Michael Casey, Associated Press Yahoo News 9 May 11;
ABU DHABI, United Arab Emirates – Renewable sources such as solar and wind could supply up to 80 percent of the world's energy needs by 2050 and play a significant role in fighting global warming, a top climate panel concluded Monday.
But the U.N. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change said that to achieve that level, governments would have to spend significantly more money and introduce policies that integrate renewables into existing power grids and promote their benefits in terms of reducing air pollution and improving public health.
Authors said the report concluded that the use of renewables is on the rise, their prices are declining and that with the right policies, they will be an important tool both in tackling climate change and helping poor countries use the likes of solar or wind to develop their economies in a sustainable fashion.
"The report shows that it is not the availability of the resource but the public policies that will either expand or constrain renewable energy development over the coming decades," said Ramon Pichs, who co-chaired the group tasked with producing the report. "Developing countries have an important stake in this future — this is where 1.4 billion people without access to electricity live yet also where some of the best conditions exist for renewable energy deployment."
Governments endorsed the renewable report Monday after a four-day meeting. The nonbinding scientific policy document is to advise governments as they draw up policies and to help guide the private sector as it considers areas in which to invest.
Greenpeace and other environmentalists said Saudi Arabia and Qatar, two oil-rich states that don't have an interest in alternatives, successfully watered down the report's language on the cost benefits of renewables — a charge the Saudis denied, saying they only were arguing to stick with the science. Brazil, a major ethanol producer, opposed language on the negative effects of biofuels and hydro as well as the economic potential of other renewables.
The report reviewed bioenergy, solar energy, geothermal, hydropower, ocean energy and wind. It did not consider nuclear, so IPCC chairman Rajendar Pachauri said the recent nuclear accident in Japan was not discussed nor did it have any impact on the report's conclusions.
The IPCC has said swift, deep reductions in use of non-renewables are required to keep temperatures from rising more than 3.8 degrees Fahrenheit (2 Celsius) above preindustrial levels, which could trigger catastrophic climate impacts.
Stephan Singer, director for Global Energy Policy at WWF International, welcomed the report but said the IPCC should have gone further. He said its studies have found that the world could be fueled 100 percent by renewables by 2050.
"IPCC delivers a landmark report that shows the rapid growth, low-cost potential for renewable energy — but unfortunately does not endorse a 100 percent renewable energy pathway until 2050," Singer said in a statement. "We need to be fast if we want to tackle pressing issues as varied as energy security and efficiency and at the same time keep climate change well below the danger threshold of 2 degrees."
Greenpeace's Sven Teske agreed. "This is an invitation to governments to initiate a radical overhaul of their policies and place renewable energy center stage," he said. "On the run-up to the next major climate conference in South Africa in December, the onus is clearly on governments to step up to the mark."
Adnan Amin, the director general of the International Renewable Energy Agency which is based in Abu Dhabi, said the report "shows there is a growing global awareness about the potential for renewable energy" which he made clear has taken off in recent years.
From 2009 to 2010, Amin said investment in renewables has gone from $186 billion to $243 billion with China alone seeing a 30 percent increase. He said research and development in the sector has seen "record growth."
"These are remarkable figures for a sector still emerging," Amin said. "Where it points is some of the conclusions that the IPCC is coming to. We are seeing through research and development the technologic possibilities increasing and costs coming down and feasibility of investment in renewable energy increasing by the day. The opportunities are tremendous."
But the IPCC warned that further development of the sector will require significant investment in the next two decades — of as much as $1.5 trillion by 2020 and up to $7.2 trillion from 2020 to 2030.
"The deployment and development of renewables requires development of new infrastructure, otherwise we will not see further growth of renewables," said another of the report's co-chairs Ottmar Edenhofer.
Renewables key for climate, world energy supply: IPCC
Nathalie Gillet Yahoo News 9 May 11;
ABU DHABI (AFP) – Renewable energy could meet nearly 80 percent of the world's energy needs by mid-century and play a crucial role in fighting global warming, the UN's climate scientists said Monday in a major report.
The 194-nation Intergovernmental Panel for Climate Change (IPCC) said that renewable sources had grown rapidly, were widely competitive with fossil energies and, technically, had almost limitless potential.
