Choices needed for sustainable energy future

Media release

13 December 2013

Choices needed for sustainable energy future

Big gains in energy efficiency are vital to meet energy needs and stabilise emission levels, says the BusinessNZ Energy Council.

The Council today released World Energy Scenarios: Composing energy futures to 2050, a report analysing differing approaches to energy supply.

The report compares consumer-driven and voter-driven strategies in their ability to stabilise atmospheric greenhouse gas levels while achieving targets for sustainable energy supply, based on a three-year study conducted by over 60 experts from 29 countries.

BusinessNZ Energy Council chairman Rob Whitney says policy choices need to be made to ensure that the goals of sustainability, adequate energy supply and emissions reduction can be met.

“Big gains in energy efficiency are vital if we are going to meet the growing global demand for energy particularly in countries like China and India which are key markets for New Zealand. Solar, carbon capture and storage, and energy storage will be key technologies where we are looking for breakthroughs.

“We should now develop a New Zealand Scenario, using the World Energy Council scenarios, to assess the impacts of world events and future domestic energy policy and business initiatives for positive or negative impacts”.

World Energy Scenarios: Composing energy futures to 2050 is available on www.worldenergy.org/publications.

ENDS

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