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Paris 1997 General ConferenceTwenty-ninth SessionReport

Conferencia General29a reuniónInforme

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29 C/REP.926 August 1997Original: English

REPORT BY THE WORLD SOLAR COMMISSION

OUTLINE

Source: 145 EX/Decision 5.3.2.

Background: The Executive Board by decision 5.3.2 approved theStatutes of the World Solar Commission. Further to the ‘Report ofthe Secretariat of the World Solar Commission on the Preparationof a Plan of Action for Renewable Energies’ (document 28 C/90),submitted to the twenty-eighth session of the General Conference,updated information are presented to the twenty-ninth session of theGeneral Conference.

Purpose: The World Solar Commission has successfully organizedthe World Solar Summit in Harare, Zimbabwe, 16-17 September,prepared and approved the World Solar Programme 1996-2005 atits second session held in New York on the occasion of the ‘EarthSummit+5 special session of the United Nations General Assemblyto Review and Appraise the Implementation of Agenda 21’. TheExecutive Board at its 150th and 151st sessions recommended thatthe Global Renewable Education and Training Programme of theWorld Solar Programme 1996-2005 be executed by UNESCO aslead agency. The Engineering and Technology Division of theScience Sector serves as the Secretariat to the World SolarProgramme 1996-2005 and the World Solar Commission.

Decision required: The present report requires no decision.

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Basic texts

1. By 27 C/Resolution 2.1, paragraph 2 (e) the General Conference had invited theDirector-General ‘to facilitate the formulation of reforms in energy utilization and the use ofrenewable energy sources for sustainable development’. Paragraph 02117 of the ApprovedProgramme and Budget for 1994-1995 provided that ‘assistance will be given to theimplementation of a global solar programme by providing the Secretariat of the World SolarSummit Process and to the organization of a series of high-level regional and interregionalexpert meetings aimed at defining regional development strategies, as well as a number ofspecialized workshops on solar applications’.

2. At its 145th session the Executive Board approved the Statutes of the World SolarCommission (145 EX/Decision 5.3.2). H.E. Dr Robert Mugabe, President of the Republic ofZimbabwe, accepted the invitation of the Director-General of UNESCO to act as the Chairmanof the World Solar Commission. Heads of State and Government from Austria, China, CostaRica, Georgia, India, Indonesia, Israel, Jamaica, Malaysia, Pakistan, Palestinian Authority,Senegal, Spain, South Africa and Tunisia accepted the invitation of H.E. Dr Robert Mugabe tobecome members of the World Solar Commission in their personal capacity. In 1995, aninstitution of personal representatives of members of the World Solar Commission was createdto facilitate daily administrative and operational matters.

3. At its 146th session the Executive Board recalled the importance that should be given tothe activities relating to renewable energies and to the preparation of the World Solar Summit(146 EX/Decision 4.2, para. 32) and recommended that, in addition to Africa, regional andnational projects be developed to other geographical areas, in particular Latin America and theCaribbean, Asia and the Pacific, the Mediterranean countries, and Central and Eastern Europe.

4. By 28 C/Resolution 2.1, paragraph 2 A(e) the General Conference invited the Director-General ‘to facilitate the use of renewable energy sources for development’. Paragraphs02120-02122 of the Approved Programme and Budget for 1996-1997 provided that therecommendations of the World Solar Commission regarding the selection of outstandingprojects of universal value and also high-priority projects at national and regional levels wouldbe implemented through both regular and extrabudgetary funding; a global solar energyinformation system and a consolidated international solar energy education and trainingprogramme would be promoted in close co-operation with UNIDO, FAO, the EuropeanUnion, ALECSO and the International Energy Agency; and funding and technical supportwould be provided for the development or reshaping of solar and low-cost buildings andvillages using local materials in rural and remote areas of the developing countries.

5. In his DG/Note/96/7 dated 26 January 1996, the Director-General announced that he had‘decided to establish within the Natural Sciences Sector the World Solar Programme 1996-2005, which will be interdisciplinary in scope and will call for inter-agency co-operation’. Inthe same note he also informed the Secretariat that he had ‘decided to set up an advisory groupof eminent specialists to assist him and the Deputy Director-General in the preparation of the(World Solar) Summit and to ensure that it meets the highest scientific standards’.

