| Kippreport.com

Clean energy to drive economic growth, says UN chief

January 17, 2011 3:58 by Atique Naqvi

Addressing the delegates at the summit, Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari said his country is the prime example of energy crises. Climate change is a reality and Pakistan has witnessed the effects of such changes in the forms of floods, earthquakes and the rising cost of food production.

He said Pakistan is taking several steps to ensure food security and one of them is high efficiency irrigation system. But the solution to energy crises lies in exploring and improving sustainable and renewable energy solutions.

Once energy reforms are in place, the results are seen within a few years. “In six years we have become a world leader in clean energy sector,” said Jose Socrates, Prime Minister of Portugal. We plan to have 60 percent of our electricity and 31 percent of our energy needs come from clean sources by 2020, he said at the opening ceremony of WFES 2011. Portugal has the best smart charging network for electric vehicles and is working on smart grids as smart cities are the cities of future, said Socrates.

Though Bangladesh’s contribution to greenhouse gases is negligible, the country is the worst victim of the global climate change, said Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. She expressed concerns over the non-existence of binding agreement among nations to curb global warming despite several rounds of meetings on climate change such as in Kyoto, Copenhagen and Cancun.

The leaders attending the summit, however, lauded the role the UAE, particularly Abu Dhabi, is playing in promoting future energy concept and solutions. The four-day summit, which began on Monday, will see a series of roundtable discussions, seminars and presentations attended by energy leaders, scientists, economists, politicians and inventors from around the world.

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