Sigmar Gabriel, Federal Environment Minister of Germany, highlighted two great challenges: increasing access to resources despite exponential population growth; and producing enough energy to meet future demands without damaging the climate. He said that the same answer applies to both questions: utilize energy more efficiently and switch to a greater use of renewable energy, and accomplish this through technological innovation.

Panel Discussion: R. Andreas Kraemer, Ecologic, moderated the panel discussion.

Noting the high potential for renewable energy in Pakistan, Malik Amin Aslam, Minister of State for Environment, Pakistan, said that financing has been the largest impediment to providing rural areas with access to renewable energy, since the policy and tariff frameworks are not in place.

Valli Moosa, Non-Executive Chairman, Eskom, emphasized the responsibility of both developing and developed countries to address climate change by implementing energy efficiency measures. He highlighted a number of energy efficiency strategies in South Africa, including that Eskom has given away 5 million free compact fluorescent lights to deal with power shortages, and has provided businesses in Cape Town with protection from load shedding if they limit their energy consumption to a specific level.

Achim Steiner, Executive Director, UNEP, highlighted the global consensus on the macroeconomic returns of energy efficiency and renewable energy, but noted that these are not being implemented at the national level. He hoped that regions on the verge of infrastructure booms, notably Africa, would not get locked into the old energy infrastructure and would instead take advantage of the new technological and economic frontiers.

Ian Pearson, Minister for Climate Change and the Environment, UK, agreed with Steiner on the need to avoid locking out new low-carbon technologies, which he said can occur due to market failure. He highlighted the need for a global carbon price, along with a mix of regulations and price signals.

Timothy Wirth, President, UN Foundation, spoke on the need to “get the carbon price right,” and develop long-term environmental policies, such as Brazil has done for biofuel.

Participants discussed, inter alia: the willingess of governments to address aviation emissions; the viability of carbon certificates; and intellectual property rights limiting access to technology.

On behalf of the Nordic Council of Ministers, Jukka Uosukainen, Ministry of the Environment, Finland, welcomed people to the event, which aims to present the cooperation between the Nordic countries and their common efforts towards sustainable development and growth.

Paavo Väyrynen, Minister for Foreign Trade and Development, Finland, emphasized that the Nordic countries have managed to succeed at both economic growth and environmental sustainability and believed the model could be marketed. He addressed the need to promote renewable energies, energy efficiency and energy saving, and said his country is trying to ensure that emissions-reduction projects implemented with Finnish financing in developing countries reduce poverty and promote sustainable development.

Connie Hedegaard, Minister for Nordic Cooperation and Environment, Denmark, emphasized the need to immediately reduce carbon emissions by increasing energy efficiency and switching to lower carbon technology. She hoped that the EU’s new climate policy targets would spur international negotiations forward, and called for a global climate policy framework beyond 2012 that aligns with the EU’s target of 30% emissions reductions by 2020. She closed by saying that over the last 25 years, Denmark’s GDP grew 70% without an increase in energy consumption.

Ola Alterå, State Secretary to the Minister for Enterprise, Energy and Communications, Sweden, said that the experiences of Sweden and other Nordic countries have demonstrated that economic growth and the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions can be accomplished concurrently through a mix of policy tools such as a carbon tax, use of combined heat and power, and energy efficiency and renewable energy targets.

Anita Utseth, State Secretary of the Ministry for Petroleum and Energy, Norway, discussed carbon capture and storage (CCS), which the Norwegian Government believes has great potential for greenhouse gas emission reductions. She highlighted a new national policy for all new gas-fired power plants to have CCS technology and described the Mongstad, Karsto and Halten CO2 Projects to develop CCS.

Helga Baròadóttir, Special Adviser for the Ministry of Industry and Commerce, Iceland, said that geothermal and hydropower generate 72% of the population’s total energy consumption, and noted that geothermal energy in particular can provide millions of people with secure energy in many developed and developing countries.