Conventions & Treaties

With fast depleting fossil fuel resources and high crude prices, all countries have thought for an alternative means of energy generation. Keeping their energy demand in view, countries have come forward and formed several consortium to tackle this adverse situation. Although, till date there is no globally accepted treaty on renewable energy has been formed, there are some positive steps have been taken in this regard. Following are the listing of some of such initiatives in global, regional and contry level.

IEA's hydrogen energy programme
Eenergy charter treaty and protocol on energy efficiency and related environmental
aspects
Kyoto Protocol
G-8 renewable energy initiative
Small island states clean energy initiative
Global sustainable energy islands initiative
Draft international proliferation treaty for renewable energies

IEA's hydrogen energy programme
http://www.ieahia.org/
Hydrogen is mainly used as a chemical for upgrading fossil-based energy carriers—will increasingly become an energy carrier itself. It is necessary to carry out the analysis, studies, research, development, and dissemination that will facilitate a significant role for hydrogen in the future. Significant use of hydrogen will contribute to the reduction of energy-linked environmental impacts, including global warming resulting from anthropogenic carbon emissions; mobile source emissions such as CO, NOx, SOx, and NMHC (non-methane hydrocarbons); and particulates.

The strategy of the IEA's Hydrogen Program is to facilitate, coordinate, and maintain innovative RD&D activities through international cooperation and information exchange. Seven areas are targeted: Technology, Energy Security, Environmental, Economic, Market, Deployment, and Outreach. Established in 1974 in paris, IEA’s Hydrogen Energy Programme has been accepted by 22 countries.

Eenergy charter treaty and protocol on energy efficiency and related environmental aspects
http://www.weea.org/Occasional%20Papers/Documents/PEEREA.pdf

Together with the Energy Charter Treaty, Energy Charter Protocol on Energy Efficiency and Related Environmental Aspects were adopted on 17 December 1994, at Lisbon, Portugal, as Annex 3 to the Final Act of the European Energy Charter Conference. As of today, 51 Countries/parties had deposited instruments of ratification with the depositary (Government of Portugal). The Energy Charter Treaty and the related Protocol had came into force during 1998.

This Protocol defines policy principles for the promotion of energy efficiency as a considerable source of energy and for consequently reducing adverse environmental impacts of energy systems. It furthermore provides guidance on the development of energy efficiency programmes, indicates areas of cooperation and provides a framework for the development of cooperative and coordinated action. Such action may include the prospecting for, exploration, production, conversion, storage, transport, distribution, and consumption of energy, and may relate to any economic sector.

Kyoto Protocol
http://unfccc.int/resource/docs/convkp/kpeng.html
The Kyoto Protocol is an amendment to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). Countries that ratify this protocol commit to reduce their emissions of carbon dioxide and five other greenhouse gases, or engage in emissions trading if they maintain or increase emissions of these gases. The Kyoto Protocol highlights that in order to promote sustainable development each of the member country should research and promote increased use of new and renewable forms of energy, of carbon dioxide sequestration technologies and of advanced and innovative environmentally sound technologies.

In the country level, following the ratification in November by Russia’s Duma the Kyoto Protocol will come into force on February 16, 2005. Under the Protocol’s terms, industrial country parties will be obligated by the 2008-2012 time frame to limit their greenhouse gas emissions, in most cases reducing them slightly below 1990 levels. In the longer haul, however, perhaps the more significant result of Russian participation in Kyoto may be a prospect of stimulating wide scale development of cheap, renewable energy. The stage is now set for Russia to profit from exporting carbon credits earned coincidentally with the break up of the Soviet Union. Russia can benefit exponentially by using this revenue to invest in the renewable energy market since doing so will earn the nation more carbon credits, and build a more diverse and stable, economic base.

G-8 renewable energy initiative
http://www.climate.org/PDF/g8_ren_energy.pdf
In July 2000 at their Okinawa Summit the G-8, at the urging of British Prime Minister Tony Blair, agreed to create a Renewable Energy Task Force to address the challenge of two billion people lacking access to electricity. The Task Force drafted a Report which calls for G-8 member countries to support renewable energy actions in developing countries and to complement this with efforts in their domestic markets to scale up use of renewable energy.

Small island states clean energy initiative
http://www.climate.org/programs/smallislands_symp.shtml
Although the Small Island States produce only a tiny fraction of global greenhouse gas emissions they are among the most vulnerable to the effects of climate change. The Climate Institute and a number of collaborating institutions have launched the "Small Island States Greening Initiative" as a capacity-building program to assist these states in adapting to climate change and in transforming their energy systems to renewables and non-fossil-fuel sources. In October 1998 the Climate Institute and Counterpart International organized a Symposium on Sustainable Energy Options for Small Island States.

Global sustainable energy islands initiative
http://www.climate.org/programs/gseii.shtml
Seeking to expand the Sustainable Energy Demonstration Country concept to other island nations, the Climate Institute and four partners - Counterpart International, Winrock International, Forum for Energy and Development and the Organization of American States - formed a consortium to support the interest of all small island states and potential donors by bringing renewable energy and energy efficiency projects, models, and concepts together in a sustainable plan for small island nations.

Draft international proliferation treaty for renewable energies
World Council of Renewable Energy, 2002
http://www.world-council-for-renewable-energy.org/downloads/Verbreitung-engl.pdf
Ten years after the “Agenda 21” resolution of the UNConference on Environment and Development in Rio – the Earth Summit – the ecological world crisis has become more and more critical. The promise to inaugurate the age of “sustainable development” has not been kept. Quite obviously the methods and priorities have to be reviewed. We need new strategies of the Agenda 21 process on global environment and development.

World Council of Renewable Energy suggest a supplementary protocol to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), which should be passed at the Review-Conference by the signatory States in 2005. This supplementary protocol should permit the signatory States to fulfil their obligations stated in Article IV of the NPT by supplying technical aid in form of Renewable Energy Technologies. Art. IV of the NPT guarantees technical aid to the states, which commits them to renounce nuclear weapons and use nuclear energy peacefully, and obligates the nuclear weapons possessing states to offer this technical aid. Thus, the atomic technology is the only energy technology, for which an international proliferation obligation exits. The NPT legitimises the existence and work of the IAEA. EUROSOLAR to the signatory States of the NPT. It will organise an international colloquium concerning this proposal in 2003 in order to discuss all issues in relation with the subject.