Renewable Energy Sources

Almost 80 per cent of global energy to come from renewables by 2050 says IPCC. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has released its long awaited special report on renewable energy sources (SRREN).

The SRREN report enables policy makers, the private sector and civil society globally to identify ways in which to integrate renewable energy technologies into future energy systems. The report also offers a snapshot of environmental and social consequences associated with the integration.

The 26-page report provides a summary of a 1,000-page comprehensive assessment compiled by more than 120 experts working for the IPCC’s Working Group III. It is based on modeling for more than 160 different scenarios of the uptake of renewable energy, which are condensed to four over-arching scenarios.

Abu Dhabi witnessed ten days of activity related to IPCC as host to the committee in charge of finalizing the SRREN report. This is being followed by the 33rd plenary session of IPCC (10 - 14 May) attended by more than 600 delegates representing all member countries of the UN.

Dr. Al Jaber said: “Following the release of the IPCC fourth Assessment report and its clear language on the role of renewable energy in mitigating climate change, it was obvious to many countries that a more detailed report on renewable energy would be crucial in future dialogues.”

“Taking into consideration the due diligence conducted by the IPCC authors and technical experts on all its reports, the UAE views this as an affirmative signal on the importance of its ongoing drive towards development, deployment and commercialization of renewable energy technologies worldwide through the Masdar Initiative. Moreover, the fact that the UAE is hosting the release of this very important report is further testament to the international community’s confidence in our ongoing efforts,” he added.

“As someone who has been following closely the progress Abu Dhabi is making in the renewable energy sphere, it makes perfect sense for the IPCC to release this significant report in the UAE.” Dr. Rajendra K. Pachauri, Chairman of the IPCC.

“Abu Dhabi is investing so heavily and responsibly in renewable energy. It is fast becoming the renewable energy center of gravity. It gives me a great sense of pride to have been someone who followed this progress since the beginning. I believe we will see even more innovation and engagement from Abu Dhabi in the future.”

The report concludes that concerted policy efforts could result in the rapid rollout of renewable energy technologies, although the proportion of renewable energy will increase even without enabling policies. It also predicts that the emergence of renewables as the dominant energy source could lead to cumulative greenhouse gas savings equivalent to 220 to 560 gigatonnes of carbon dioxide between 2010 and 2050.

Despite global financial challenges, renewable energy capacity grew in 2009 - wind by over 30 percent; hydropower by three percent; grid-connected photovoltaics by over 50 percent; geothermal by 4 percent; solar water/heating by over 20 percent and ethanol and biodiesel production rose by 10 percent and 9 percent respectively.

Twenty one years ago, in 1988, the United Nations Environmental Programme (UNEP) and the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) established the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change to provide independent scientific advice on the complex and important issue of climate change. The panel was asked to prepare, based on available scientific information, a report on all aspects relevant to climate change and its impacts and to formulate realistic response strategies.

The first assessment report of the IPCC served as the basis for negotiating the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). Since then, the IPCC has remained the most important source of scientific, technical and socio-economic information to many of the world’s most relevant stakeholders. So far, the IPCC has produced four assessment reports.

The IPCC 4th Assessment Report (AR4) resulted in the awarding of a Nobel Peace Prize to the former Vice-President of the United States and the IPCC for their “efforts to build up and disseminate greater knowledge about manmade climate change, and to lay the foundation for the measures that are needed to counteract such change”. The publication of the fifth assessment report is due in 2012. The full SRREN report is available for download here.