Global cooperation for energy security and efficiency, and the development of low-carbon technologies are the key challenges for the global power industry, say the ministers of International Energy Agency (IEA) member states.The Paris session of the IEA Governing Board, which summoned on 14-15 October 2009, was attended by the Polish Deputy Minister of Economy, Hanna Trojanowska.
“Energy efficiency and low-carbon technologies play a major role for the sustainable future of the global power industry. The large scale of this challenge necessitates commitment on a global level”, said the IEA member state ministers in a joint statement.
Deputy Minister Hanna Trojanowska informed that Poland supports that direction of the international energy policy. “Regardless of the difficult economic situation today, the efforts toward reduced greenhouse gas emissions must continue", she said. "A true challenge is to design clean coal technologies, because many countries are going to hold on to coal-based power industry for a long time”, she added.
Hanna Trojanowska also assured that Poland happily welcomed the initiative to establish the International Low-Carbon Energy Technology Platform. “This concept reflects the Polish energy policy that assumes, among other things, development of clean coal technologies, including carbon capture and storage, renewable sources of energy, improved energy efficiency and implementation of nuclear technologies”, she pointed.
According to the Polish Deputy Minister, it will be a major challenge to sustain an appropriate level of investment in the energy sector and research new and effective technologies. “It is one of the best roads to leave the economic crisis”, she assured. “A developing industry needs energy and new and effective solutions.Insufficient investment activity can make the dynamics of the economic growth unsatisfactory", said Hanna Trojanowska. According to her, the need to improve the investment climate should be discussed at the summits of international organisations and meetings of high-rank officers, such as G8 or G20.
The ministers participating in the session of the IEA Governing Board stated that appropriate adjustment of the nuclear technologies can lead to decreased emission of the greenhouse gases and improved energy security of the states. “We request cooperation between IEA and the Nuclear Energy Agency to develop the roadmap for the third and fourth generation nuclear reactors”, the session participants declared.