A global conference on renewable energy this summer in Bonn drew promises from China, Germany, the World Bank Group and several others to get more serious about sustainable energy sources. But renewables advocates were largely disappointed at the modest outcomes, and noted that the talks willbe meaningless without follow-through.

Some 2,000 decision makers in the energy field, including 74 government ministers, met June 1-4 to agree on a plan to advance the development of renewables around the world. The conference also invited 600 members of the media.

The programme included dialogues between the different players in the renewable energy field, presentations of best practices and success stories, discussions of regional differences, and, finally a ministerial session on follow-up action. Meanwhile, 60 side events took place on everything from a proposal to electrify rural Afghanistan, to energy sources for islands, to the roles of export credit agencies. More than 52 exhibitors set up booths, including renewable advocacy groups, public utilities, power-generating companies and institutions like the EU.

The conference continued a process begun at the World Summit on Sustainable Development in Johannesburg in 2002, where a coalition of countries (80 to date) made a commitment to develop renewable energy.

Dimming prospects

Some observers questioned whether the Bonn gathering lived up to the promises made in South Africa.

“Renewable 2004 was a very well organised conference in terms of arrangements of meetings and information dissemination,” said Motoharu Yamazaki, head of the REC’s Japan Special Fund. “However, when it comes to the political agreement in the plenary session, it cannot be denied that the progress made was small, which disappointed a lot of participants, including myself.”

Yamazaki said there remains a wide political gulf, first revealed in Johannesburg, between what he termed as “progressive” European states and large industrialised countries such as the United States and Japan. Neither country was very visible at Bonn, Yamazaki said. He added that while Bonn was a good reminder of the importance of energy conservation, “the true worthiness of the conference depends on how it is followed up by international communities.”

The Brussels-based European Wind Energy Association noted that, while the Bonn talks marked “the first time in history that people from 154 countries got together to talk about renewables,” the final political declaration was “weak and disappointing.” “Concrete engagements are still missing and targets have been left out, as was the case with the Johannesburg Summit,” read a statement by the group’s president, Arthouros Zervos.

Julia Bartos of the Czech Environmental Institute sees a more ambivalent situation. She points to how western countries tend to promote renewable energy technology as an export opportunity for nations in need of foreign investment, “often under the pretext of development aid.”

“This attitude is good in one way because it strengthens the renewables industry and accelerates renewables technology development, which brings down costs of renewables,” Bartos said. “On the other hand, this leads to the misuse of the notion ‘development for third world countries’ … One wonders, for example, how a rural area in China that lacks clean drinking water and other basic facilities benefits from a sophisticated solar street-lighting system.”

Power to the masses

Conference organisers listed several positive results, including:

• Various countries, international organisations, financial institutions and others agreed to 165 voluntary actions and commitments.
• China pledged to increase the share of renewables in its total installed energy capacity to 10 percent by 2010, including 60 GW from small hydropower installations, wind energy, biomass and solar. The total cost is expected to be EUR 50 billion.
• The Philippines pledged that renewables would fulfil 100 percent of its energy needs by 2013. Officials hope to make the country a regional titan in the solar-cell industry.
• The Global Environment Facility agreed to use USD 100 million per year to support renewable energy projects in developing countries. The money would leverage total investments of USD 500 million per year.
• The World Bank Group will push for a 20 percent annual increase in annual commitments to renewable energy and energy-efficiency projects. The increase would last five years with annual financing reaching USD 400 million by 2010.
• The German government pledged to set up a renewables fund of EUR 500 million to be used over five years for reduced-interest loans for renewable and energy-efficiency projects in developing countries. Berlin had already offered EUR 1 billion in 2002 at Johannesburg. The Germans also set a goal of increasing the national share of renewables to 20 percent by 2020.