Governments around the world must "level the playing field" to ensure clean energy technologies grow fast enough to prevent dangerous levels of global warming, the International Energy Agency says.
"Whether the priority is to ensure energy security, rebuild national and regional economies, or address climate change and local pollution, the accelerated transition towards a lower-car-bon energy system offers opportunities in all of these areas," the agency said in a report on Wednesday.
The agency, comprising 28 member countries including Canada, was created in 1974 to advise government about energy security and sustain-ability and is affiliated with the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development. It has called on all governments to honour recent commitments made by G20 countries to phase out subsidies for the fossil fuel industry as part of a solution.
"The transition to a low-carbon energy sector is affordable and represents tremendous business opportunities, but investor confidence remains low," said the report, citing government policies and other impediments to building the technology. "Private sector financing will only reach the levels required if governments create and maintain supportive business environments for low-carbon energy technologies."
The report said there has been a 27 per cent increase in wind power capacity and a 42 per cent increase in solar power capacity in the last decade. But it said such growth is not fast enough to stop emissions from fossil fuels increasing to levels that would increase average global temperatures at least two degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels.
And the agency's deputy executive director, Richard Jones, warned existing global policies could send aver-age global temperatures "at least six degrees Celsius higher."
"We have a responsibility and a golden opportunity to act," said Jones, a former U.S. diplomat. "Energy-related CO2 emissions are at historic highs. Under current policies, we estimate that energy use and CO2 emissions would increase by a third by 2020, and almost double by 2050. ... Such an outcome would confront future generations with significant economic, environmental and energy security hardships - a legacy that I know none of us wishes to leave."
The report said fossil fuel subsidies, including those from Canadian governments, increased by 37 per cent in 2010 to about $409 billion, while renewable energy options got only $66 billion in governmental support.
Original Article
Source: vancouver sun
Author: Mike De Souza
"Whether the priority is to ensure energy security, rebuild national and regional economies, or address climate change and local pollution, the accelerated transition towards a lower-car-bon energy system offers opportunities in all of these areas," the agency said in a report on Wednesday.
The agency, comprising 28 member countries including Canada, was created in 1974 to advise government about energy security and sustain-ability and is affiliated with the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development. It has called on all governments to honour recent commitments made by G20 countries to phase out subsidies for the fossil fuel industry as part of a solution.
"The transition to a low-carbon energy sector is affordable and represents tremendous business opportunities, but investor confidence remains low," said the report, citing government policies and other impediments to building the technology. "Private sector financing will only reach the levels required if governments create and maintain supportive business environments for low-carbon energy technologies."
The report said there has been a 27 per cent increase in wind power capacity and a 42 per cent increase in solar power capacity in the last decade. But it said such growth is not fast enough to stop emissions from fossil fuels increasing to levels that would increase average global temperatures at least two degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels.
And the agency's deputy executive director, Richard Jones, warned existing global policies could send aver-age global temperatures "at least six degrees Celsius higher."
"We have a responsibility and a golden opportunity to act," said Jones, a former U.S. diplomat. "Energy-related CO2 emissions are at historic highs. Under current policies, we estimate that energy use and CO2 emissions would increase by a third by 2020, and almost double by 2050. ... Such an outcome would confront future generations with significant economic, environmental and energy security hardships - a legacy that I know none of us wishes to leave."
The report said fossil fuel subsidies, including those from Canadian governments, increased by 37 per cent in 2010 to about $409 billion, while renewable energy options got only $66 billion in governmental support.
Original Article
Source: vancouver sun
Author: Mike De Souza
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