While Europe and France showed positive assessments of their energy consumption in 2009, other countries such as Brazil and West Africa are gradually establishing themselves as key players in the green energy market.
In France, the Ministry for Ecology, Energy, Sustainable Development and the Sea has highlighted an "unprecedented leap" in renewable energies and an historical reduction in primary energy consumption in 2009. Thanks to these phenomena, France has announced a decrease of 5.7% in the CO2 emissions linked to energy.
Moreover, this reflects the latest results from a report from the Joint Research Centre of the European Commission: renewable sources account for 62% of the new electricity generation capacity in the European Union.
If this growth continues, the use of clean energy could represent 37.5% of the EU’s energy consumption by 2020.
Wind and solar energies are establishing themselves as favoured resources at a European level, and also at a national level in France. Over two years in France, the wind power industry has grown by 84.5% and the use of photovoltaic energy has multiplied by seven.
The first steps of green growth
It is of course state investment that has allowed renewable energies to develop in such a manner. Clean energy is now part of the economic growth strategies of governments counting on green growth.
Brazil, which is already the leading exporter of biofuels, is making a name for itself on the green energy market. In July 2010, during the "The Energy That Moves Brazilian Cities" forum, Marcio Pereira Zimmermann, Brazilian Minister of Mines and Energy, pointed out that '"in total, the share of renewable energies in the country’s energy production has reached 47%, a rate that is well over the global average of 14%".
The newcomer West Africa has shown a real willingness to become involved with this new energy supply. The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) has thus just opened the Regional Centre for Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency (ECREEE), which is supported by the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO).
Yoshiteru Uramoto, Deputy to the Director-General of UNIDO emphasises that the economic growth of the region is happening because of development in renewable energies: "Investing in renewable energies and implementing technologies that are favourable to energy efficiency will contribute to the economic and social development of the region, while conserving its environment".
These initiatives should not be ignored in terms of scoping out an energy map of the world: ECOWAS and Brazil have planned to strengthen their co-operation, particularly in the biofuel sector.
