Renewable energy: a growing trend?

LONDON, England (CNN) -- Global warming is likely to result in the world becoming even hotter than previously predicted, about 500 eminent scientists warned earlier this year.

The United Nations experts concluded that human activity -- essentially the burning of fossil fuels -- was causing climate change and that some global warming was inevitable.

And unless the world reduces emissions of carbon dioxide and other climate-changing gases, the scientists warn that extreme weather such as the floods seen in Europe in recent months will become more frequent.

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The world's governments negotiated a treaty in 1997, the Kyoto Protocol, designed to force countries to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions in order to protect the climate.

The treaty has already been ratified by 33 countries, but recently suffered a major setback when the world's largest polluter, the U.S., said it would not ratify it.

U.S. President George W Bush said the terms of the agreement would harm American businesses and that they should be renegotiated.

The protocol will only come into force when 55% of the industrialised countries that have signed it also ratify it.

Despite this, many countries already impose limits on greenhouse gas emissions, and penalise polluters through taxation, for example the UK's climate levy.

Meanwhile, government subsidies and targets as well as consumer support for cleaner fuel, are driving investment in renewable energy technologies such as solar, wind and wave power.

Increasingly, strict regulations could hit profits for companies whose core business is fossil fuels.

The World Energy Council says the market for renewable energy is likely to be $1,900 billion by 2020.

Double-digit growth rates are being reported in all the main renewable energy technology industries, compared with the forecasted growth rates of 1.6% and 2.5% for oil and gas respectively.

The European Union wants a fifth of its electricity to come from renewable sources by the end of this year, while the UK's target is 10% by 2010. Last year British Prime Minister Tony Blair announced £100 million investment for the development of sun, wind and wave power.

If they move fast enough, the large oil firms are well placed to capitalise on this growing trend. If they want to remain profitable, they may have no choice but to embrace sustainable energy.

World Energy Council
United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change

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