Brussels, 19/07/2001 (Agence Europe) - While the summit of the world's eight most industrialised countries opens in Genoa, a panel of defence and environmental organisations accuses the United States and Canada of wanting to hamper the adoption by the G8 of decisive conclusions for promoting renewable energies. It appeals to the G8 to hold firm. In a joint press release, the WWF (World Wide Fund for Nature), Friends of the Earth, the international campaign of NGOs for export credit and Greenpeace state that the United States and Canada are blocking conclusions by the G8 on the key elements of the package on renewable energies that should result in an action plan for the future.
Having managed to obtain a copy of the text that will be submitted to the scrutiny of the G8, the NGOs make it clear that the recommendations of the Renewable Energy Task Force (composed of representatives from governments and industry) propose a comprehensive package of measures to promote renewable energies. The measures mainly include: a) the target of serving almost 1 billion people with renewable energy by 2010; b) reform of International Financial Institutions (IFIs) and Export Credit Agencies (ECAs) to increase funding for renewable energies in developing countries; and c) phasing-out of G8 governmental subsidies for fossil fuels and nuclear energy. According to NGOs, these measures could be strengthened much more, but are nevertheless laudable in that they constitute "a useful basis for action". Yet, according to them, the United States is against the aim supplying 1 billion people, and Canada is against the elimination of subsidies to the nuclear energy sector - two goals they nevertheless regard as essential. "The current subsidies to conventional sources of energy prevent the explosion of renewable energy in almost all countries. Their abolition would therefore be an essential component of their take off."
"The Task force states clearly that renewable energies offer vast possibilities but stresses that new major initiatives are required if one wants to exploit their potential. The ball in now in the court of the G8. It is incomprehensible that President Bus ,who recently declared that he was in favour of an approach guided by technology to combat climate change, should now seek to undermine a G8 initiative aimed at promoting renewable technologies", said Liam Salter, co-ordinator for Climate and development issues in WWF.