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Worldwatch in Action: Part 1: Special Report on the International Conference for Renewable Energies (Renewables 2004)

Part 1: A Look Ahead at the Conference


Why a Conference on Renewable Energy?

The need for clean, renewable energy sources has never been greater. Throughout the world, energy use is rising rapidly in industrial and developing countries alike. And roughly 2 billion people still lack access to electricity and other modern energy services. This ever-growing demand, along with turmoil in the Middle East, rising gas prices, concern about climate change, and as pollution-induced health problems all send a clear message: today’s global energy system, which depends heavily on fossil fuels, is unsustainable in economic, social, and ecological terms.

It is against this backdrop that, at the World Summit for Sustainable Development in South Africa in 2002, German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder announced that his government would host an historic international renewable energy conference. In June 2004, this pledge will become reality when government ministers, technology experts, business executives, and non-governmental leaders from around the world gather in Bonn, Germany, for Renewables 2004.

The International Conference for Renewable Energies will chart a path for actively transitioning the world to a sustainable global energy system in a timely manner. It will identify the obstacles to the broader use of renewables and will focus on finding solutions to overcome these barriers. The conference will also address key challenges in sustainable development such as access to energy for the poor and the protection of the global climate.

The conference is expected to yield a political declaration, an international action program, including voluntary national and regional targets and a range of other commitments, and a “guide to good policies” for the use of national, state, and local level decision makers.

Read a summary of the aims and expected outcomes of Renewables 2004 or view the entire conference program at: www.renewables2004.de/en/programme/default.asp.

Where Do Renewables Currently Stand?

Over the past decade, renewable energies have grown rapidly. Solar and wind power are the fastest growing energy sources in the world, with the installed capacity of solar power increasing seven-fold since the mid-1990s, and wind energy capacity growing by more than a factor of thirteen. These 10-year annual growth rates—of 22 percent and 30 percent, respectively—are closer to the realm of computers and telecommunications than the single digit growth rates common in today’s energy economies.

Today’s worldwide wind capacity is sufficient to power 19 million average European homes, and it is estimated that “new renewable”1 energy supplies the equivalent of the residential electricity needs of more than 300 million people. Renewables industries are attracting some of the largest players in the world energy market—including BP, Royal Dutch/Shell, and General Electric—and global investment in renewables exceeded $20 billion in 2003.

Yet for renewables to power their way into the mainstream, governments must commit to long-term, consistent, and progressive policies that create markets for renewable energy and enable the development of mature and self-sustaining industries to manufacture, install, and maintain renewable energy systems. This in turn will create larger markets for renewables and drive down their costs. The conference in Bonn aims to further this process.

For more information on the state of renewables today, see Mainstreaming Renewable Energy in the 21st Century, a new paper by Janet Sawin, Energy and Climate Program Director at Worldwatch. The report addresses many of the same issues that will be debated in Bonn.

What Role has Worldwatch Played in the Lead-Up to Renewables 2004?

Worldwatch President Christopher Flavin and Janet Sawin have played a number of leadership and advisory roles in the lead up to Renewables 2004.

Chris Flavin was appointed to the International Steering Committee (ISC), which has developed the agenda and plans for Renewables 2004. Composed of roughly 40 representatives of governments, international agencies, and non-governmental organizations from around the world, the ISC has served a leadership role normally filled only by governments. Chris will be a delegate to the conference, with rights to speak from the floor, as well as to work with other delegates behind the scenes on the various conference “outcomes.” During one of the sessions on June 3, Chris will serve as an “eminent expert,” advising the chairman of the conference on key policy issues.

Janet Sawin authored one of 12 thematic background papers written on a broad range of renewables-related topics in preparation for the conference. Her paper, “National Policy Instruments: Policy Lessons for the Advancement and Diffusion of Renewable Energy Technologies Around the World,” is available on the conference website at www.renewables2004.de/pdf/tbp/TBP03-policies.pdf

Both Chris and Janet are also part of a team of authors drafting “Policy Recommendations for Renewable Energies.” This document is expected to be one of three concrete outcomes of the conference. It provides guidance for “state-of-art-policy” based on national experiences to date and will be completed in Bonn with input from government ministers during the course of the conference.

Janet has authored a new Worldwatch Paper, Mainstreaming Renewable Energy in the 21st Century, which discusses the urgent need to begin a comprehensive transition to renewable energy, the state of renewable technologies today, and provides policy recommendations for bringing renewables into the mainstream of the global energy economy. The release of the paper, on May 19th, was timed to coincide with the conference and will be distributed in Bonn.

How Will Worldwatch Actively Participate in the Conference?

Christopher Flavin and Janet Sawin will represent Worldwatch in Bonn along with Eric Martinot, a Worldwatch Senior Fellow, and Susan Finkelpearl, Communications Manager. The foursome will attend not only the intergovernmental conference in Bonn, but also a number of simultaneous smaller conferences and fora related to renewable energy.

On the ground in Bonn, Worldwatch’s presence will be bolstered by its long-term German NGO partner, Germanwatch www.germanwatch.org. Germanwatch, which has translated State of the World into German for a number of years, is co-organizing a panel discussion and press conference with Worldwatch.

The mission of Worldwatch and Germanwatch in Bonn is to inform policy makers and conference delegates about the current state of renewable energy technologies around the world, to shed light on why renewables have taken off in certain countries or regions, and to offer delegates recommendations for ensuring the continued and accelerated growth of renewables. This mission will be met through participation in a number of conference events. While in Bonn, the Worldwatch and Germanwatch teams will also actively network with government and business leaders, and media from around the world.

Specific events with a Worldwatch presence include:

  • On May 30, Chris Flavin and Eric Martinot will give a global survey on renewable energy at an NGO forum hosted by the World Council on Renewable Energy.
  • On June 1, Worldwatch, along with German partner Germanwatch, will host a press briefing to assist in orienting journalists to the aims and expectations of Renewables 2004.
  • On June 2, Worldwatch will co-host a conference “side-event” titled, “Lessons from the Frontline: Who’s Succeeding with Renewable Energy and Why.” Other side event hosts include Germanwatch, The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI) of New Delhi, and the Institute for Sustainable Energy Policy of Tokyo, Japan.
  • Chris Flavin will participate in a special dinner discussion on China, climate change, and renewable energy on June 3.

What Will Signal the Conference’s Success?

The sooner the world’s economies begin shifting to renewable energy, the better. If more countries continue to board the renewable energy bandwagon, renewable technologies could pass a tipping point that propels them toward dominance of the global energy system—much as oil passed a similar threshold a century ago—and provide humanity with a cleaner, safer, healthier and more equitable world.

The question that the conference in Bonn can help answer is how soon and how rapidly these policies will spread, and whether a true global take-off may now be within reach. In other words, the main test of the success of this conference will be whether it generates an expansion of the currently small pool of countries with significant renewable energy industries, and encourages some of the developing countries that most need renewable energy to join that pool. Some countries are likely to announce new commitments, and new policies at the conference, though no common international target is expected.

Tangible outcomes of the conference are likely to include arrangements for a follow-up process and a mechanism to share information on progress in implementing the International Action Program. In addition, a conference report will be published including information on participants, agenda, themes and proceedings of the conference. We will be looking to the strength of the declaration, the concreteness of the action programme, and the nature of the follow up mechanisms designated or created to measure the success of this conference.

Watch for a second listserv announcement next week about Renewables 2004 from the conference itself in Bonn. We’ll communicate on the overall progress of Renewables 2004 and will report on the various activities in which the Worldwatch staff participate.