"Renewable energy to combat poverty and ensure sustainability"
German Development Minister Wieczorek-Zeul extends greetings to members of the International Steering Committee preparing the International Conference for Renewable Energies.

"Only by using renewable energy much more extensively than in the past - and using energy generally a lot more efficiently - can we avoid running out of steam in the future," admonished German Federal Minister for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) Heidemarie Wieczorek-Zeul on the occasion of the second meeting of the International Steering Committee. This body advises the German government on preparations for the International Conference for Renewable Energies, to take place in June 2004 in Bonn. "A commitment to renewable energy is a commitment to sustainability and poverty reduction," the minister stressed.
Nearly two billion people have no access to commercial energy, and most of them live in developing and threshold countries. "If these people are to have a chance to develop, they must have access to commercial energy," the minister declared.
To use renewable energy is also to reduce dependency on fossil fuels like oil. "Renewable energy provides an alternative to simply banking entirely on oil and ignoring the opportunities that energy efficiency affords," the minister said.
As early as the 2002 Conference on Sustainable Development in Johannesburg, the German Development Ministry announced that from 2003 to 2007 it would make � 1 billion available within the framework of development cooperation for energy programs: � 500 million for renewable energy and � 500 million for measures to promote energy efficiency.
The minister thanked the members of the International Steering Committee for their willingness to prepare the conference and attract support for the common goals. She extended special greetings to Mohamed T. El-Ashry, former General Director and Chairman of the Board of the Global Environment Facility (GEF). At the Conference, Mr El-Ashry will support the session moderators in their work. The International Steering Committee is composed of some 50 well-known leaders and decision-makers from governments, the UN and other international organizations, the civil society, the private sector and non-governmental organizations.