Le prix Nobel de Physique Carlo Rubbia fait la promotion du solaire concentré au Parlement européen et la Compagnie Shell (et d'autres entreprises de premier plan) demande la mise place d'un cadre incitatif pour que les entreprises puissent investir massivement dans le solaire à concentration.

Renewable technology - the key to our future?

Source du communiqué : Parlement européen
21-11-2007

As the threat of global warming advances so does the search for solutions. One hope for the future is that technologies such as solar power and carbon "capture" could come to the rescue. But are these hopes misguided? MEPs on Parliament's temporary Climate Change Committee held a hearing on 19 November to gauge opinion on the matter. Across the board they heard from experts and MEPs of the need for investment in new technologies such as solar energy and storing CO2 from underground and sea. The need for Europe's industries to be encouraged to take the lead was a theme picked up by former European research Commissioner turned-MEP Philippe Busquin (PES). He told the hearing that "the EU needs to think about how to provide industry with incentives to develop new technology". He said Europe must move forward with durable technologies such as solar energy. Europe's Industry Commissioner Gunther Verheugen spoke of the need for the EU to be a "front runner and pioneer" of new technologies. "Excellence and innovation" were the main themes he stressed. He also added his weight to a call for targets to be binding on polluters.
 
Nobel winners outlines solar sunrise - The keynote speaker during the day was Physics Nobel Laureate, Professor Carlo Rubbia [Photo]. He spoke of a "great transformation" to curb mankind's "addiction to fossil fuels" and yearly increases in energy consumption of 2%. He warned the audience that "despite melting glaciers and forecasts on sea level rise, the idea that man made carbon emissions affect the climate of the earth for hundreds of thousands of years has not reached general public awareness". Professor Rubbia presented the hearing with his vision of a new solar future for mankind. He pointed out that a desert area of only 40,000 km² (0.1% of all desert land on earth), receives the same amount of solar energy as the entire planet's annual energy consumption. He urged the use of concentrated solar power (CSP) as a way for the world to ease its dependence on fossil fuels. He told gathered MEPs and experts that "the Sahara is not very far away" and raised the possibility of transporting "up to 30 % of the energy" generated by sunlight across the Mediterranean to Europe. Asked by MEPs about the political will to invest in solar energy and reasons for its limited exploitation, Rubbia replied by citing the example of Spain, where solar energy "has benefited from a legal framework".
 
Voluntary action "will not deliver changes" say Shell - The need for a "clear policy framework" to allow companies to plan and invest in new technologies was stressed by Graeme Sweeney of Shell. This echoed many comments which speakers from industry had made in the hearing. They also spoke of the opportunities that nuclear power, wind power, chemical industry innovation or carbon capture (filtering out CO2 and storing it underground) could offer. Mr Sweeney went on to tell the hearing that "voluntary action will not deliver the changes needed".
 
"Not one single type of energy that can save us" - The point that a myriad of energy sources are going to be needed to replace fossil fuels was made by the Climate Change Committee's rapporteur Karl-Heinz Florenz (EPP-DE). Speaking after the hearing he said "there’s not one single type of energy that will save us. We need a comprehensive solution which comprises for instance solar energy, but also other types of energy should not be excluded from the outset, neither nuclear nor coal. Not every coal power plant is a dirty plant for example".
 
Bali breakthrough? - Next month representatives from around the world will meet in Bali, Indonesia, to begin negotiations on a post-Kyoto future in fighting climate change after 2012. MEPs have already adopted a resolution ahead of the conference calling for binding emissions targets for all industrialised countries and a 50% cut in greenhouse gas emissions by the middle of this century (compared to 1990 levels). A delegation from the Parliament will be at the talks from 11-14 December.




Fondation de l'association DESERTEC, Parlement européen, 28 novembre 2007 :

On November 28th, the first meeting for the foundation of a DESERTEC Association is planned in Brussels. Several companies, institutes and the European CSP Association ESTELA will join the DESERTEC Association to create a financial basis for organizing further events and lobby work for the implementing the DESERTEC Concept. Members of the European Parliament Matthias Groote, Rebecca Harms, Vittorio Prodi, Anders Wijkman and the Trans-Mediterranean Renewable Energy Cooperation (TREC) will welcome His Royal Highness Prince Hassan bin Talal of Jordan, former President of The Club of Rome, who will present the TREC White Book on "Clean Power from Deserts - The DESERTEC Concept for Energy, Water and Climate Security" to the European Parliament in Brussels. 

Plus d'informations :  http://www.trec-uk.org.uk/press.htm#press_nov_2007

 Rajendra Pachauri, Président du  GIEC (Groupe d' Experts Intergouvernemental sur l'évolution du climat ) observe une paëlla cuisant dans un four solaire.  

Valencia, Espagne, le 16 novembre 2007.