Federal Environment Minister Sigmar Gabriel wants to further increase the use of renewable energies on the national and global level. "In order to establish a sustainable energy supply and to effectively counteract climate change, we need an accelerated expansion of renewable energies. With the dual strategy of energy and raw material efficiency on the one hand and the expansion of renewables on the other hand we also boost economic development and provide jobs" Minister Gabriel declared today at the World Renewable Energy Assembly in Bonn. He resolutely rejected nuclear energy: "Economic growth and climate protection cannot be based on nuclear power."
Federal Environment Minister Gabriel wants to keep the issue of renewable energy as a priority on the international agenda. "This assembly is also a significant contribution. The progress of the worldwide expansion of renewable energies provides vital momentum for the upcoming Climate Change Conference in Montreal. During the next two years the UN Commission on Sustainable Development will deal with the review of the increased use of renewable energies worldwide. Our aim is for the international community to agree on a mechanism for regular and continuous review."
The Federal Environment Minister highlighted the momentum and signals given by the international conference in Bonn in 2004 and the follow-up conference in Beijing this month with regard to the worldwide expansion of renewable energies. Minister Gabriel commented: "The conference in Bonn was the dawning of a new age of solar energy. The Action Programme adopted in Bonn alone will lead to investments of about USD 320 billion. Up to 300 million people will have access to electricity for the first time. This is a big step towards greater global justice."
Minister Gabriel pointed to the fact that a newly industrialised country such as China, which has an enormous demand for energy because of its rapid economic growth, promotes renewable energies. The Federal Environment Minister underlined that "within only three years China has provided one million people living in remote areas with access to electricity by means of renewable energies and thus improved the opportunities for development in these regions considerably".
At renewables2004 in Bonn an International Action Programme for the increased use of renewable energies was adopted, including almost 200 individual contributions and commitments. China made an outstanding contribution. In Beijing, where the status of the expansion of renewable energies was assessed three weeks ago, China even extended its ambitious plans for expansion. China now wants to double the share of renewable energy sources in the total consumption of energy to 15 per cent by 2020. The capacity of wind power alone is planned to be increased to 30 GW by 2020, which would be almost double the capacity currently installed in Germany. An additional 20 GW from bioenergy and 4 GW from solar energy are planned for as well. With these measures, together with large hydroelectric power plants, China wants to generate more than 30 per cent of its electricity from renewable energy sources by 2020.
Federal Environment Minister Gabriel stressed that the driving force for the expansion of renewable energies in Germany is the Renewable Energy Sources Act (EEG) which stipulates fixed feed-in tariffs for electricity from renewable energy sources. He pointed out that by now more than 30 countries worldwide have introduced similar feed-in provisions. He added that he considered the review of the EEG in 2007, laid down in the coalition agreement, as an opportunity to demonstrate the advantages of the Act. According to Minister Gabriel "Without the EEG Germany would surely not hold a leading position in wind energy technologies". The Federal Environment Minister called for the industry to reinforce its research and development efforts even more. "Efficiency gains are just as important for market penetration as secure feed-in tariffs."