IEA SAYS MORE RENEWABLE POWER NEEDED TO CURB EMISSIONS

Dubai, April 8 (WSJ)- Electricity generation from renewable resources must be doubled by 2020 if global efforts to halve carbon-dioxide emissions by 2050 are to be successful, the International Energy Agency, or IEA, said Wednesday.

The Paris-based agency, set up by developing nations to monitor energy use, in a new report warned that growth in conventional-power generation was outpacing renewable-electricity generation, requiring a massive increase in projects to capture and store carbon dioxide.

"Achieving the goal of halving global energy-related CO2 emissions by 2050 will require a doubling of all renewable generation use by 2020 from today's levels," said the report, according to an IEA press release.

According to the IEA, global electricity generation from renewable resources grew at 2.7% over the past decade, more slowly than the 3% rise in all power generation.

The report said around 100 large-scale carbon-capture and -storage projects were needed by 2020, and over 3,000 by 2050, from only five today, to meet global emissions goals. It said it was unclear how many of the 70 projects now planned would be carried out.

Surging demand for fossil fuels is outpacing clean-energy use, said the report, citing the use of coal to produce 47% of new electricity demand over the past decade.

The IEA said more aggressive clean-energy policies were required to address the problem, including an end to fossil-fuel subsidies and the introduction of new incentives for cleaner-fuel use.

"We must see more ambitious, effective policies that respond to market signals while providing long-term, predictable support," said Richard Jones, the IEA's deputy executive director.

The agency also recommended that governments should do more to help promote electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles.

However, the report did say that some progress had been made in developing clean-energy technologies, with global installed wind-power capacity growing ten-fold in the past decade to 194,000 megawatts and the expansion of large solar-energy markets to a total of 10 countries, up from three in 2000.

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