Greater role required by the global energy industry.
The global energy industry must play a greater role in the transition to sustainable energy systems if UN:s development goals are to be met, warns a report launched by the World Energy Council, WEC.
The WEC’s 2013 World Energy Trilemma report, “Time to get real – the case for sustainable energy investment”, are based on interviews with more than 50 policymakers, including energy and environment ministers, leaders in development banks, governments, IGOs and NGOs, plus experts from more than 25 countries.
The policymakers interviewed expressed concern that the lack of global consensus on climate change and a future energy system framework, coupled with dramatic disruptions caused by emerging technologies and rapidly shifting patterns of energy use and supply, make it difficult to develop and implement long-term energy policies. This results in increased risk for industry and investors, which must be addressed if the much-needed energy transition is to be delivered in the future.
The report also reveals the results of the 2013 Energy Sustainability Index. The Index shows that developed countries with higher shares of energy coming from low- and zero-carbon energy sources supported by well-established energy-efficiency programmes, such as Switzerland, Denmark and Sweden,