Deciding the Future: Energy Policy Scenarios to 2050

Deciding the Future: Energy Policy Scenarios to 2050 World Energy Council 2007 Recommendations
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they fully understand policy intent and are able
to influence it, should that be necessary.
Corporate leaders are expected to exhibit strong
leadership to ensure market effectiveness and
delivery of the policy intent. Strong partnerships
are required between the public and private
sectors to see that risk is appropriately allocated
and mitigated and that rewards are
commensurate with the real risks involved.
It is important that corporate leaders in the
developed world consider the basis on which
they transfer knowledge, technology, education,
and funding to the developing world. For the 3
A’s to be achieved, this needs to happen in an
equitable and affordable manner, otherwise the
developing regions may continue to struggle and
the energy poverty spiral might accelerate. Such
a situation may invite greater international
governance that might quickly turn into
interference at the national level. However, the
successful transfer of technology to developing
countries could lead to new opportunities
elsewhere. Again, it is very important that public
and private sectors engage one another and
form partnerships that ensure the achievement
of the 3 A’s. Particularly, the role of civil society
should be stressed and valuable stakeholder
involvement in many areas must be encouraged.
Governments need to articulate energy policy
and be prepared to help mitigate the risk of longterm
R&D. The provision of energy infrastructure
may also need to be supported by government
policy.
The private sector must take the lead in the
delivery of the goods and services necessary to
give effect to the national or regional energy
policy, doing so within the frameworks provided
and making use of the knowledge and
technology of the day. At the same time, the
private sector needs to work with government on
the longer-term vision to try to ensure there is an
appropriate balance between the real risk of the
project and the reward.
In addition to such public–private partnerships,
corporate leaders can actively partner with likeminded
corporations as a means of mitigating
the risk of projects in developing countries. It
may be desirable to partner with local
companies in developing countries as a means
of achieving effective transfer of technology and
funds.
It is important that developing country
governments have policies and institutions that
support foreign investment and technology
transfer. These policies are on such important
matters as intellectual property rights and
mitigation of financial risk. If not in place, it is
unrealistic to expect the developed world to
become involved in the developing world.
7.3. Energy Policies for
Action
At the end of this study, a question that may be
asked is, “In a global sense, are governments
and the private sector on a path today to
sustainable energy development, as defined by
the 3 A’s of Accessibility, Availability, and
Acceptability?” The clear answer - in terms of
any of the plausible scenarios - is NO. It is