Royal Society Panel on Sustainable Energy
"2020: Energy Opportunities"
In September 2006, the Energy Panel produced their final report as
advice to government on the development of their energy strategy:
The Panel
comprised a selection of our best energy experts from academia and
business, covering a wide range of experience in energy sources and
uses. They consider that the future of our energy sector is perhaps the
most important problem currently facing our nation, affecting both our
economic growth and our response to climate change.
The government’s new energy strategy is in development and the Panel
members hope that this report will provide solid and objective
technical advice that will help to build a consensus on what this
strategy should be.
The report recommends actions and points to opportunities to provide a
secure and sustainable energy future for New Zealand. The
recommendations are that:
- New Zealand should move to a low or zero-carbon basis for energy
and transportation.
- Biofuels have the potential to provide both the nation transport
fuel and a new rural export industry.
- Our vehicles will need to be modified to use renewable fuels and
a wholesale transformation of transport will be required, including a
change of behaviour on the part of the public.
- Our electricity supply has the ready potential to reach zero
carbon emissions and electricity markets could create a better
investment balance between supply and demand. Currently an investment
in efficiency will make available more electricity than the same
investment in generation yet investments in generation continue to
outweight investments in efficiency.
- Some form of price on greenhouse gas emissions is inevitable and
we should prepare ourselves for that price. Organisations and
businesses should start quantifying their carbon emissions, begin
reducing them and identify the new business opportunities and threats
(e.g. food miles) that the drive to reduce carbon emissions will
present.
- A sustained research effort is needed to drive indigenous
solutions to our energy problems, such as reducing methane emissions
from farm animals, investigating barriers to energy efficiency, growing
energy crops for NZ conditions and marine energy technology.
Our energy system will continue to evolve in response to changes in
technology, economics and the international response to climate change.
We are moving to a carbon-constrained world, where a price will be paid
for every emission of greenhouse gases. In that world, New Zealand will
be able to use its natural renewable resources to maintain a
competitive advantage through low cost renewable energy sources,
smarter and more efficient use of the energy we have and by putting
some substance behind our clean, green claims to protect our industries
from dubious claims such as the “food-miles” debate in Europe.
Previous Papers from the Energy Panel
