2009 is a crucial year in the international effort to address climate change, culminating in the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen, Denmark, at the end of the year. The purpose: to forge a new climate treaty to replace the Kyoto Protocol.
With energy-related carbon dioxide emissions accounting for most of the global greenhouse gas emissions, the energy sector will be at the heart of discussions in Copenhagen. According to the reference scenario presented in the World Energy Outlook 2008 by the International Energy Agency (IEA), the energy sector will have to play the central role in curbing emissions – through major improvements in efficiency and increased use of renewables and other low-carbon technologies.
An important move in this direction was taken at this year's G-8 Summit held in L'Aquila, Italy. In a declaration of the Major Economics Forum (MEF) on Energy and Climate, leaders of 16 major economies recognised the danger climate change poses and the 'extraordinary global response' required to meet its challenges. The declaration also recognised the need for continued cooperation and the facilitation of an agreement at the Copenhagen meeting.
To this end, International Organization for Standardization (ISO) is working together with other international organisations to ensure that participants at the upcoming conference will be fully aware of the solutions offered by existing and future international Standards. Their contributions to climate change have been highlighted in this year's World Standards Day (http://www.standards.co.nz/touchstone/Issue+10/default.htm) on 14 October 2009, the theme of which was 'Tackling climate change through Standards'.
ISO's significant activity related to the production and use of energy is illustrated in ISO Focus September 2009, published specially on the occasion of the ISO General Assembly Open Session, 'Energy – Why international Standards are vital'.
Increasingly, key groups and experts from both the climate change and energy backgrounds see the value in global solutions in the form of international Standards. Apart from addressing many of the building blocks necessary to define, implement, and monitor both macro- and micro-policies, international Standards are helping to spread best practice. They can also be the vehicle for the dissemination of innovative technologies – particularly for renewable and carbon-neutral energy sources. In the case of innovative technologies, Standards can reduce the time to market of products and services, create global interest, and develop a critical mass of support to ensure economic success.
An ambitious review of ISO's standardisation activities was undertaken to facilitate strategic decision-making and build the groundwork for future projects. We now have a robust overview of the portfolio of Standards being used in such key areas as building environment design, energy efficiency of buildings and sustainability in building construction, intelligent transport systems, solar energy, and hydrogen technologies.
The most encouraging development in the process is the identification of gaps and the launch of new projects for energy management systems (the future ISO 50001), industrial energy efficiency, biofuels, and general energy terminology.
While the future looks bright and promising for Standards in support of energy efficiency and renewable energy sources, there are still areas that need to be addressed, including technologies such as combined heat and power, and geothermal energy. Standards are also needed to support the development of energy services that, for example, will enable specialists to provide meaningful assessment and improvement advice to business and government regarding industrial processes, building, and transport. There are also entirely new areas such as smart grids – intelligent energy distribution networks, which will require new Standards for maximum efficiency.
One thing is for certain: moving to a low-carbon economy not only addresses an environmental imperative, it makes business sense. Renewable energy is one of the few sectors that has in some ways defied the global recession. According to the UN report on Global trends in sustainable energy, 2008 marked the first year that investment in new power generation capacity from renewable energy technologies was more than investment in fossil-fuelled technologies.
Last but not least, moving to an energy efficient economy also has social impacts. Standards on energy efficient devices such as solidfuel furnaces are key to sharing best practices and best affordable technologies with the many million people using such devices in their everyday life.
For its part, ISO will continue to address the world's need for and deployment of low-carbon, clean energy technologies. Through its partnerships with different organisations around the world, ISO will continue to disseminate and promote, through the development and use of international Standards and as a matter of urgency, good practices, and relevant technologies to address this major challenge.
We should work together in organisations like the ISO to make the new climate treaty a success and pave the way to a green economy, from Copenhagen and beyond.
Reproduced from an article by Carole LeGall and Yang Zeshi in ISO Focus September 2009.