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MONTREAL, Quebec, CA, December 14, 2005
(Refocus Weekly)
Renewable energies played “an increasing, however
not yet sufficient role” in the discussion over climate change at
the United Nations conference (COP11) in Montreal, says the World
Wind Energy Association.
The conference should recognize the full benefits of renewable
energies, stop the proliferation of obsolete technologies and take
into account the externalities of all energy sources, the group
said. The 10,000 delegates should give the highest priority to
renewable energies and it will be necessary for the conference to
increase efforts for integrated renewable energy solutions.
“It is a matter of urgency to present to the world community again
and again the manifold benefits of renewable energies which offer
the only viable long-term solution for the mitigation of climate
change,” says Peter Rae of WWEA. “Following the current discussions
here in Montreal, we will even have to strengthen our efforts in the
future to spread this message amongst governments around the world
and to make sure that renewable energies will be given special
consideration in the frameworks for the post-2012 period.”
WWEA is working with the International Hydropower Association and
International Solar Energy Society to present a combined position at
the conference through the International Renewable Energy Alliance.
WWEA is the global association for wind energy with 200 members from
73 countries, including national associations, scientific institutes
and companies, and is calling for the “complete substitution of
fossil and nuclear sources by renewable energies with wind energy as
one cornerstone.”
“We need the full orchestra of all the renewable energies working
together to maximise their output,” says Rae. “One excellent example
has been presented at COP 11 by Hydro Quebec which has announced
that they will install 3,500 MW of wind energy in the coming ten
years. This wind power capacity will be installed in addition to the
existing hydropower schemes, in order to use the operational and
economic synergies which are available from the combination of these
two technologies.”
“We also need to take into account the additional benefits of
renewable energies beside from delivering energy, such as job
creation and strengthening of rural structures,” adds WWEA secretary
general Stefan Gsänger. “At the same time, energy prices also need
to reflect the externalities of the conventional energies, such as
the negative impact of climate change on human living conditions,
especially in the so-called developing world.”
During COP11, the World Health Organization presented evidence to
indicate that global warming will lead to significant increases in
diseases such as cholera or malaria, and Gsänger says wind energy
can help to “avoid or at least attenuate such developments.”
The full range of renewable energy must be tapped, added Tanay Sidki
Uyar of Turkey, who called for better policies around the world
based on best practise experiences. “COP 11 should send out a strong
signal to the governments that they should not lose more time before
implementing ambitious renewable energy programs,” she said. “In any
case, the industrialised countries should stop immediately
delivering obsolete and inefficient technologies like fossil or
nuclear power plants to other countries.”
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