial energy derived from
renewables “still remains far below its economic potential,” according
to the United Nations.
The share of renewables around the world, including large hydro but
excluding biomass, has yet to reach 3%, concludes a report by secretary
general Kofi Annan which examines the promotion of renewable energies
from 1996 to 2005. The World Solar Programme raised awareness of and
intensified interest in renewables, and “more intensive efforts to
develop and utilize new and renewable sources of energy may be
envisaged” as a result of the Kyoto Protocol.
“There remain large segments of developing-country populations that
still do not have access to modern forms of energy, while many
indigenous energy sources, including renewable ones, remain untapped,”
it explains. “Increased local, national and international efforts will
be needed to achieve the renewable energy elements of the Plan of
Implementation of the World Summit on Sustainable Development.”
The Commission on Sustainable Development will consider the thematic
cluster that includes energy for sustainable development, air pollution,
climate change and industrial development and, next year, the Commission
will identify successes and remaining obstacles to implementation. In
2007, it will focus on policy options to “further advance, among other
things, the use of renewable sources of energy for sustainable
development.”
With 1.6 billion people in developing countries still lacking access to
electricity, and 2.4 billion still relying on wood and animal residues
for cooking and heating, Annan has called for intensified efforts to
promote access to renewable energy sources for the poor.
“One of the growing concerns of the international community is the
persistent energy poverty that is seriously impeding socio-economic
development, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa and in countries in
South Asia,” he notes in the report to the General Assembly. “Renewable
sources of energy can be used to provide modern energy services to the
poor, contribute to meeting the increasing global energy demand, reduce
air pollution, mitigate climate change and delay the eventual
fossil-fuel depletion.”
“New and renewable sources of energy have begun entering the mainstream
of national and international energy-policy formulation and now
constitute an integral element of the global vision for sustainable
development,” it explains. “International interest in new and renewable
sources of energy has grown continuously in recent years, motivated by
different yet interrelated sustainable development concerns of
significant importance.”
“Together with greater energy efficiency, greater reliance on advanced
energy technologies and a more sustainable use of traditional energy
sources, new and renewable sources of energy will have to make a greater
contribution to the future energy-supply mix if the rising global energy
demand is to be met, and if energy costs, which are often projected to
rise considerably in the future, are to remain at affordable levels,” it
adds.
“Modern renewable energy technologies, such as wind turbines, modern
biomass systems, modern biofuels and solar photovoltaics, are receiving
increasing support in many developing and industrialized countries,” it
notes. Annual growth rates of primary energy from all renewable sources
was 1.7% from 1990 to 2002 while all primary energy sources grew 1.4% a
year, noting that wind grew by 23.9% a year, solar by 6.4%, hydro by
1.6%, geothermal 1.8%, solid biomass 1.6%, and renewable municipal solid
waste, biogas and liquid biomass by 7.4% a year.
Global consumption of non-hydro green power (including biomass) has
grown from 56 billion kWh in 1985 to 310 b-kWh in 2003, with western
Europe growing from 14 to 110 b-kWh while North America went from 12 to
102 b-kWh. World consumption of hydroelectricity grew from 1,954 to
2,654 b-kWh over the same period.
“Governments use a variety of policy tools and measures to promote
renewable energy use,” it says. “Recent studies have shown that policy
measures aimed at promoting renewable energy utilization can have
positive impacts by stimulating renewable energy investment, equipment
production, trade and development.”
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