Expansion of Renewable Energies Worldwide

Thanks to the expansion of renewable energies, global carbon dioxide emissions will be reduced by 1.2 billion tonnes in 2015 - more than Germany's total CO2 emissions in 1990. This is the result of the analysis of the International Action Programme agreed on at the International Conference for Renewable Energies - renewables2004 - in June of last year.

In the International Action Programme, governments, international organisations, financial institutions, companies, associations and many others have confirmed their willingness to promote renewable energies in the coming years in order to advance the urgently needed transformation of energy systems. The different contributions range from concrete expansion commitments and the design of policy frameworks to the intensification of research and development.

The newly published analysis evaluates the almost 200 actions proposed in the Programme. More than 100 of these contributions have been submitted by individual governments. Almost 30 states worldwide have introduced specific targets for the expansion of renewable energies. The most effective individual action with regard to the reduction of CO2 emissions is China's announcement of its aim to generate 10 per cent of its electricity from solar power, wind and small hydropower stations by 2010. The new capacities required to meet this goal correspond to the output of about 200 coal-fired power plants. The Philippines are striving to become the world's biggest producer of geothermal energy. By 2013, they will double their energy production from hydropower, solar and geothermal energy. For Germany, the goal of generating 20 per cent of electricity from renewable energies by 2020, stipulated in the Renewable Energy Sources Act, will contribute to reducing CO2 emissions by 42 million tonnes as early as 2015.

The German Government is advocating a review of the International Action Programme within the framework of the UN Commission on Sustainable Development. It is planned to make the necessary preparations at a conference in China at the end of 2005.

The analysis and the whole Action Programme are available at www.renewables2004.de/en/2004/outcome_actionprogramme.asp  .