Dept. of Energy unveils plans to jumpstart clean energy in the developing world
By far, the most controversial issue at the U.N.’s climate talks in Copenhagen is how the developed world will help industrializing nations reduce greenhouse gas emissions while not sacrificing growth. Most believe this can’t be done, causing countries like China and India to balk at a binding international treaty. Today, the U.S. used the summit’s spotlight to announce its own $85 million plans for bringing advanced and efficient green energy to the developing world under the banner of the Renewables and Efficiency Deployment Initiative (Climate REDI).
As can be expected, the strategy — to be executed in tandem with other developed nations — is wide-ranging and multi-tiered. But the key takeaway is that Climate REDI is designed to help companies in the U.S. — including many in the Silicon Valley — while bringing affordable, clean energy to countries that will be able to compete with coal and oil.
The big question is whether this will be enough to appease the countries that would potentially benefit. Today, a group of delegates representing 130 of these nations walked out of treaty negotiations, arguing that developed countries aren’t willing to do more than pony up an insufficient amount of funds. Their industrializing peers would still be carrying the brunt of the economic burden, they say. If their signatures on a treaty are going to be bought, they want more money or more involvement. But it’s unclear whether the plan put forward by the U.S. today will be any different.
As an alternative to funding programs, developing nations have pitched the idea of simply extending the treaty drawn up in Kyoto in 1997. Right now, that pact, which places the bulk of carbon emission reductions on the developed world’s shoulders, is set to expire in 2012. Now, with talk of a completely new treaty, requiring aggressive emissions reductions across the board, developing nations are unsurprisingly clinging to the previous deal.
Working with the World Bank’s Strategic Climate Fund and the Major Economies Forum, the DOE is starting with three programs focused on different types of clean energy and efficiency technology. First, it would equip regions unconnected by electrical grids with solar systems and efficient light-emitting diode lighting systems. Second, it would help deploy energy-efficient appliances. And third, it would create an online destination run by the Major Economies Forum for governments to share clean energy and efficiency best practices and other resources.
Climate REDI is predicted to cost $350 over the next five years as it evolves. Initially, the three programs outlined above will cost $100 million — $35 million of which will come from the U.S., with Australia, Italy and others providing the rest. The U.S. will also chip in $50 million to the World Bank’s $250 million Scaling-up Renewable Energy program, run by its Strategic Climate Fund, with the U.K., Switzerland, Norway and the Netherlands making up the rest. This brings the U.S.’s immediate contribution to $85 million.
In addition to the lighting, appliance, and web initiatives announced today, the Climate REDI announcement also established channels for making sure clean energy technologies get installed and used. For example, quality assurance measures will be taken to make sure renewable energy systems are working properly. Efficiency standards will be set in place to make sure they are actually making a difference. Labeling systems will be used to clue consumers into which products are consistent with new energy policies. Financing programs will be created to make sure clean energy products have the money they need to scale. And finally, communication systems will be developed to make sure international partners can compare notes consistently and securely.
Whether or not these changes actually take effect will depends on partnerships with regional organizations. Climate REDI will work closely with organizations like the International Finance Corporation’s Lighting Africa initiative, the Collaborative Labeling and Standards Program, and the Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory.
It will be interesting to see how the disgruntled delegates from the developing countries attending Copenhagen will react to this new plan. Considering that they’ve batted down similar proposals before the summit, it may not be widely embraced. Look for more news on its reception coming tomorrow and later this week.
In addition to the $85 million announcement, the Major Economies Forum also released global action plans for accelerating renewable energy and clean technology development. Interestingly, it divvied up the different areas of cleantech, assigning specific countries to lead the charge on each. For instance, Canada is in charge of advanced vehicles, India and Japan are in charge of clean coal, France is assigned to marine energy, and Italy and Korea will take on the smart grid (an odd choice considering how far behind Italy is said to be in grid tech)
The U.S. will take the lead on building efficiency and industrial energy efficiency. And unsurprisingly, Spain and Germany will take the lead on both solar and wind, where they still dominate.
| Print article | This entry was posted by gizmodose on December 14, 2009 at 10:27 pm, and is filed under Hi Tech News. Follow any responses to this post through RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback from your own site. |
