'Korea can pioneer in renewable energy'
By Joel Lee
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Dr. Christoph Frei, Secretary General of World Energy Council
Dr. Christoph Frei, secretary general of the World Energy Council (WEC), suggested Korea should play a pioneering role in tapping renewable energy for realizing a “clean energy economy.”
“Korea, with its innovative capacities and technological know-how, can pioneer the new frontier of renewable energy in electrical storage and integration,” Frei told The Korea Times, Tuesday.
He visited Korea to attend the fifth Clean Energy Ministerial (CEM5) meeting in Seoul on May 12 and 13 to give policy advice on finding sustainable solutions to global energy problems to the participating energy ministers and other high-level delegates from 23 countries. The meeting followed the 22nd World Energy Congress held in Daegu from Oct. 13 to 17, 2013.
“What we need in the next two decades is half of the gross world product (estimated at $35 trillion) invested in energy infrastructure for clean, safe and affordable supply of energy worldwide,” Frei said.
He pointed out that all governments face the policy “trilemma” of energy - environmental sustainability, accessibility and affordability, and security.
“Finding a balance between these objectives will make or break the future of the sustainable energy economy. Never isolate one objective from the other as all dimensions are vitally interconnected. Taking a single track will trap you into a vicious cycle very difficult to get out of,” he said.
Frei said governments worldwide should develop a clear and durable policy-framework to confront these challenges and attract long-term investment. “Opportunism in politics and policies is the poison for a sustainable energy infrastructure and will deter investment,” he said.
He added seeking a balanced and diversified mix of energy sources is critical as evidently shown in the case of China, which now faces devastating environmental degradation in its air, water and soil after spending the last decade heavily relying on coal as part of its ambitious modernization.
To implement the goal, Frei urged policymakers to rethink the design of their energy infrastructure. Greater inter-governmental coordination and renewed focus on storage technology are needed, he emphasized.
With the Fukushima disaster cleanup costs reaching over $20 million and the decommissioning adding billions of dollars over the next 40 years, he noted nuclear energy will increasingly be an unsustainable model for the future.
Replacing nuclear and fossil fuel energy will be solar, wind and hydro renewable energy which saw exponential growth over the years. “We are extremely optimistic about their progress,” he said.