Two years after the Bonn International Conference for Renewable energies (renewables2004) implementation of measures making good progress
"Since the Bonn conference we have made excellent progress and therefore successfully continued the transformation of energy systems that was introduced then," stated Federal Development Minister Heidemarie Wieczorek-Zeul on the occasion of the second anniversary of the International Conference for Renewable Energies, renewables2004. The conference took place in Bonn in June 2004 and was the largest ever international conference on renewable energies. A major outcome of the conference was the International Action Programme for renewable energies. It includes approximately 200 concrete commitments to promote the increased generation of wind, solar and hydropower, biomass and geothermal energy worldwide. "Two years after the Bonn Conference we are well on the way to successfully implementing the Action Programme," said Federal Environment Minister Gabriel.
The Interim Report on the Implementation of the International Action Programme prepared by the Renewable Energy Policy Network - REN21 is proof of that: almost 80 % of the responses reported that projects were launched or already fully implemented. A number of countries announced that they would significantly raise the share of renewable energies in electricity production. China's target, for example, is to generate 15 % of electricity from renewable energy sources by 2020. Turkey has introduced a law granting priority to renewable energies modelled on German legislation and has already approved the construction of wind and hydroelectric power plants with a capacity of 3,000 MW. Pakistan plans to supply approximately 30,000 households especially in remote areas with wind and solar power. With German support small hydroelectric power plants with a capacity of up to 10 MW will be built in Armenia by 2010.
"We want to put greater emphasis on promoting cooperation between those countries that have new energy technology and those that want to use it," said Federal Environment Minister Gabriel. "In Germany we were able to more than double the share of renewable energies within a few years. Within the framework of the Kyoto Protocol's Clean Development Mechanism the international use of renewable energies is an excellent, cost efficient instrument. Germany will strongly increase the use of this instrument so that climate gasses will be quickly cut down worldwide in as many regions as possible - for an energy supply that meets future demands and for sustainable economic growth."
Some measures in developing countries will be supported by the Special Facility for Renewable Energies and Energy Efficiency provided by Germany.
"The Special Facility is a huge success, as about one third of the 500 million euro for the years 2005 to 2009 is already allocated due to the great demand from developing countries," explained Minister Wieczorek-Zeul. "Especially for developing countries it is important that sustainable energy sources are made use of and energy efficiency is improved", she emphasised. Sustainable energy sources would save resources and support countries' growth. "Both are important prerequisites for fulfilling the millennium goal of eradicating poverty. The Federal Government therefore made the promotion of renewable energies a key issue of international cooperation," said Ms Wieczorek-Zeul.
The complete implementation of the International Action Programme will reduce global CO2 emissions by 1.2 billion tonnes every year by 2015. That is approximately 5 % of today's global CO2 emissions. The implementation of the International Action Programme will lead to investments in renewable energies of approximately US $ 320 billion.
Further information:
International Conference for Renewable Energies Bonn 2004 : The Conference was announced by the Federal Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder at the World Summit on Sustainable Development in Johannesburg in September 2002.