As we described last week, there is a growing consensus that the time is right for a global shift to sustainable energy solutions. The Worldwatch Institute, in partnership with the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), is taking a leading role in facilitating this shift through the creation of the Renewable Development Index.

Countries enacting renewable energy support policies or targets as of 2011 (source: IPCC SRREN, 2011)

Countries worldwide are recognizing the significant role that renewable energy can play in their national development. As of early 2011, nearly 100 countries had set targets for wind, solar, biomass, and other renewable energy sources. Governments aim to utilize these technologies to meet a host of development priorities, including reducing carbon emissions, expanding energy access, enhancing energy security, and creating new jobs and industry opportunities. At both the national and sub-national levels, they are using a variety of policies and measures to support centralized and decentralized renewable energy installations and to work toward achieving wider national development goals.

Despite the many forces working in favor of renewables, growth within the sector remains constrained. Although renewable energy technologies accounted for roughly half of the newly installed power generation capacity during 2010, they were responsible for only 16 percent of global final energy consumption and close to 20 percent of electricity generation that year. Government support policies, adopted by 118 countries as of early 2011, continue to be one of the most significant forces driving renewable energy deployment.

To more efficiently harness the potential of renewables to meet national goals, decision makers must have a better understanding of the effectiveness of support policies in overcoming existing barriers. Countries continue to face challenges in the renewables sector, including gaining public acceptance and buy-in, mobilizing financing, attracting investment, building local capacity, and facilitating collaboration between the public and private sectors.

Worldwatch is partnering with IRENA to help governments develop policies aimed at best utilizing their renewable energy potential as a way to meet national growth and development goals. As a first step, the project seeks to identify barriers constraining renewable energy deployment. It will then develop strategies that can help policymakers overcome those hurdles. Finally, the project aims to develop a set of renewable energy indicators, with the goal of helping countries assess the effectiveness and efficiency of renewable support programs. Because there is no one-size-fits-all policy for promoting renewable energy, fully inclusive indicators can help to inform the policy community in a more objective manner.

In the development arena, well-designed high-level indicators, such as the United Nations Development Programme’s Human Development Index (HDI), have been influential in shifting the discourse away from one based solely on domestic economic growth, providing the basis for a deeper understanding of national progress toward overarching development goals. The Renewables Development Index aims to achieve a similar goal in the energy arena, steering the discourse away from conventional fossil fuel energy usage and toward cost-effective and more environmentally sound approaches to meeting global energy needs.

Worldwatch has actively engaged key actors from leading institutions in the international energy community on this initiative. Through a series of interviews, meetings, and workshops, the Institute’s Climate & Energy team will facilitate the development of this new and influential tool.

When completed, the analysis based on this small and concise set of renewable energy indicators will provide governments with a powerful new instrument to better inform domestic policymaking, implementation, and monitoring processes. The indicators can be used for steering investments, refining policy choices, optimizing the impact of limited financial resources, and understanding the outcome of policy results supporting renewable energy development.

This Renewables Development Index will fill an important void in the landscape of sustainability indicators and will help countries in their important transition to a sustainable energy future.

Evan Musolino is a Climate and Energy Research Associate at the Worldwatch Institute, an international environmental research organization. Alexander Ochs is Director of the Climate and Energy Program at Worldwatch.

Energy is at the very foundation of modern economies. Since the Industrial Revolution more than 200 years ago, all countries—if at a quite different pace—have developed on the back of the production and burning of fossil fuels. There is no doubt that the comfortable lives many of us live today would not be possible without the fossil-fueled development of the past. But the merits of fossil fuels now seem less and less convincing.

Renewable energy technologies, such as solar PV, offer the potential to benefit countries around the world. (source: Flickr user Magharebia)

First, take subsidies. Currently, we throw about 10–12 times more taxpayer money at fossil fuels than we put into renewables—and those are just direct subsidies. In addition, local air and water pollution and related health consequences cost trillions of dollars worldwide. The U.S. National Research Council estimates the “hidden” costs of fossil fuels in the United States (the real costs to society that are not reflected in the fuels’ market prices) at $120 billion annually. The Chinese government believes pollution and related healthcare costs amount to 10 percent of that country’s GDP.

Then there is the volatility of fossil fuel markets, which has arguably led to enormous economic instability in the recent past. Just to give an idea of what this volatility means to some nations: an increase in the world oil price of just $10 can mean a decrease in the GDP of some small nations of 2–3 percent.

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Global fossil fuel subsidies most likely total between US$750 billion and $1 trillion per year—significantly more than the widely publicized estimate of $500 billion, according to Steve Kretzmann, founder and Executive Director of Oil Change International.

