Houston 1998

Recommendations

The WEC, as a result of this Congress, makes the following Recommendations:

1. We urge industry and governments to sustain their efforts to widen the energy supply base into cost effective options; to provide for genuinely clean fossil fuel production and use; to resolve uncertainties related to climate change; to close the nuclear fuel cycle through resolution of waste disposal issues, and to pursue economic renewable energy supplies. More study is needed on anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions and more effort is needed to curb vehicle emissions.
2. While in principle global energy resources are more than adequate to meet the projected growth in consumption, their location poses political, technological, economic and environmental challenges in both producer and consumer nations. A substantial commitment to the World Trade Organization and market mechanisms to assure optimal access for all countries is essential. Freedom of trade in energy and energy services is an essential feature of ensuring competition and avoiding undue market dominance. Transboundary networks can make a major contribution to widening energy availability, not least of electricity and natural gas.
3. The accelerated development and use of appropriate renewable energy resources must be given high priority as a means of supplying commercial energy services to people for the first time. Active solar, biomass, wind and mini-hydro development schemes are particularly endorsed. The WEC should take the lead in modeling new partnerships and economic systems to sustain long-term investment programs designed to bring energy to rural areas. Governments and other financial authorities need to review the process whereby financing of renewable energy projects are approved.
4. Nuclear power should play a major role in contributing to electricity provision and in strategies to combat global warming, where feasible. The nuclear industry will have to take the necessary steps to bring down costs and to satisfy public concerns about safety. Governments must take a more active role in assuring prudent regulatory oversight to ensure that nuclear waste is managed properly and the potential dangers of nuclear proliferation are addressed effectively everywhere.
5. Lifestyles adopted widely in the developed world, where 20 percent of the world's population consumes 80 percent of its energy, appear to run counter to good energy-conservation practice. In this context, the WEC has concerns about recent trends that encourage energy-intensive light-duty vehicle use for everyday and leisure pursuits. We urge government and industry to assess thoroughly the societal cost of a trend to larger, more energy consumptive options at a time when environmental and infrastructure costs are mounting.
6. The WEC recommends auto-oil industry partnerships to reduce local air pollution, especially in developing economies and to promote the transfer of advanced fuel and automotive technologies to these countries. Policy makers must also focus attention on how best to maintain rail and water-borne freight as an important means of moderating road freight growth, and on future air transportation growth.
7. On the issue of global climate change, the need for immediate cost-effective precautionary measures to mitigate possible climate change is accepted. We remind Parties to the UN Climate Convention of 1992 of the obligations to which they already have agreed. As with the earlier chlorofluorocarbons problem in the refrigeration industry, the "minimum regrets" approach is required now to minimize the collective risk until climate change and anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions can be linked conclusively. Options to lower greenhouse gas emissions are many and, for the most part, are not controversial; they should be identified, prioritized and actions taken. Joint implementation and Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) programs can then be structured to achieve reductions with minimal to tolerable disruptions economically and politically.
8. The energy industry must sustain its commitment to research and development with government support for activities related to fostering the public good. While proprietary interests will dominate industry efforts, collaborative R&D that extends the breadth, reach and pace of technological progress has important strategic advantages as companies reconfigure their production and customer service businesses. A pronounced decline in government funding of R&D at a time when industry restructuring is lessening private-sector investment in research and development does not bode well for a timely solution to some of the energy industry's long-term objectives. The WEC recommends an increased governmental awareness of the R&D requirements in the energy sector that would substantially enhance the public good.
9. Efficiency should become imperative in every aspect of the energy business, from capital allocation and use, through to the location, conversion, transportation and final consumption of energy resources. Government, industry and educational institutions are encouraged to nurture a culture that discourages waste, commits to recycling, and insists on clean, end-use efficient appliances and transportation options.
10. The WEC acknowledges that the liberalization of the energy sector globally is an essential step in providing investment for transitioning and developing economies, in order to put the necessary infrastructure and projects in place. Tackling the energy issues of developing countries is particularly complex. Caution and care must be given to the regulatory framework and to the ethical and pricing considerations necessary for market-based energy economies, including metering and enforcement legislation. Investors should work with government and international financial institutions to extend the availability of commercial energy to populations in developing nations as rapidly as possible. Energy subsidies should be avoided when possible and minimized where necessary.
11. In industrialized and developing countries, regulatory frameworks should be directed at safeguarding competition and the consumer interest, and not at directing investment decisions or setting energy prices. Regulators should also provide a framework that encourages the main actors to take account of the longer-term vision required for sustainable energy provision and use.
12. The WEC will contribute to the implementation of the above Recommendations in the following ways:
    • A global electronic energy information system, including regional and national databases, problem solving and technology transfer capabilities in increased collaboration;
    • Regional activity and energy facilitation, on a program rather than a project basis, must increase and can bring real value in terms of energy security, new markets and reductions in emissions. The WEC will promote a Program that engages the world's energy policy makers and industry to provide commercial energy services to 4 billion additional customers by 2020;
    • The WEC has taken a stand on the business case for the energy world to address greenhouse gas emissions. It will explore the modalities of an industry-supported Pilot Program for increased collaboration in reducing CO2 emissions; and,
    • The WEC will pursue new partnerships. To that end the WEC has already agreed to begin a World Energy Assessement jointly with the UN Development Program (UNDP) and the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UNDESA) as a major contribution to the UN Commission on Sustainable Development and a sustainable energy future for the world. The World Bank will also participate jointly with the WEC in a study on the pricing of energy in developing countries. Other partnerships will be developed with international, governmental and non-governmental organisations.