It is not just the threat of climate change which makes a U-turn in energy policies an urgent requirement. A fundamental reorientation is indispensable also because worldwide energy resources in terms of fossil fuels such as coal, gas and oil are of course limited. Independent studies have shown that on the basis of current rates of output, global oil reserves would last around 40 years, natural gas reserves c. 65 years, and coal deposits some 200 years.

Embarking on renewable energy and energy saving – this is the double strategy to cope with diminishing energy reserves and the growing demand for energy without having to burden the environment even more.

Improving building insulation, using energy-saving light bulbs, and reducing stand-by energy consumption of electrical equipment – this is what people in our country can do to save energy. In developing countries, energy efficiency could be increased substantially, e.g. by using improved stoves and jikos which need up to two-thirds less energy in the cooking process, or making sure that motors are serviced well, and tuned to run as economically as possible. The building sector, too, holds considerable potential for savings: while the burning of bricks, for example, requires huge amounts of firewood, using earth as a building material requires virtually no energy except human muscle power.

Energy in abundance

While reserves of fossil fuels, such as coal, oil and natural gas are limited, renewable energies – biomass, wind power, hydropower and solar power – are inexhaustible. As yet, renewable energies supply only a small portion of Germany’s energy requirements and account for around one tenth of the electricity generated. Here, developing countries can show industrialised nations the way. A large proportion of the energy requirement in these nations is met through renewables. Due to their particular geographical features, for example high levels of solar radiation, volcanic zones with great geothermal potential, or a climate that sustains rapid plant growth, many developing countries are ideally placed to exploit renewable forms of energy.

Deserts, no matter how remote, have sunshine in abundance. Perfect conditions then for generating electricity. At first sight this would seem to make sense. But photovoltaics, although unquestionably the most popular form of renewable energy, are not a substitute for being hooked up to the grid. Solar cells yield only small quantities of energy, sufficient to power lights but not the machines with which people could earn incomes and work their way out of poverty.