G8 - Boost for Clean Energy Investments

London, 14 July 2005 – For the first time a G8 communiqué states that global warming is a "serious long-term challenge" for the entire planet and promises to act with "resolve and urgency" to reduce emissions through the increased use of clean energy technologies. The summit addressed the opportunities in financing the transition to cleaner energy technologies. According to International Energy Agency (IEA) the finance opportunities are significant, with expected world-wide energy sector investments of approximately $16,000 billion until 2030.

The G8 communiqué highlights that positive investment climates and effective market models are critical to the uptake of new technologies and increased access to energy for economic growth. G8 leaders also recognised that there are a range of tools to support a market-led approach to cleaner technology and that each country will select those appropriate to its national circumstances.

Following this groundbreaking summit, leading City financiers are planning to gather at the international Renewable Energy Finance Forum (REFF) in London later this year to fine-tune financing instruments for international clean energy projects. Jonathan Johns, Head of the Renewable Energy Unit at Ernst & Young and keynote speaker at REFF, comments: “Certainty over government commitment is vital for investor confidence in renewable energy technologies. The G8 climate change initiative is a step in the right direction”.

The environment ministers of G8 host Britain and Germany, the world’s largest renewables market, addressed the need for more specific actions. Environment Secretary Margaret Beckett said: "Gleneagles is not the end of the process but just the beginning. I look forward to the G8 follow up meeting on November 1st on climate change that the Prime Minister announced today”.

From 22-23 September 2005, and just a week ahead of the Prime Minister’s meeting with G8 countries, senior international investment bankers will gather at the Royal Garden Hotel in London for the 7th Annual REFF to address the actual economics of renewable energy developments. The sector prospects are stimulating and leading global players have long entered the green innovation race, among them Royal Dutch Shell and General Electric.

Shell, the third largest publicly-held oil company has identified climate change as a key business opportunity and says renewable sources, into which it has invested $1.5bn, could provide a third of the world's energy by 2050. “I'm convinced that climate change will have a huge impact on our industry,” says Jeroen van der Veer, Shell's Dutch chief executive.