Taking big strides towards clean energy

Ika Krismantari, The Jakarta Post, Shanghai

"Say goodbye to the vehicles of the past and their old-fashioned fuel," is the message at the annual Michelin Challenge Bibendum conference in Shanghai.

And maybe it won't be so hard.

At least that is the message that may be running through the minds of visitors to the three-day event which promotes sustainable mobility with eye-popping demonstrations of technology of the not-so-distant future.

Who would turn down a clean, green auto or motorbike fueled by natural gas, bio-ethanol or hydrogen.

According to the event organizer, 12 different teams representing auto makers, universities and recently-formed joint ventures bring hydrogen-powered vehicles to this year's show.

Forecasters point to three trends -- global warming, calls to reduce carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions and market demand for sustainable energy sources -- that will probably remain closely linked as they grow.

It is a fact the world is growing bigger and richer. In the last 40 years, population has doubled to around 6.5 billion and is projected to reach 9 billion by 2050. Around half of the that population lives in urban areas and the percentage is also rapidly growing.

The population and wealth explosion is feeding a demand for mobility. Today there are around 900 million vehicles on the road and over 2 billion are expected by 2050.

Meanwhile, road transport is 98 percent dependent on old-fashioned fossil fuels.

This time around -- the ninth Michelin challenge -- the automotive industry has called on government, energy suppliers and consumers to come together in a more coordinated attempt to address sustainability issues.

"We bring together all the stakeholders to test, to drive, to compare, to debate, to network and to envision pathways for sustainable mobility," said Michelin CEO Michel Rollier at the opening ceremony.

Besides the Chinese government, 18 manufacturers, 15 technology developers and component suppliers, 10 energy companies and eight public institutions are participating this year.

All types of companies are looking at both side of the coin -- the need to adapt to climate change and the opportunity to profit by being one step ahead of others with modern technology and expertise.

Royal Dutch Shell, the world's third largest energy company, says it has invested about US$1 billion in the last five years in sustainable energy, such as solar, wind and hydrogen.

"We see it as a new market opportunity, with the fact that the world is now turning that direction, to become more energy-efficient and environmentally friendly. It is our loss if we don't prepare ourselves well enough," Shell VP Downstream Communication and Sustainable Development Niel Golightly told The Jakarta Post at the event.

He also said there was a need to build a solid partnership among all players -- manufacturers, energy suppliers, the government and the public -- to work together to achieve the goal of sustainable road mobility.

In the case of Indonesia, he called on the government to work on more than one solution at the same time.

He said even a country like Indonesia, with great potential for the development of biofuel because of its resources, should also consider wind, solar and coal.

With a population of 220 million -- and rapidly growing -- the country is the world's third biggest emitter of CO2, after the U.S. and China.

It is estimated that transportation -- moving people and things from place to place -- in Indonesia puts 20.9 million tons of CO2 into the air each year, or about a third of the country's total CO2 emissions. Emissions caused by destruction of wetlands makes up much of the rest. The emissions figure is expected to reach 38.4 million tons by 2010.

Shell fuels manager for Asia Pacific and the Middle East said biofuels were the most economically feasible green energy for Indonesia and urged the government to make biofuel use mandatory and prioritize incentive arrangements for the biofuel industry.

Companies ranging from Britain's BP and China's CNOOC to local firms are standing in line for the opportunity to invest in biofuels in Indonesia, with total commitments standing at some Rp 160 trillion as of last July.

In general, though, projects are stalled pending laws on incentives and mandatory use.