(MENAFN - Khaleej Times) When it comes to the argument that renewable energy is just too expensive and not up to scratch, which incited the first day of World Future Energy Summit in Abu Dhabi, Sweden has put the dot on
the 'i.'
"Two decades ago, 90 per cent of our energy depended on fossil fuel. Now, 90 per cent of it is non-fossil and we are competitive," said Ola Altera, State Secretary of Swedish Ministry of Enterprise and Energy.
"Alternative energy, it's not about cost, it's about management, leadership, decision making. It's about putting the prices right."
The Swedish argument was made during a WFES panel of discussion on the topic of future energy policy, which brought together several key government representatives of European countries.
They all agreed that industrialised countries are responsible for the current unsustainably high values of green gas emissions, but developing countries should not follow the same fossil fuels path towards a
wealthy living.
"Yes, Copenhagen was a disappointment, but it also showed that the world is on an irreversible shift towards lower carbon," said Ed Miliband, Secretary of State for UK's Energy and Climate Change.
He went on saying that the way forward is to get as many countries as possible to sign the Copenhagen agreement and keep cutting carbon dioxide emissions.
"Europe has moved towards its highest ambitions yet, by pledging to cut 30 percent of its carbon emissions by 2020," reminded Miliband.
And then of course, it's the touching subject of legal bounding to cutting down carbon dioxide (the main reason for climate change) emissions and all European representatives agreed that developing countries should be included in a legal framework.
"During Copenhagen, we failed to convince developing countries on pledging to cut down on emissions, so we must create a legal framework to include them," stressed Miliband.
"And the message we should send across it's got to be one of prosperity, and of low carbon prosperity, not one of austerity."
Jurgen Becker, State Secretary of the Ministry of Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety in Germany, could not agree more.
"We don't want to tell developing countries what to do. We want to show them that the path followed by industrialised countries was wrong and they should not follow in our steps," said Becker. The key now is the whole world's cooperation to combat climate change. "Under the Copenhagen agreement, Germany is ready to give 500 million Euros to developing countries towards building their renewable energy," he mentioned.
With well developed countries governments still subsidising renewable energy, the worry of developing countries is not only getting the alternative energy technology, but also running it. Canada, Finland and Switzerland believe, though, that there is no time to waste. "First of all, it is a must that we reduce energy consumption," claimed Walter Steinmann, State Secretary of Energy, director of Federal Office of Energy in Switzerland.
"Renewables are expensive, but if we start to invest today, by 2030 we can substantially reduce the usage of fossil fuels energy," he urged.
"The future is to fly around in a solar powered airplane!"
Canada's Ed Stelmach, Premier of Alberta province, and Finland's Mauri Pekkarinen, Minister of Economic Affaires, believe that research is also an utmost necessity.
