The Council was founded to exchange and disseminate renewable energy information on a global scale. WCRE was also created to enhance the discussion about strategies to introduce renewable energies to the market. In addition, the organization wants to establish a common goal: a transition to a 100 per cent renewable energy supply in the future. The organization also hoped to develop a world conference, so such a large Council was required.

 

During the International Impulse Conference for the Creation of an International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), from 8 - 10 June 2001 in Berlin, the signatories founded the independent World Council for Renewable Energy (WCRE) to consider and deal with the following factors:

• the fact that the global energy demand is increasing faster than the introduction of Renewable Energy;
•  the comprehensive impacts, climate hazards, burdens to the environment, risk of accidents, conflicts around exhausting resources have caused an urgent need to replace nuclear and fossil energy by renewable ones and focus new investments on Renewable Energy and energy efficiency;
•  the huge discrepancies in energy system requirements between nuclear and fossil energy on the one hand and Renewable Energy on the other require different sources, techniques, infrastructures, investors, forms of business organisation, as well as different economic calculations and political framework conditions;
• because of the infancy of Renewable Energy, the ongoing dominance of vested interests so far mostly favours conventional energy to the disadvantage of renewable ones;
• the tremendous natural potential of Renewable Energy could meet - by means of numerous existing and developing technologies for conversion, storage, and utilisation - the energy demand of the whole of mankind sustainably, emission free and ecologically balanced;
• the experience that the Renewable Energy potential and its opportunities for mankind are still underestimated in theory and not sufficiently considered in practice;
• the necessity to show the Renewable Energy Potential and the concomitant comprehensive political, economic, technical and cultural opportunities, to overcome the manifold barriers and to speed up the dissemination of Renewable Energy;
• the necessity to comprehensively stimulate the promotion of Renewable Energy in the fields of policy, economy, and research and development,

 

Mission: Task (1): The WCRE shall be a global voice for Renewable Energy;

Objectives

• Task (2): The WCRE shall communicate the urgent and global need for Renewable Energy and their availability for all energy demands;
• Task (3): The WCRE shall analyse the international barriers to Renewable Energy and prepare proposals to overcome these;
• Task (4): The WCRE shall document experience of initiatives for Renewable Energy and communicate best-practice examples world-wide;

 

Means

• Task (5): to support the creation of an International Renewable Energy Agency;
• Task (6): to organise biennially a world meeting on the global energy supply, paying special attention to the political and economic mobilisation of Renewable Energy - the "renewable energy policy and economic forum";
• Task (7): to promote and support the organisation of World Conferences on Renewable Energy;
• Task (8): to publish a "World Renewable Energy Outlook".

 

The WCRE is co-ordinated by:

• A Chairmen Committee, from five continents: Scheer, Hermann, Europe (General Chairman); Abdallah, Ahmedou Ould, Africa; Bakshi, Rakesh, India; Droege, Peter, Australia; Eckhart, Michael, America; associated member: Maegaard, Preben, Denmark, President of the World Wind Energy Association;
• An Advisory Committee, consisting of individuals and representatives of international organisations and institutions, international companies and scientific institutions.

The Chairpersons and the members of the Advisory Committee will be appointed at the biennial meetings of the WCRE. The Advisory committee will decide on the conditions for membership, the Chairmen committee will decide on the admission of members.

 

The secretariat of the WCRE will be organised by EUROSOLAR. After the official creation of an International Renewable Energy Agency, the WCRE will decide how they are going to continue their work.