A Senator from US and One from the Philippines
Urge Green Energy Support
"Science has turned the corner on understanding the causes of
climate change,"and we must now think about how to reduce and
adapt to these changes, said Senator Joe Lieberman of Connecticut,
in a speech to Summit participants.
Citing the signals we are receiving -from increased floods and
drought, coastal damage, hurricanes and tropical storms, sea level
rise, spread of infectious disease and loss of forests - he said
the cost of doing nothing may be prohibitive. What is the best
way of moving forward?
Dismissing voluntary changes to energy supply as unlikely to
get the job done and regulatory policies as having no proven record,
he proposed adoption of market incentives, including those for
major technology and energy conservation.
We could use as a model, he suggested, the Clean Air Act 1990
Amendments which include: caps on emissions, industries selecting
their own method of compliance, and a permits and emission allowance
system, combining this with a series of major technology advancement
programs.
Major technology and conservation advances would reduce the need
for regulation and allow the US to become a world leader in energy
efficiency technology by structuring public-private partnerships.
But we need economic incentives , he continued: from the market,
signals that allow investment in maximum economic efficiency returns;
from the government, funding of precompet-itive R&D.
The framework we create is a great opportunity to build a sustainable
energy path to the future. If we make a serious commitment , he
concluded, we can do it.
Reform of the energy system to meet the challenge of climate
change must begin now because time is short and the problem overwhelming,
said Senator Heherson Alvarez in an address following Senator
Lieberman. Senator Alvarez is Chair of the Environment Committee
of the Philippine Senate.
While reliance on renewables is increasing more than ten percent
a year, the Senator said, because it is still more expensive than
conventional it is crucial to improve energy efficiency and to
improve the transportation sector. He predicted that by the 21st
century, commercial energy consumption in the developing world
will account for almost all the increase in world energy consumption,
and the consequences are already being felt. It is obvious that
a radical shift - a green energy revolution - is needed, and he
expressed the hope that "this symposium is a watershed."
A strong international public private partnership is needed.
The public sector has not the capability to spark a evolution,
and competitive concerns of the private sector prevent it from
acting. But together they could create a regulatory environment
"in which markets demand profitable and environmentally sound
technologies." Once greenhouse gas benign energy options are demonstrated,
green energy will take off as the private sector opens up "its
great investment potential to the benefits of renewable and efficient
energy technologies."
But even after dramatic price falls, green energy is still not
competitive. It is urgent, he insisted, to shift international
R&D funding as the most cost-effective way of accelerating the
arrival of cleaner and cheaper energy. The question to answer
here and now is how these funds will be raised and for how long.
