SOLAR PROJECT DESERTEC WANTS POLITICAL SUPPORT
01.28.10 Enviar esta notaNicola Leske and Christian Kraemer
Desertec, the world's most ambitious 400 billion euro ($563.6 billion) solar power project, needs political support more than financial backing to reach its formidable goals, one of its initiators said.
MUNICH, Germany; January 28, 2010.- The project would use concentrated solar power (CSP), a technology that uses mirrors to harness the sun's rays to produce steam and drive turbines to produce electricity, from the Sahara to supply power to local markets and to Europe.
"The most important thing now is to establish the political framework," Nikolaus von Bomhard, chief executive of reinsurer Munich Re, told Reuters in an interview at the Ditigal Life Design conference.
"That is even more important than technology and financing," von Bomhard said, adding that soon a so-called political chief executive officer (CEO) for the Desertec Industrial Initiative (DII) will be named to garner support from governments.
"The person would have to be well-connected internationally," he said.
Industry observers expect a political CEO to be named in February.
Twelve member companies — mostly German ones including Siemens, E.ON, RWE and Deutsche Bank — support the initiative which was launched at Munich Re headquarters in July and aims to supply 15 percent of Europe's power needs by 2050.
In a panel discussion, von Bomhard said the project should involve a broader representation of countries.
"Right now, it is too much of a German exercise," he said.
Hany El Nokraschy, vice chairman of the Desertec Foundation, said last month that the goal is to increase the number of members to 30 or even 50.
FIGHTING CLIMATE CHANGE
In addition to gathering political support, the project also needs long-term investment, which is not unusual in the energy sector, Von Bomhard said.
"It is doable… I am confident about Desertec," von Bomhard said, adding that international coordination was sometimes difficult. "However, as soon as economic interests of companies, countries are at stake, I believe it will be easier to make decisions."
The world's biggest reinsurer has been a longtime champion of measures to fight climate change because it is becoming increasingly difficult to insure against damages caused by natural disasters such as hurricanes or floods.
Von Bomhard said he was disappointed with the Copenhagen climate change accord for not securing more binding targets.
The costs arising from trying to contain the effects of climate change are rising exponentially, he said.
"With every month that one waits, it will become harder to contain them," von Bomhard said.
"I am not sure if in the future the insurance industry's capacities will suffice," von Bomhard said.
According to Munich Re, weather-related damages such as storms, floods and droughts have increased on average annually by 11 percent since 1980. Climate change is seen as one of the causes.
A low double-digit billion euro sum of damage claims on average are estimated to stem from climate change and that amount is expected to rise.
(Reuters)
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