The third annual Clean Energy Ministerial (CEM) meeting has convened in London, bringing together energy ministers and business leaders from around the world with an aim of driving greater corporation between governments and the private sector on clean energy development.

 

The meeting saw Ministers from 23 countries to review the progress being made in 11 separate initiatives, covering renewable energy, energy efficiency, energy performance and carbon capture and storage.

 

The meeting also covered ways to improve collaboration between governments, strategy development and drive community and business support for clean energy development.

 

"The Clean Energy Ministerial has underscored the challenges and opportunities we face in increasing the development and uptake of renewable energy," Minister for Resources and Energy Martin Ferguson said.

 

"I had the opportunity to participate in two wide ranging roundtable discussions on financing renewable energy and on accelerating the development of carbon capture use and storage technology.

 

"Both of these sessions highlighted how the challenges confronting finance of renewables and CCS are long-term problems requiring governments to invest in projects that drive down costs whilst improving their utility.

 

“This emphasised the necessity and importance of Australia’s price on carbon and the $17 billion of clean energy funding contained in the Government’s Clean Energy Future package.

 

Participating CEM governments account for 80 per cent of global greenhouse gas emissions and 90 per cent of global clean energy investment. They also fund the vast majority of public research and development in clean energy technologies.

 

For more information on the CEM see http://www.cleanenergyministerial.org/events/cem3/