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100% Renewable Energy & Climate Change Forum

The Future Is Now

Global Forum – Madrid, 19th November 2015

Organized by EXPANSION in cooperation with RENFORUS Initiative with the sponsorship of ACCIONA. Forum site>

100ForumMadridIn 2014, the United Nations has proclaimed a Decade of Sustainable Energy for All. This is an unprecedented commitment to a new worldwide energy culture based on renewable energies and energy efficiency. It is a milestone in a process started in Paris in 1983 when UNESCO organised the First International Congress The Sun in the Service of Mankind. In this context, the Global Forum on 100% Renewable Energy and Climate Change aims to take a further step in the right direction by approaching the option of 100% renewable energies as one of the largest technological, economic, and social challenges in the world today.

This year, the international community will have a historic opportunity to reach a global agreement on climate change, and to adopt a new post-2015 inclusive development agenda with a set of sustainable development goals. The United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP21) provides a unique opportunity to confirm the key role of renewable sources in the mitigation of climate change.

The past decade has set the wheels in motion for a global transition to renewables; now a concerted and sustained effort is needed to achieve it. The question is no longer whether renewables have a role to play in the provision of energy services, but rather how we can best increase the current pace to achieve a 100% renewables future with full energy access for all.

We witness today a growing movement in favour of 100% renewable energy, particularly in the field of power supply. This movement involves industry, new markets, organisations, and local communities. What seemed utopian not that long ago is now becoming a reality on the back of multiple real experiences across the planet.

This new approach to the role played by renewable energies does not focus exclusively on guaranteeing the universal right to access clean energy. It also covers key areas such as water, transport, tourism or designing the human habitat. Again, energy is at the heart of human, social, economic and environmental opportunities and represents the main challenge faced by inclusive development today.

Energy policy issues have always taken into account a variety of environmental factors: from air quality or acid rain to, more recently, the concern for climate change. In particular, the impact of climate change policies on the energy industry is increasing as a result of growing awareness that it is responsible for 60% of greenhouse gas emissions. Fostering renewable energy is therefore the main commitment to be made today to mitigate climate change and eradicate energy poverty.

The Forum offers a unique occasion to showcase knowledge transfer advances, management systems, new technologies, and success stories regarding 100% renewable energy solutions. It will help pave the way for renewable energies in coming decades and will give rise to new cooperation opportunities for all the stakeholders involved.

Forum Themes

100% RENEWABLE COMMUNITIES
Lighting the way toward a sustainable energy future
In the path towards sustainable energy, some territories and communities have shown that a renewable future is possible. They are the new renewable energy lighthouses that are appearing across the planet; places that have already proven this to be a feasible option. The Forum will showcase initiatives and projects that can become models to be replicated or from which learnings may be extracted towards the development of viable solutions at different scales, from islands and isolated communities to boroughs, villages and even regions. As a pioneering benchmarks of the energy transition, the 100% RE communities have become genuine laboratories of a decentralised, inclusive and decarbonised energy future. In this context, UNESCO designated sites around the world can play a key role by acting as global points of reference as communities run on sustainable energy.

A WORLD OPEN TO INNOVATION
Overcoming barriers to make 100% renewable energy a reality
The past few years have seen technological barriers involved in renewable energy being overcome at an unusual pace. We are witnessing a constant evolution in innovation, from the smallest pico systems to competitive and sophisticated smart grids, from large-scale centralised installations to distributed generation micro-applications. All of these, with excellent results across the gamut of renewable energy technologies and fields of implementation. Intermittent supply from renewable resources are being overcome by turning to increasingly efficient and reliable storage systems.

SUPPORTING ENERGY TRANSITION
Building alliances towards 100% renewable energy
The transition towards a new energy model based on renewable energies and an efficient use of energy requires a common effort agreed by all stakeholders, users, producers and facilitators: industry, civil society, local communities, governments, administrations, research and development centers and financial institutions. Networks, associations and initiatives favouring 100% renewable energy play a crucial role in bringing together the will of different agents, igniting possibilities and creating a dynamic space for cooperation where possibilities can become realities.

SUSTAINABLE ENERGY AND GLOBAL COMMITMENTS TO ADDRESS CLIMATE CHANGE
Economic growth and Sustainable Development Agenda
This year, the international community will have a historic opportunity to reach a global agreement on climate change and to adopt a new post-2015 sustainable development agenda with a set of sustainable development goals.
The United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP21) provides a unique opportunity to confirm the key role of renewable sources to mitigate climate change.
EU countries have agreed on a new 2030 Framework for climate and energy, including EU-wide targets and policy objectives for the period between 2020 and 2030: a 40% cut in greenhouse gas emissions compared to 1990 levels; at least a 27% share of renewable energy consumption; and an indicative energy efficiency target of at least 27%. These targets aim to help the EU achieve a more competitive, secure and sustainable energy system and to meet its long-term 2050 greenhouse gas reductions target.
This context brings us the opportunity to discuss the main priorities and incentives for citizens and businesses migrate to sustainable energy and low-carbon society.

AN OPPORTUNITIES MARKET
Options to finance and invest in energy for all
At a point when a substantial part of renewable energy technologies have reached a state of maturity, reliability and full competitiveness, there are no local or national reasons left to limit their full expansion on the global market. The nature of renewable solutions makes it necessary to adopt new and creative perspectives in financing, investment and management. The Forum will also tackle the trends in the renewable energies market worldwide and the appearance in the market of 100% renewable projects at multiple scales, including the corporate level.

Contacts:

Please use the following e-mail address for communicating with the organization of the Forum:

EXPANSION – Prisca Boedo, Program Director, email: pboedo@unidadeditorial.es
RENFORUS – Cipriano Marin, email: c.marin@unescocan.org


Venue: Hotel Wellington – C/ Velazquez, 8, 28001 Madrid, Spain

Forum Brochure (Download PDF)

Spanish version

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Contacts

Dr Osman Benchikh *. Programme Specialist in Charge of Energy and Renewable Energy. Coordinator of RENFORUS project.
E-mail: o.benchikh(at)unesco.org
Cipriano Marín **. Assistant for RENFORUS project implementation.
E-mail: c.marin(at)unescocan.org
Addresses: * UNESCO. 1, Rue Miollis. 75015 Paris – France
** Avda. Islas Canarias, 35 - 38007, S/C de Tenerife - Spain