6. At its 149th session the Executive Board (149 EX/Decision 3.1, III, para. 11) invited‘the Director-General: (a) to ensure that sufficient financial, technical and human resources,drawn also from extrabudgetary sources, are made available for the effective functioning of theWorld Solar Commission, the preparation of the World Solar Summit and follow-up activities;and (b) to report to it at its 150th session on the results achieved in this regard’.

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7. At its 150th session the Executive Board (150 EX/Decision 5.1, para. 36) decided that‘the follow-up to the World Solar Summit should be accorded high priority; UNESCO shouldlaunch an appeal to international institutions, UNDP and other appropriate agencies for theimplementation of the World Solar Programme. UNESCO, for its part, should assume primaryresponsibility for education and training in the field of renewable energies and contribute to thedissemination and exchange of information in this field; provision, should be made to mobilizeextrabudgetary resources to accomplish this task’.

8. At this 151st session the Executive Board (151 EX/Decision 5.1, para. 29) ‘reaffirms theimportance that should be attached to the implementation of the World Solar Programme1996-2005 and recommends that efforts should be strengthened to sensitize Member Statesand international financial institutions to the importance of implementing the 300 projectsproposed under the World Solar Programme; recommends further that UNESCO collaboratemore closely with competent institutions of the United Nations system with a view totransforming the programme into a joint United Nations endeavour and to ensuring fundingnecessary for its implementation both from regular and extrabudgetary resources. Particularattention should be paid to ensuring the successful launching of the global renewable energyeducation and training programme and facilitating, in liaison with its Chairman, the activationof the African Solar Council’.

World Solar Summit Process

9. The World Solar Summit Process (WSSP) was a novel collaborative venture based on aclose partnership among major international, intergovernmental and non-governmentalorganizations, industry, research centres and universities which have special concerns andresponsibilities in the field of energy and environment. It was a five-phase process directedtowards the promotion of a stronger cross-cutting international collaboration on renewableenergy technology development and deployment, and aiming at the launching of the WorldSolar Programme 1996-2005.

10. Since the sun has always been universally the symbol of energy and life, the use in theWSSP of ‘Solar Energy’ actually refers to all forms of renewable energy including, but notlimited to, solar thermal, biomass, geothermal, hydro, ocean thermal, solar electricity and wind.

11. The World Solar Summit Process was conducted following the recommendations of theHigh-Level Expert Meeting ‘The Sun in the Service of Mankind’ - which was held in Paris inJuly 1993 - and the above-mentioned decision of the twenty-seventh session of the GeneralConference. This process implied, inter alia, the establishment of a top-level World SolarCommission whose main function was, at that time, to organize the World Solar Summit andto present to it two major documents concerning the development and wider utilization ofsolar (i.e. renewable) energies in the years to come, namely the Draft Harare Declaration onSolar Energy and Sustainable Development, and the Draft Outline of the World SolarProgramme 1996-2005.

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12. This communication process and highly focused campaign had the following objectives:

to enhance understanding of the role that renewable sources of energy could play in thepreservation of the environment, in the provision of energy services - particularly inecologically fragile areas - and in contributing towards a solution to unemployment;

to favour the access, transfer and sharing of knowledge on renewable energies byestablishing a global information networking system using state-of-the-artcommunications technology;

to promote and harmonize co-operation in education, training and research, as well as inthe transfer of research disclosures to industry at the regional, interregional andinternational levels;

to demonstrate how wide use of renewable energy is a cost-effective and rapid way formany developing countries to reduce energy costs, save foreign exchange and stretch theenergy supply base without heavy investment;

to urge non-governmental organizations to enter into partnership with, and make theirknowledge and experience available to, global and regional intergovernmental bodies, aswell as to establish innovative programmes for the promotion of the use of renewableenergies;

to reinforce local industrial capacities;

to identify and define selected strategic projects of universal value and high-prioritynational projects for inclusion in the World Solar Programme 1996-2005 (WSP) - amajor developmental initiative, which will trigger a wider use of renewable energysources and create open competitive and sustainable markets for renewable energytechnologies, equipment and goods;

to reinforce the involvement of the international community and, in particular, that of themultilateral and bilateral sponsors, as well as the national commitment towards large-scale use of renewable energy;

to promote small-scale financing and delivery mechanisms;

to prepare and convene a World Solar Summit at the highest governmental level;

to launch the World Solar Programme 1996-2005 during the World Solar Summit.

