Jointly issued with REN
21
Best option to mitigate carbon emissions says
new report
Bali/Nairobi, 6 December 2007 - In less than
a decade since the Kyoto Protocol was adopted,
renewable energy has evolved rapidly from
an 'alternative' source of energy to a mainstream
energy option, according to the REN21 Renewables
Global Status Report 2007.
Compared to a total global power capacity
of 4,300 GW, the report finds renewable energy
(without large hydro) now provides about 240
Gigawatts (GW) of clean power, avoiding some
5 gigatonnes per year (Gt/year) of carbon
emissions.
"What's needed now are binding targets
in an international agreement to establish
polices that can rapidly accelerate the large-scale
deployment of renewable energy to replace
fossil fuels," said Mohamed El Ashry,
head of the global policy network REN21 that
produced the report with the Worldwatch Institute.
Achim Steiner, UN Under-Secretary General
and Executive Director of United Nations Environment
Programme (UNEP), which houses the REN21 secretariat,
said "Renewable energy can make a significant
contribution to de-carbonizing the global
economy and its contribution to combating
climate change is now really beginning to
emerge."
"I call on governments to send market
signals that will accelerate the use of renewable
energy even further and to also reverse the
declines in research and development spending
so as to accelerate the commercialization
of other renewables waiting in the wings,"
he said.
The new report follows two earlier Global
Status Reports in 2005 and 2006, and shows
that renewable energy sources continue their
strong double-digit growth in 2007.
- Wind energy has the largest share of renewable
energy investment and continues to grow at
25-30% per year to reach more than 90 GW cumulative
capacity in 2007 ? 11 times the capacity in
1997.
- Grid-tied electricity from solar photovoltaic
technology (solar PV) continues to grow at
50-60% annual rates, and now accounts for
almost 8 GW.
- Solar hot water systems now provide hot
water to more than 50 million households worldwide
and 25 million rural households benefit from
biogas, small wind power, household solar
power, and other technologies.
"With more than 70 countries installing
wind power and biomass power generation expanding
in more than 40 countries, renewable energy
is clearly a global sector", said El
Ashry, adding "growth is being driven
by policies to promote renewable energy, which
have mushroomed over the past few years."
More than 50 countries worldwide have adopted
targets for future shares or amounts of renewable
energy, including 13 developing countries,
all EU countries, and many states/provinces
in the US and Canada. At least 56 countries
now have some type of renewable energy promotion
policy, and 44 countries, states, and provinces
have enacted renewable-portfolio-standards
requiring future shares of power generation.
Pointing to an earlier report this year by
the UNEP Sustainable Energy Finance Initiative
(www.sefi.unep.org), El Ashry said "the
$100 billion of global investment in the sector
during 2006 is a vote of confidence by investors."
Virginia Sonntag-O'Brien from UNEP SEFI said
that as the numbers for renewable energy continue
to escalate, there seems to be "a disconnect
between the markets and policy makers and
negotiators".
"In terms of options to mitigate carbon
emissions, renewable energy is here now, unlike
other options. There is no such thing as 'clean
coal' today, and it is likely to be more than
a decade before any advanced technology to
capture and store carbon can be widely deployed"
she said.
The 2007 Renewables Global Status Report
concludes that current trends are set to continue
as the costs of renewable energy technologies
decline and the sector continues to diversify
production and technology development to a
broad base of countries, including emerging
economies. With more than 2.5 million jobs
in the renewable energy industry, and strong
rural development benefits, renewable energy
is an avenue to economic development, energy
security, local environmental benefits, and
climate change mitigation.
Note to Editors
REN21 is a global policy network that provides
a forum for international leadership on renewable
energy. Its goal is to bolster policy development
for the rapid expansion of renewable energies
in developing and industrialised economies.
It's Secretariat is hosted by the UNEP Division
of Technology, Industry and Economics in Paris
with the support of the German government.
The REN21 Renewables Global Status Report
is produced by Worldwatch Institute and sponsored
by the German government. The GSR was first
published in 2005, with an update in 2006.
The 2007 report is forthcoming in January
2008. For copies of the 2005 and 2006 reports,
visit http://www.ren21.net. Translations in
German, Chinese, and Japanese are available
Virginia Sonntag-O´Brien
Nick Nuttall, UNEP Spokesperson
