Federal Environment Minister Juergen Trittin welcomed the new annual report of the Worldwatch Institute as an enforcement of Germany's climate protection policy. The report entitled "State of the World 2003" dedicates a special section to German policy on renewable energies, in which Germany is cited as a positive example for the development of wind and solar energy. "Such praise from one of the world's most renowned environment institutes not only confirms our endeavours, it also commits us to further proceed with our policy to switch to new forms of energies such as solar energy, wind energy, biomass and hydro power", said Minister Trittin at an event presenting the German issue of the report in Berlin.
Minister Trittin outlined that a global switch to sustainable energy was needed for four reasons: For ecological reasons, "since we will not be able to tackle climate change without the massive development of renewable energies". Also for economic reasons, because it could already be anticipated that repairing the damage caused by climate change will be far more costly than a re-orientation in energy policy. "Also, once oil, gas, coal but also uranium resources dwindle, we will not be able to supply our societies with energy without switching to future-oriented technologies such as wind or solar energy. By 2050 only those societies that obtain at least 50 per cent of their energy from renewables will be competitive", said Trittin.
Another reason for the switch towards renewable energies is that energy for all and in particular for future generations and developing countries is a basic prerequisite for combating poverty. "This is only possible with the help of decentralized forms of energy such as renewable energies", said Trittin. "We will not reach our common goal of cutting the number of those in this world living in poverty by 2015 , if developing countries must keep spending 80 per cent of their foreign currency on oil imports."
For peace policy a global switch to sustainable energy is also important "since renewables will result in fewer conflicts for resources whilst sustainable economic development geared to combating poverty will generate peace."
According to the Environment Minister developing renewable energies will remain a focal issue of environment policy in Germany. "At national level we are currently working on further developing the Act on Granting Priority to Renewable Energy Sources (EEG) and adapting it to our ambitious energy goals. Internationally Germany will invite the world community to a conference on renewable energies in Bonn in June 2004."
The Bonn conference is to be the starting point for an action plan geared to support the development of renewable energies worldwide. The goal is that as many counties as possible should commit themselves to precise time schedules for increasing their share of renewable energies in primary energy consumption. Important representatives of civil society, industry and non- governmental organisations have also been invited to the conference. The Federal Environment Minister: "The conference will not be the expression of a passing fancy, but the starting point for a long-term process geared to re-orienting energy policy at international level."