The International
Energy Agency (IEA) har released an excerpt from the forthcoming
World Energy Outlook 2009.
Danish Minister of
Climate and Energy Connie Hedegaard has these comments to the
statement made by the IEA:
“The IEA clearly states that the world needs a binding
international climate agreement. The longer we postpone action, the
more expensive it will be. The IEA estimates the extra costs for
each year of inaction to roughly 500 billion dollars. That is why
the world need to act now,” says the host of COP15, Danish minister
of climate and energy Connie Hedegaard.
“However, it is uplifting that the IEA estimates the benefits from
turning on to a greener path to be tremendous. The benefits of
energy savings, reduced fuel imports and air quality improvements
offset much of the cost, not to mention the fact that this will
help to prevent the dangerous consequences of climate change,”
Connie Hedegaard states.
“The fact that the financial crisis has given us a temporary relief
and according to the IEA will lead to a fall by three percent in
global CO2-emmissions in 2009 must not become a reason not to act.
On the contrary the crisis is an additional opportunity to start
out on the path towards a greener and more sustainable society. It
is obvious beyond doubt that business as usual is not an option,”
says Connie Hedegaard.
The excerpt from IEA can be found here.