Energy Saving News
Energy Efficiency can Power Latin America's Growth
At a major Forum in Mexico energy efficiency has been highlighted as Latin America’s new growth engine as the continent progresses with a 5-6 per cent expansion rate, as it recovers from global recession.
The importance of energy efficiency was discussed at the Energy Efficiency and Access Forum held in Mexico this week, with hundreds of experts, government leaders and policymakers attending.
World Bank energy experts at the event explained that the problem for Latin America is that it’s power generating capacity would need to double over the next twenty years to meet the growing demand for electricity, which could require an annual investment of around $20 billion in new generating capacity.
World Bank Managing Director Sri Mulyani Indrawati argued that since such large investments in new capacity are not easily affordable by any regional economy that it makes more sense to turn to energy efficiency.
“Meeting the growth in energy demand by relying exclusively on simply building more infrastructure, in particular new thermal and other power plants, is both unwise and unsustainable,” Indrawati explained.
The Forum accepted that energy efficiency is not only cost-effective but also forward-looking. Experts noted that the potential for total financial savings, or avoided energy costs, of global energy efficiency could rise to $250-$325 billion annually by 2030.
Forum delegates also heard that ultimately energy efficiency can reduce fiscal burdens through energy cost savings, allowing additional funds to be reinvested into other sectors.
It became clear amongst the attendees that there is a growing consensus among the region’s governments and policy makers that energy efficiency is an important development tool. Furthermore, the advantages environmentally cannot be easily forgotten, in a region vital to the future environmental health of the planet, energy efficiency will greatly reduce green house gas emissions.
“In recent years, since the Bali Roadmap to the Copenhagen Accord, and in the run up to the UN Conference of the Parties, COP16, climate change has been increasingly seen as integral to energy sector development and energy efficiency is slowly but surely emerging as an area of great untapped potential for energy savings, both in financial terms and in terms of reducing greenhouse gas emissions,” concluded Indrawati.
The Forum was jointly organised by the Mexican government, the Inter-American Development Bank and the World Bank.
Picture by jm3
Thursday 30th September 2010
