By KUNA,
Geneva : At a one-day conference on International Coooperation on Energy Efficiency, Executive Secretary of the UN Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) Marek Belka called for a new dialogue on energy efficiency and energy security which can help address global climate change. Bleka added this dialogue must aim at the reduction of carbon emissions.
Secretary-General of Energy Charter Secretariat Andre Mernier told the conference that the growing consensus around the need for action on climate change means the world can no longer wait to implement cheapest form of abatement. A high-ranking official at the International Energy Agency Didier Houssin said that meeting a target of a 50 percent cut in emissions represents a formidable challenge but is achievable. “But for it to be achieved we will require a third industrial revolution or an energy revolution which would completely transform the way we produce and use energy and entail painful adjustments,” he said. He added that in the IEA policies and technologies were identified that can lead to very substantial savings in energy consumption and carbon dioxide emissions. “But for these to be achieved decisions have to be taken now and implementation has to begin now. The primary scarcity facing the planet is not of natural resources nor money, but time,” he stressed. Didier Houssin noted that delay is no longer an option, it is time to act. More than 150 participants participated in today’s conference sponsored by Energy Charter and UNECE.