Cheap energy pill for climate change

ISTANBUL - Hürriyet Daily News

The entire world is facing the peril of increased energy consumption, Macedonia’s Environment Minister Ademi warns, adding that cheap energy is thus required to mitigate the effects of climate change, at a session during the Eurasian Economic Summit in İzmir. DAILY NEWS photo, Emrah GÜREL

Macedonian Environment Minister Abdulhakim Ademi stressed the need for cheaper energy to mitigate the effects of climate change and explained his country’s long term plans for energy development, while speaking at the 15th Eurasian Economic Summit yesterday.

“Macedonia is providing a long term source for development in the energy sector for the purpose of implementing its energy development strategy and to offer reliable and high quality supplies. Energy security is steadily sustainable and environmentally acceptable,” said Ademi. The entire world is facing the peril of increased energy consumption, he said, adding that cheap energy was thus required to mitigate the effects of climate change, which is still continuing due to greenhouse gas emissions.

“Macedonia, which is a candidate for full EU (European Union) membership, is in possession of a highly significant source for effective general development. Our country is undergoing serious reforms in its social system and the field of energy,” Ademi added.

Meanwhile, the EU’s Energy Policy Advisor Alina Barbulescu indicated yesterday that global crises that shook the world in the past constituted an obstacle before sustainable development.

Sustainable development

“The world’s current growth rate is unsustainable. Sustainable development is the only remedy to this problem,” she said.

However, sustainable development has been hampered over the last 30 years due to the abuse of sources for growth, according to Barbulescu.

“The goal of sustainable development ought to be the provision of current needs and the continued self–sustenance of the next generation. If we cast a glance at the sources themselves now, the aim in establishing these sources is to augment profits. And that can only be realized by reducing administrative and transport costs. [The goal] in our day is to get more results with fewer resources,” Barbulescu said.

All states are currently undergoing a period of transition at the moment to attain sustainable development which will be achieved with green technologies, she added.

“States must first provide tax breaks to certain companies. These could be firms that invest in alternative sources of energy, that have substantially reduced their emissions in comparison to the past year, buy green, contribute to the green economy or reduce their production of waste. Sustainable development will then be promoted.”