Increased use of renewable energy constitutes an important part of the global efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The United Nations Conference on the Human Environment, held in Stockholm in 1972, proclaimed that man with his power to ‘transform the environment in countless ways and on an unprecedented scale’ is both a
‘creature and moulder of his environment’ and laid down the principle that ‘the capacity of the earth to produce vital renewable resources must be maintained and, wherever practicable, restored or improved’. Two decades later, the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) acknowledged that the largest share of historical and current global emissions of greenhouse gases originated in the ever increasing use of fossil fuels in developed countries and encouraged the developed countries and their regional economic integration organizations like the European Union (EU) to adopt policies and measures that would demonstrate their lead in developing sustainable renewable energy technologies. Expectations of energy security, together with the urgent need for sustainable energy consumption have also been important driving factors behind the expanding role of renewable energy.