But cleaner energy still faces formidable barriers, and governments must boost its development and peel back fossil-fuel subsidies for that potential to be realised, the panel cautioned.
"This report has a huge implication for the manner in which energy is going to be developed and used across the globe in the years ahead," IPCC Chairman Rajendra Pachauri said at a press conference.
The thousand-page analysis, unveiled at a May 5-13 meeting of the IPCC, evaluates 164 development scenarios and is designed to guide decision-makers in government and business.
"Renewable energy sources can contribute substantially to human wellbeing by sustainably supplying energy and stabilising the climate," said Ottmar Edenhofer, a co-chair of the report.
The price tag will be steep, though. Different projections put it at 1.4 to 5.1 trillion dollars for the coming decade, and another 1.5 to 7.2 trillion dollars for 2021-2030.
But if the benefits of curbing global warming are factored in, Pachauri said, this may be a bargain.
"These costs will still be less than one percent of the global GDP going up to 2050. This is an extremely significant figure -- it shows that the cost ... is within reach," he said.
Six types of renewables accounted in 2008 for 12.9 percent of global energy supply: biomass (10.2 percent), hydro (2.3), wind (0.2), solar (0.1), geothermal (0.1) and ocean (0.002), according to the study.
Fossil fuels make up 85 percent, and nuclear energy two percent.
Once traditional use of firewood and animal dung for heating and cooking is set aside, the clean energy share drops to about seven percent.
While still a small slice of a global energy mix, "growth in renewables has been very impressive," Pachauri said.
New investment in 2010 stood at 243 billion dollars, up from 186 billion the year before, Adnan Amin, director general of the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), reported at the press conference.
A majority of the scenarios reviewed show a "substantial increase" -- ranging from three-to-20 fold -- "in the deployment of renewable energy by 2030, 2050 and beyond."
Clean energy's share of future supply varied hugely across different forecasts, with the most conservative projecting a 15-percent share by mid-century and the most ambitious predicting it will cover three-quarters of all energy needs.
The first major report by the Nobel-winning panel since 2007 concluded that there is virtually unlimited technical potential for renewables, especially from solar energy.
"The opportunities are tremendous. We know that the technical potential for renewables is far in excess of demand," said Amin.
Clean sources of power must play a critical role if the UN-backed goal of preventing average global temperatures from rising more than 2.0 degrees Celsius (3.6 degrees Fahrenheit) is to be met, the IPCC said.
UN climate talks have remained largely stalemated since the near collapse of the 2009 climate summit in Copenhagen, even as scientists warn that climate change is accelerating.
The report "underscores the irreplaceable potential of renewable energies to reduce greenhouse gas emissions," said Christiana Figueres, the top UN official overseeing climate talks.
The report also said that clean energy solutions could "leapfrog" expensive traditional power sources to reach hundreds of millions of people living without electricity, especially in Africa.
"If you want to widen access to energy services in rural areas, there is a need to integrate renewable energy policies," said Youba Sokona, another of the report's co-chairs.
Green groups and renewable energy industry groups welcomed the report.
"This is an invitation to governments to initiate a radical overhaul of their policies and place renewable energy centre stage," said Sven Teske of Greenpeace International.
Renewables can fuel society, say world climate advisers
Richard Black BBC News 9 May 11;
Renewable technologies could supply 80% of the world's energy needs by mid-century, says the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).
In a report, it says that almost half of current investment in electricity generation is going into renewables.
But growth will depend on having the right policies in place, it says.
The IPCC is charged with providing analysis on climate issues to the world community, and its conclusions have been endorsed by governments.
The summary of its Special Report on Renewable Energy Sources and Climate Change Mitigation (SRREN) was released on Monday following a meeting in Abu Dhabi at which representatives of all IPCC member governments signed off the wording.
"With consistent climate and energy policy support, renewable energy sources can contribute substantially to human well-being by sustainably supplying energy and stabilising the climate," said Professor Ottmar Edenhofer, co-chair of the IPCC working group that produced the report.
"However, the substantial increase of renewables is technically and politically very challenging," he added.
But expansion in renewables is not limited by any notion of a finite supply.
The report concludes there is more than enough to meet the world's current and future energy needs.
"The report clearly demonstrates that renewable technologies could supply the world with more energy than it would ever need, and at a highly competitive cost," said Steve Sawyer, secretary general of the Global Wind Energy Council.
