Why SolarCOP16?

The 16th Conference of the Parties (COP 16) will be held from November 29 to December 10, 2010 in Cancun, Mexico and the solar energy industry will unite once again from countries around the world to present the case that solar is a simple and practical solution to achieving a low-pollution future.

COP 15 did not live up to the hope that preceded it and did not deliver a binding climate treaty. Instead, negotiators came away with the Copenhagen Accord, a sign of global willingness to act on climate change. Indeed, only with decisive global action in the coming two decades can the global temperature increase remain below 2 degrees Celsius compared to pre-industrial levels.

While the Copenhagen Accord allows for unilateral pledges from each country, the Accord is ultimately uncertain in the path it sets forward for renewable energy. If we are to change the future energy landscape to be sustainable, the adoption of strong and transparent policies that aim to reduce CO2 emissions and rapidly deploy existing renewable energy technologies in developed and developing countries is the key to success. These policies must be a priority on global political agendas.

The solar energy industry has already identified some of the key policies that are needed in order to achieve solar installation targets for 2020 in the report, “Seizing the Solar Solution, Combating Climate Change through Accelerated Deployment.” We will be updating and expanding this report for COP 16. We will continue to call for legally binding pollution cuts and the enactment of strong and long-term regulatory frameworks to accelerate solar deployment around the world.

We encourage all solar trade associations and solar groups to join our COP 16 solar initiative by sending an email to b.fontaine@epia.org together with the petition to be included in our website, company logo in high resolution and contact person.

Help us spread the message that solar energy is part of the solution to mitigate climate change and join us as we prepare for a sunny COP 16!