Kretzmann, who has been an advocate for environmental, social, and corporate responsibility for 25 years, sat down with Worldwatch last week to discuss fossil fuel subsidy reform efforts in the United States and around the globe. He founded Oil Change International in 2005 to educate the public about the true impacts of fossil fuels, expose troublesome oil industry practices, change patterns of public and private finance around the energy industry, and “separate oil and state.” [Below, watch a brief interview featuring Kretzmann and Worldwatch Climate and Energy Director Alexander Ochs.]

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The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) proposed the country’s first federal standard regulating carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions from power plants last week. The introduction of a carbon standard has been long-awaited by the environmental community, and many groups are applauding the proposed rule as an important first step by the U.S. government to tackle climate change.

EPA promotes the clean air and health benefits of carbon regulation on the agency homepage. Image source: epa.gov

The carbon emission standard – which limits emissions to 1,000 pounds of CO₂ per megawatt-hour (MWh) of electricity produced – will apply to future fossil fuel-fired power plants with an installed capacity greater than 25 megawatts (MW); plants that are currently operating or that will begin construction in the next 12 months are exempt.

The average natural gas plant in the U.S. emits between 800 and 850 pounds of CO₂ per MWh, safely within the proposed standard. The average coal plant, on the other hand, emits 1,768 pounds of CO₂ per MWh, which would exceed the standard. However, these existing plants will not be affected by the regulation, and EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson further emphasized that there are currently “no plans” to place standards on CO₂ emissions from existing plants, including future modifications that could increase their emissions. However it is likely that the EPA will regulate carbon emissions from existing power plants at some point down the road, and the proposed standard for new sources is a vital step to ensuring that this will occur.

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The public transportation system in Medellín, Colombia, has proven to be one of the most successful transit systems in the world. It not only reduces the city’s energy consumption and carbon footprint, making the city more environmentally sustainable, but also drives positive social and economic change for Medellín as a whole.

Medellín metro system. (Source: http://www.colombia.travel/en/international-tourist/multimedia/photo-gallery/medellin)

Medellín received the 2012 Sustainable Transport Award from the Institute for Transportation and Development Policy. ITDP is a global consortium of organizations that works with cities worldwide, mainly in developing countries, to provide solutions for their public transportation systems, tackling carbon emissions, poverty, and social inequality. The previous award winners are Guangzhou, China, in 2011 and Ahmedabad, India, in 2010.

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In early January, thousands of Nigerians took to the streets in what has been dubbed Occupy Nigeria. However, unlike the Occupy movement in the United States, Occupy Nigeria was spurred on by one issue: the government’s decision to reduce fossil fuel subsidies. Overnight, gas prices in Nigeria more than doubled as a result of the government’s new policy. The government argues that it is bringing gas prices closer to the global market price, but the price increase has caused significant economic hardship.

Globally, advocates of renewable energy have called for the reduction of fossil fuel subsidies in order to make alternative technologies more competitive. If fossil fuel consumption subsidies were phased out by 2020, energy demand would be reduced by 4.1 percent and greenhouse gas emissions by 4.7 percent due to increased energy conservation and development of renewable resources. Furthermore, these subsidies tend to be regressive by benefiting more affluent populations globally, with only 9 percent of electricity subsidies going to the poorest 20 percent of the population.

An Occupy Nigeria rally in Ojota (Source: Flickr - Temi Kogbe)

By raising the end-user price of fossil fuels to market prices, countries can discourage inefficient industry and promote renewable energy projects and green jobs. In 2009, the G-20, recognizing their negative environmental impacts, pledged to eliminate or rationalize all inefficient fossil fuel subsidies. No country has begun cutting subsidies as a result of this pledge, however, partly because popular pressure and differing conceptions of subsidies.

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Two men install a photovoltaic system in Sri Lanka. (Source: MPRNews)

Kenya’s power grid does not reach the small farming village of Kiptusuri, making it difficult for local farmers to charge their cell phones. Mogotio, the nearest town connected to the grid, has a small cell phone charging store where waits can be as long as three days. One Kiptusuri resident, Sara Ruto, took the initiative to purchase a solar photovoltaic system, providing lighting for her children to study by and allowing her to provide local residents with more reasonably priced cell phone charging services. Sixty-two other families in the village subsequently installed solar power systems, providing electricity to a previously unlit town.

Small-scale distributed renewable energy is also being developed in places such as Nepal, where 80 percent of the population has no access to the national electricity grid. Solar photovoltaic systems are beginning to be employed in clusters in outlying villages, providing power to between 6 and 12 houses each. Micro-hydropower programs have been implemented in Sri Lanka and the Philippines. There are even efforts to use small subterranean chambers designed to convert cow manure into biogas. The United Nations Development Programme has begun focusing on microgrid solutions as the primary method of providing electricity to rural areas. In many cases, microgrids are more economical and, in addition to off-grid technologies, they represent one of the best options for electrifying the most remote areas.