"The IPCC report will be a key reference for policymakers and industry alike, as it represents the most comprehensive high level review of renewable energy to date."
The report analysed 164 "scenarios" of future energy development; and the ones in which renewables were most aggressively pursued resulted in a cut in global greenhouse gas emissions of about one-third compared with business-as-usual projections by 2050.
Policy, briefly
Currently, renewables supply 12.9% of the global energy supply.
However, the biggest single source, accounting for about half of the global total, is the most traditional - the burning of wood for heat and cooking in developing countries.
This is not always truly renewable, as new trees to replace the burned wood are not always planted.
The fastest-growing technology is grid-connected solar electric power, which saw a 53% increase in installed capacity during 2009.
However, the report suggests that solar photovoltaics will continue to be among the more expensive options for some years.
But in situations where there is no grid connection, it and other renewables can be a significant aid to development, contributing to meeting the Millennium Development Goals, the IPCC concludes.
Of the various technologies available, bioenergy is assessed as having the biggest long-term potential for growth, followed by solar and wind power.
Climate changer
However, governments will need to step up policies to stimulate renewable investment if the industries are to grow substantially, it says: business-as-usual will not be enough.
Whether or not governments do so will be a major factor in determining whether international climate targets are met.
"[At UN climate talks] in Cancun, at the end of last year, governments agreed to limit the global average temperature rise to 2C at the most," recalled Christiana Figueres, executive secretary of the UN climate convention (UNFCCC).
"They must reach their goal by making use of renewable energy sources on a very large scale... ambitious national policies and strong international co-operation are together the key to the swift and extensive deployment of renewable energies in all countries."
The Summary for Policymakers agreed in Abu Dhabi gives the top-line conclusions from the full report, compiled by 120 experts, which runs to more than 1,000 pages.
Groundbreaking report underscores advantages of renewable energy future
WWF 9 May 11;
Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates – A major new report by the United Nations-supported Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) launched today underscores the incredible environmental and social advantages of a future powered by renewable energy over the next decades, WWF said.
The 900-page Special Report on Renewable Energy Sources and Climate Change Mitigation compares 164 scenarios on renewable energy and is the most comprehensive analysis ever of trends and perspectives for renewable energy.
“The IPCC and governments of the world signal loud and clear: fossil fuels and nuclear are no real alternatives to renewables,” said Dr Stephan Singer, Director for Global Energy Policy for WWF International.
“As oil and gas within easy reach is dwindling, the world needs to move to clean and sustainable sources of energy and avoid any investment into dirty alternatives.”
Although unique in its epic scope, the IPCC underestimates the potential of deploying renewable energy even faster, especially when combined with top level energy efficiency, WWF said. The organisation’s own analysis, called The Energy Report, shows a pathway to a 100% renewable energy future by 2050. This analysis is the first that also indicates the challenges and research needs to make sure this low carbon development respects development needs of up to 9 billion people.
“IPCC delivers a landmark report that shows the rapid growth, low-cost potential for renewable energy – but unfortunately does not endorse a 100% renewable energy pathway until 2050,” said Singer.
“WWF’s report adds that missing piece – a bold vision with a clear timeline. We need to be fast if we want to tackle pressing issues as varied as energy security and efficiency, and at the same time keep climate change well below the danger threshold of 2 degree global warming.
WWF strongly emphasizes that in addition to the climate benefits, the IPCC report documents the plethora of other advantages clean renewables provide including health and security of supply benefits, new job and technology opportunities for all countries and the potential to provide clean and affordable energy to the more than two billion people in parts of the developing world which either have no or only erratic access.
Meanwhile, more than four days of negotiations that preceded the report’s launch this week in Abu Dhabi produced a Summary for Policy Makers, agreed to by more than 100 governments present in the early hours of Monday 9 May.
“Unfortunately, the Summary for Policy Makers is only a feeble outline and does not in the least match the high quality of the full report,” said Singer. “One needs to turn to the full report to understand the massive job the IPCC has managed to achieve.”
The Summary for Policy Makers which has now been approved by the world’s governments, becomes an accepted basis for planning energy policies, investment and infrastructure for national and regional governments as well as for U.N. agencies and international organisations such as the World Bank.
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