South Africa: The Resolution of the ISES Solar World Congress
Hosting the next ISES Congress: The 30th ISES Solar World Congress will be held in Kassel, Germany, from 28 August to 2 September 2011. This year´s resolution recommends that governments worldwide should establish a law to increase the use of renewable energies in the heating and cooling sector.
This October, the International Solar Energy Society’s (ISES) Solar World Congress was held in Johannesburg, South Africa, hosted by the Sustainable Energy Society South Africa (SESSA). Delegates from all over the world signed a Congress Resolution, which appeals to politicians to strengthen the renewable energy sector by implementing new governmental initiatives and policies (download the resolution).
The congress asks for governmental support on an international level to help implement laws, incentives and programmes for renewable energy without further delays. It also says that the involvement of communities and people should be an important part of those implementation processes. The congress recommends that the world’s governments should establish an obligation for the use of renewable energy for water heating, space heating and cooling in residential, commercial, industrial and public buildings. Besides that, it proposes the introduction of an international feed-in tariff system, even in so-called developing countries, which is thought to help augment international technology transfer and increase the use of renewable energy. The resolution names as two of its priorities the building of research and development capacities and the management of resources, to help raise awareness and increase knowledge about the variety of renewable energy applications – and gather further insights into it. The congress regards the establishment of the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) as an encouraging signal, with the hope that further support from governments, renewable energy players and other major proponents will have the newly found agency lead the way towards a world full of renewable energy sources. The resolution will be presented at the COP 15, the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen from 7 to 18 December 2009.
The ISES Solar World Congress 2009 provided developing countries with good indicators on how to improve their utilisation of renewables. “Sustainable development has been defined as development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to satisfy their own. It calls for improving the quality of life for the world’s people, without increasing the utilisation of natural resources beyond the earth’s carrying capacity,” said Congress Chairman Jon Adams.
ISES holds its main congress every two years. People from all over the world meet at it to exchange information and research findings and engage in discussions on renewable energy and sustainable energy solutions. 473 international delegates and 191 students participated in this year’s event, along with several journalists. And, a 3-day Renewable Energy Expo accompanied the congress: 210 exhibitors from all over the world showed their renewable energy products to over 1,000 Expo visitors.
More information:
http://www.solarworldcongress2009.com
http://www.swc2011.org/
Text was written by communication specialist Hanna Schober, based in South Africa. Schober@solrico.com