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Worldwide, the total square footage of green buildings (defined here as LEED certified buildings) is doubling every year, and 85 countries now have their own green building standards. But are we doing enough to harness the overwhelming benefits that come from boosting energy efficiency in buildings?

On January 25, Greg Kats, President of Capital E and the author of Greening Our Built World, presented on “Sustainable Solutions for the Planet’s Energy Challenge” as part of a new series from the Woodrow Wilson Center’s Environmental Change and Security Program. In his talk, he discussed the many ways we can move sustainability forward in three target areas: transportation, industry, and building efficiency, which account for 28 percent, 26 percent, and 40 percent of U.S. energy use, respectively.

Among the obvious solutions to promoting a more sustainable economy, Kats noted, are increasing the production tax credit for renewable energy, pumping more money into energy efficiency financing, and incorporating more renewable energy into building and city designs. He pointed to positive patterns already emerging in the field of low-carbon technology: solar photovoltaic technology, for example, has seen an 80 percent price reduction in just four to five years. Similarly, the price of a plug-in hybrid vehicle is now near that of a non-hybrid in a similar class.

The benefits of building green

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In the fall of last year, the U.S. State Department permit review for construction of the Keystone XL pipeline by energy company TransCanada gained significant attention in the media and political debates. If built, this pipeline would move bitumen, thick and heavy oil, from the Canadian province of Alberta through the American Midwest to oil refineries on the Gulf Coast of Texas. In October, hundreds of environmentalists, including famously outspoken NASA scientist James Hansen, and Bill McKibben, founder of 350.org, were arrested for civil disobedience while protesting the pipeline outside the White House. With climate change and clean energy as major drivers, environmentalists have focused on the Keystone XL pipeline protests as a means of preventing the transportation of oil to consumers and ultimately the extraction of tar sand.

TransCanada’s planned and existing oil pipelines (source: The Economist)

Tar sand is a mixture of bitumen, sand, clay, and water, which must be processed and refined to extract oil from the surrounding substances. Roughly twenty percent of the U.S. crude oil imports are from Canada, much of which is derived from tar sands. In order to satisfy the steady U.S. demand for oil, TransCanada plans to build the Keystone XL pipeline to extend the existing pipeline system and transport bitumen to U.S. refineries. The Keystone XL pipeline has been a source of disagreement for several years between environmental groups and the oil industry. The main environmental concerns are threats to water quality from potential pipeline leaks and increased greenhouse gas emissions from burning and extracting the bitumen. In a well-to-wheel analysis, tar sands emit roughly ten to forty five percent more greenhouse gases than standard petroleum.

Pipeline supporters counter that the Keystone XL pipeline would provide the U.S. with a steady supply of oil from a politically stable nation.  Proponents also argue that constructing the pipeline would create thousands of American jobs. Amid all the controversy, a Rasmussen poll found that fifty three percent of likely American voters at least somewhat support construction of the pipeline. 

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The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI) of India will hold the 12^th annual Delhi Sustainable Development Summit (DSDS) from February 2 to 4. This year’s Summit is themed “Protecting the Global Commons: 20 years post Rio,” and will aim to develop a path forward towards consensus between industrialized and developing countries on governance of climate change, biodiversity, and forestry, among other issues. The Summit will assess the state of sustainable development 20 years after the 1992 United Nations Conference on Environment and Development in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, and in advance of the United Nations Rio+20 Conference on Sustainable Development this June. Featured speakersat this year’s DSDS will include several heads of state, among them Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, as well as numerous ministers, government officials, and leaders from business, academia, and civil society.

The Delhi Sustainable Development Summit will take place February 2 - 4, source: TERI

Climate change and clean energy access will be among the focus areas discussed at the Summit, with a particular emphasis on the gap between global North and South in terms of development needs, access to technology, and responsibility for global greenhouse gas emissions. For example, a study by the World Resources Institute found that between 1850 and 2002, the United States contributed the greatest share of cumulative carbon dioxide emissions with 29.3 of the global total, followed by the European Union at 26.5 percent. Over the same period, India was responsible for just 2.2 percent of global emissions. While industrialized countries reached current levels of affluence by burning coal and oil, increasingly constrained fossil fuel resources and the threat of global climate change make this an unsustainable path for developing countries. While grappling with the impacts of climate change they largely did not cause, developing countries like India must also explore new paths for sustainable development.

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