13. The creation of National and Regional Solar Councils was recommended. TheMediterranean Solar Council was created in January 1995, and proposed at the ministerialmeeting organized in Sousse (Tunisia) a Mediterranean Plan of Action involving five selectedregional strategic projects for execution in 1996-2005. The African Solar Council was createdin December 1995 and the Americas and Caribbean Solar Council in May 1996. High-LevelExpert Meetings were also held in Harare (Zimbabwe), Beijing (China), Tel Aviv (Israel),Dakar (Senegal), Islamabad (Pakistan), Penang (Malaysia), Muscat (Sultanate of Oman), SanJosé (Costa Rica), Valletta (Malta), Moscow (Russian Federation), Akita (Japan) and atUNESCO Headquarters to define national and regional high-priority projects for executionduring the period 1996-2005.

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14. A WSSP International Organizing Committee (WSSP/IOC) supervised, organized andco-ordinated the preparatory activities leading to the World Solar Summit and the launching ofthe World Solar Programme 1996-2005. The Engineering and Technology Division ofUNESCO served as the WSSP and WSC General Secretariat.

15. In order to prepare for the World Solar Summit, the Government of Zimbabwe initiallycreated an inter-ministerial task force called the Zimbabwe Organizing Committee (ZOC),which was headed by Dr C.M.B. Utete, Chief Secretary to the President and Cabinet. ZOC’smain role was to organize locally in Harare the preparation for the convening of the WorldSolar Summit, in consultation with the WSSP/IOC Secretariat at UNESCO Headquarters inParis.

16. In May 1996 the Chairman of the World Solar Commission invited Heads of State toactively participate in the preparation and convening of the World Solar Summit.

17. The European Commission and the International Energy Agency played a decisive role inthis major initiative. An Action Plan for Renewable Energy Sources in Europe was prepared in1994 that provided a most timely and useful framework for the European energy sector, andgave a useful example for development of similar Action Plans in other parts of the world, asforeseen by the World Solar Summit Process.

World Solar Summit

18. The World Solar Summit Process culminated in the World Solar Summit which tookplace in Harare, Zimbabwe on 16 and 17 September 1996. This event was an unqualifiedsuccess and will undoubtedly be considered in the future as an important milestone in the high-scale use of renewable energies as a major contribution to sustainable development. Neverbefore has a meeting on a renewable energy issue brought together participants at such a highlevel, i.e. ten Heads of State and a Vice-President, seven Prime Ministers, two Deputy PrimeMinisters, 34 Ministers, four Vice-Ministers and an important number of high-ranking officials.A total of 104 countries were officially represented at the Summit, as well as 12 organizationsof the United Nations system and ten regional and intergovernmental organizations, includingthe European Union, the European Commission and the Organization of African Unity.Approximately 1,000 participants took part in the Summit, 593 of whom attended as officialrepresentatives of their respective countries. Private industry and non-governmentalorganizations also attended the Summit.

19. The World Solar Summit reviewed and approved by acclamation the two basicdocuments entitled ‘Harare Declaration on Solar Energy and Sustainable Development’, andthe draft ‘World Solar Programme 1996-2005: An Outline’ (Annexes I and II).

20. The three main results of the World Solar Summit can be summarized as follows:

Renewable energies are recognized as being an important component of the energysector of the twenty-first century and as being worthy of development and use on a largescale in the coming decade.

The decision was made to launch a World Solar Programme 1996-2005 as a commoneffort of national governments, Specialized Agencies and programmes of the UnitedNations, intergovernmental and non-governmental organizations, university and researchinstitutions and the private sector.

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The outline of the World Solar Programme 1996-2005 was approved and a decision wasmade to elaborate a fully fledged WSP document by July 1997.

21. The World Solar Commission was invited by the Summit to continue to provide high-level leadership and guidance in order to attain the objectives of the Summit. UNESCO wasasked to continue to play a leading role in the WSP preparation.

22. In January 1997, the Chairman of the World Solar Commission sent to Heads of Statethe text of the Harare Declaration on Solar Energy and Sustainable Development approved byacclamation at the World Solar Summit, asking for their assistance in the WSP preparation andimplementation.

