COP21 – Twintig landen verdubbelen investering in duurzame energie

30 november 2015 – De Verenigde Staten, China en nog 18 landen zullen vandaag hun handtekening zetten onder de toezegging de investeringen in duurzame energie te verdubbelen. Dertig miljardairs starten een fonds voor duurzame energie.

Gisteren maakte het Witte Huis bekend dat de Verenigde Staten en China samen met 18 andere landen een ‘Mission Innovation’ starten: een verdubbeling van de investeringen in duurzame energie, binnen vijf jaar.
De landen die deelnemen aan “Mission Innovation” zijn Australië, Brazilië, Canada, Chili, China, Denemarken, Duitsland, Frankrijk, Groot-Brittannië, India, Indonesië, Italië, Japan, Mexico, Noorwegen, Saoedi-Arabië, Verenigde Arabische Emiraten, Verenigde Staten, Zweden en Zuid-Korea. Vandaag zetten ze in Parijs hun handtekening onder hun toezegging. Landen die dat willen kunnen zich nog aansluiten.
Nederland doet vooralsnog niet mee.
Nauw verbonden met Mission Innovation is een initiatief van de Amerikaanse miljardair Bill Gates. Hij zal, samen met zo’n 30 andere investeerders uit tien landen een zeer groot fonds realiseren om bedrijfsactiviteiten en wetenschappelijk onderzoek rond duurzame energie te stimuleren.

Uit een persbericht van het Witte Huis
‘(…) Through the initiative, 20 countries are committing to double their respective clean energy research and development (R&D) investment over five years. These countries include the top five most populous nations – China, India, the United States, Indonesia, and Brazil. They stretch across five continents. And when you add all partner countries together, they represent 75 percent of the world’s CO2 emissions from electricity, and more than 80 percent of the world’s clean energy R&D investment.

They also represent the myriad ways we create and use energy. The Mission Innovation members include some of the largest oil and gas producers – the United States, Canada, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Mexico, Norway and Indonesia – as well as many with high penetration of renewables in their power sectors, such as Canada, Norway, Denmark, Brazil and Chile.

We know that large scale penetration of clean energy technologies will require that smart investment by governments is followed by smart private-sector investments. That is why Mission Innovation is complemented by a separate private sector-led effort that has pledged to invest extraordinary levels of private capital in clean energy, focusing on early-stage innovations. This parallel initiative – spearheaded by Bill Gates – includes a coalition of over 28 significant private capital investors from 10 countries, and will be called ‘Breakthrough Energy Coalition’.
Members of these initiatives recognize a crucial reality: we need to accelerate the development of clean energy solutions to match the urgency of tackling climate change. We need an all-in, all-sector approach to transform global energy markets to address this challenge, and new technologies will play a critical role in this transformation. (…)’

Uit de verklaring van de Breakthrough Energy Coaliton
‘(…) Technology will help solve our energy issues. The urgency of climate change and the energy needs in the poorest parts of the world require an aggressive global program for zero-emission energy innovation. The new model will be a public-private partnership between governments, research institutions, and investors. Scientists, engineers, and entrepreneurs can invent and scale the innovative technologies that will limit the impact of climate change while providing affordable and reliable energy to everyone. The existing system of basic research, clean energy investment, regulatory frameworks, and subsidies fails to sufficiently mobilize investment in truly transformative energy solutions for the future. We can’t wait for the system to change through normal cycles. (…)’

Bill Gates: ‘I’m optimistic’

De deelnemers aan de Breakthrough Energy Coalition

Bronnen
The White House, 29 november 2015: Announcing: “Mission Innovation”
Mission Innovation, 30 november 2015: Joint Statement: Accelerating the Clean Energy Revolution
Website Breakthrough Energy Coalition
De Morgen, 30 november 2015: Twintig landen beloven investering in hernieuwbare energie te verdubbelen
Website Mission Innovation