The Sustainable Energy for All debate gathered ten panelists, Brazilian and foreigners, from the academia, business community and NGOs in the first session of the Dialogues for Sustainable Development, on Monday, June 18.  Three recommendations emerged from the discussions and will be presented to the Heads of States and Governments during Rio+20’s High Level Segment, which starts on June 20.

To establish ambitious goals to advance the use of renewable energy; this was the proposal voted by the 2 thousand members of the civil society present at Riocentro. To take concrete measures to eliminate subsidies to fossil fuels was the recommendation elected by internet voting, which ended on June 15. The debaters, on the other hand, established a new recommendation: to increase investments and political will to guarantee universal, egalitarian and cheap access to sustainable energy for all by 2030.

Universal access to energy was considered the biggest challenge in the world today. In addition to accessibility, the participants emphasized the importance of investments in energy efficiency, as well as in renewable energy. “The renewable energy industry generates US$ 257 billion annually and creates 5 million jobs. Today, 17% of energy consumed in the world is renewable”, said the Executive Secretary of Austria’s REN21, Christine Lins.

Advocate for efficient energy, the founder of the Ecofys Group, Kornelis Blok, said that the world can depend only on sustainable energy until 2050. “There is a point in the future when we will lack cheap and easy oil.” Raízen’s President, Vasco Dias, agrees. “Today, 80 million barrels of oil are consumed a day. By 2050, we will be 9 billion people on the planet, consuming 180 million barrels a day. Fossil fuels will not last, the CO2 wouldn’t be absorbed and the cost would be economically unviable”. 

The representative of the Directing-Committee of the European Biofuels Technology Platform, Sandrine Dixson-Declève, recalled that there is already technology for energy efficiency and that Brazil, for example, is quite ahead in this area. “What we need now is longevity of policies, maps and guidelines about how to distance ourselves from fossil fuels. We need clear mechanisms for the market and goals for the investments”.

One example of existing technology is the use of agricultural waste. “The access to fossil fuels is restricted to some countries. Agriculture, on the other hand, is wider in its reach”, added Thomas Nagy, executive vice-president of Novozymes. 

COPPE-UFRJ’s director and executive-assistant of the Brazilian Climate Change Forum, Luiz Pinguelli Rosa, reminded that the debate about subsidies for fossil fuels should consider the objectives of consumption. “If it is to put gas on private cars, I’m against it. But, if it is for cooking gas – more efficient than deforestation wood – I’m in favor.”

Along the same line, the Colombian José Antonio Vargas Lleras, the World Energy Forum’s vice-president  for Latin America and the Caribbean, highlighted the between US$ 400  and US$ 600 billion annual investments in fossil fuels. “Only 5% or 6% of these funds would be enough universalize access to energy”.

The representatives from the African continent emphasized this importance. The International Network on Gender and Sustainable Energy’s executive-assistant, Sheila Oparaocha, signaled the existence of 1.4 billion people in the world that do not have access to energy. Sharing the same worries, Eskom’s CEO, Brian Dames, stressed the importance of the goal of universal access to energy by 2030. “We need integrated solutions, bringing together governments, the private sector and the population.”

The Climate Group’s director for Greater China, Changhua Wu, was optimistic about the advancements reached on the last 20 years in the energy sector. According to her, Rio+20 is an important opportunity for the world community to exchange information in the search for energy efficiency innovations.

Structure of the Dialogues

The Dialogues for Sustainable Development started on Saturday, June 16 and will go on until June 19 at Pavilion 5 of Riocentro. There will be ten rounds of discussions, with ten participants in each. They will focus on topics that have priority on the international agenda of sustainability. At each round, three proposals will be chosen, one by the speakers, one by the audience and one by the internet users.  Thirty suggestions with the most votes will be taken directly to the Heads of States and Governments attending the Conference.

The Dialogues have ten topics:

• (i) Unemployment, decent work and migration;

• (ii) Sustainable Development as an answer to economic and financial crises;

• (iii) Sustainable Development to combat hunger;

• (iv) The Economics of Sustainable Development, including sustainable standards for production and consumption;
• (v) Forests;

• (vi) Food and nutritional security;

• (vii) Sustainable energy for all;

• (viii) Water;

• (ix) Sustainable cities and innovation;

• (x) Oceans.

 
All of the debates will be broadcast live on the UN’s website.