Inter-Agency Co-ordination and Co-operation

23. The Director-General of UNESCO systematically called upon partnership from theUnited Nations Specialized Agencies and programmes in the development of the World SolarSummit Process (cf. letters of June and December 1995, and May 1996). A meeting of the AdHoc Inter-Agency Task Force on the World Solar Summit Process took place at UNESCOHeadquarters on 29 and 30 January 1996. In November 1996 the Director-General ofUNESCO wrote to the Heads of United Nations organizations and programmes informingthem of the approval, by the World Solar Summit, of the launching of the World SolarProgramme 1996-2005 and inviting them to consider it as a joint effort. Another UnitedNations Inter-Agency Consultation on the World Solar Programme 1996-2005 was held atUNESCO Headquarters on 20 December 1996 to review the respective roles of the UnitedNations institutions in WSP development and implementation. On 23 May 1997 the Director-General wrote again to the Heads of United Nations organizations and programmes informingthem on the progress made in the development of WSP and emphasizing the fact that theWorld Solar Programme 1996-2005 was a concrete follow-up to the recommendations of theUnited Nations Conference on Environment and Development (Rio de Janeiro, June 1992)concerning the greater use of solar and other renewable energies.

24. The United Nations Secretary-General welcomed the development and implementationof this UNESCO initiative as a joint effort of the United Nations system and underlined thatthe World Solar Summit Process would make a distinct contribution to the work of the UnitedNations and the system as a whole in support of sustainable development.

25. A briefing on the World Solar Summit was held at the United Nations fifty-first GeneralAssembly held in New York on 22 October 1996.

26. The ‘Harare Declaration on Solar Energy and Sustainable Development’ and the ‘WorldSolar Programme 1996-2005: An Outline’ have been presented as official documents to theEarth Summit+5 special session of the United Nations General Assembly, held in New York,23-27 June 1997. The WSP document was distributed at the Earth Summit+5.

27. A Consultation Workshop of government designated experts on the preparation of theWorld Solar Programme 1996-2005 was organized at UNESCO Headquarters on 20 and 21March 1997. Final consultations on the draft document entitled ‘World Solar Programme1996-2005’ were held on 9 and 10 June 1997 at UNESCO Headquarters with the participationof personal representatives of members of the World Solar Commission and other partnersinvolved.

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Meetings of the World Solar Commission

28. The World Solar Commission held its first session in Harare, Zimbabwe, on 14September 1996. Commissioners reached a consensus on the Draft Outline of the World SolarProgramme 1996-2005 and the Draft Harare Declaration on Solar Energy and SustainableDevelopment.

29. The second session of the World Solar Commission took place at the United NationsHeadquarters in New York on 23 June 1997, on the occasion of the special session of theUnited Nations General Assembly to Review and Appraise the Implementation of Agenda 21,‘Earth Summit+5’. Participants approved the document entitled ‘World Solar Programme1996-2005’.

30. Personal representatives of members of the World Solar Commission met in Harare,prior to and after the World Solar Summit, on 13 and 18 September 1996 respectively. Theymet again on 27 and 28 January 1997 in Vienna on the invitation of the Federal Chancellor ofthe Republic of Austria, Member of the World Solar Commission, and also on 19 March 1997at UNESCO Headquarters, to discuss the WSP structure and contents. Another meeting ofpersonal representatives of members of the World Solar Commission was organized on11 June 1997 at UNESCO Headquarters, to prepare the final draft of the WSP document, forsubmission to the World Solar Commission.

31. The list of the members of the World Solar Commission (as of 11 July 1997) and theirpersonal representatives is attached (Annex III).

Forthcoming events of the World Solar Programme 1996-2005

32. A series of donor meetings to enhance the implementation of the World SolarProgramme 1996-2005 will be organized.

More information on the World Solar Programme 1996-2005 could be obtained at the:

SecretariatWorld Solar CommissionUNESCO House - SC/EST1, rue Miollis75732 Paris Cedex 15FranceTel: +33 1 45.68.39.01Fax: +33 1 45.68.58.20E.mail: b.berkovski@unesco.org

WEB SITE: http://www.unesco.org/general/eng/programmes/science/wssp/index.htmlWEB SITE: http://www.unesco.org/general/fre/programmes/science/wssp/index.html