Two dozen countries that account for 80% of global energy consumption reached agreements on a series of 10 clean energy initiatives that will eliminate the need to build 500 new mid-sized power plants in the next 20 years.
The agreements came at the conclusion of the first Clean Energy Ministerial meeting this week in Washington, D.C.
"These steps will promote economic growth, create jobs and cut greenhouse gas emissions," U.S. Energy Secretary Steven Chu, who hosted the meeting, said in a statement. "The Clean Energy Ministerial has brought together leaders from around the world to take unprecedented actions to deploy clean energy technologies - from energy efficiency to renewable energy to smart grids to carbon capture."
The initiatives come after the failure of the United Nations program to reach a new global warming agreement to extend the Kyoto Protocol. The clean energy meeting included participation of big emerging market countries like China, India, Brazil, Russia and South Korea. Not every country will participate in each initiative, however.
The Electric Vehicles Initiative (EVI), for instance, intends to put 20 million electric vehicles on the road by 2020, saving 1 billion barrels of oil over the next decade. The initiative includes sister-city partnerships, high-level discussions, and information-sharing on electric vehicle investments and best practices.
Another initiative, the Super-efficient Equipment and Appliance Deployment (SEAD) Initiative, calls for governments to incentivize deployment of super-efficient appliances and enforce stronger appliance standards. The initial focus will be on televisions and lighting, two products that together account for about 15% of household electricity use globally.
Some 15 governments joined the International Smart Grid Action Network (ISGAN) to accelerate deployment of smart electricity grids around the world by facilitating cooperation in smart grid policy, regulation and finance, standards, technology research and other key sectors.
Other initiatives targeted energy use in large buildings and industrial facilities, development of carbon capture and storage technology, facilitating the spread of solar and wind capacity, and identifying hydropower capacity in developing countries.
The United Arab Emirates offered to host a second ministerial meeting next year, and the UK volunteered for 2012.
By. Darrell Delamaide for OilPrice.com
Darrell Delamaide is a writer, editor and journalist with more than 30 years' experience. He is the author of three books and has written for… More
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