It is easier to use than wind or solar power because it can produce electricity around the clock, without reliance on weather conditions.

Everyone agreed that Russia must diversify its economy away from reliance on energy.

A fundamental shift from heavy reliance on coal to clean energy must be accomplished.

In this respect, nuclear energy s advantages, particularly its reliability and predictable costs, stand out.

Historical and geographic proximity, together with energy dependency and fear of massive immigration, paralyzed European diplomats.

One is energy. Ukraine is heavily dependent on Russian energy, particularly gas.

Encouraging investments in renewable energy and increased energy efficiency will have the added benefit of boosting long term self reliance and resilience against the volatility of fossil fuel prices.

Likewise, for both our countries, greater energy efficiency and security requires reliance upon market price signals, technology, innovation, and diversified energy sources.

There really is no clear roadmap for such a huge energy transformation, and Germany almost surely will need to rely on a European wide electricity grid to share clean energy, and eventually on imported solar power from North Africa and the Middle East.

Concerns in the EU over energy security, fueled by increasing dependence on Russia, have never been greater.

Finally, instead of relying on the UN as a negotiating forum, countries should cluster around specific initiatives, from renewable power to sustainable agriculture.

But our latest nuclear fears have broader implications, especially for energy supply and our desire to shift away from reliance on fossil fuels.

In the light of the global dependency on fossil fuels and diminishing supply, greater effort was needed to promote energy conservation, and develop alternative energy and renewable energy sources.

Solar and wind power appear to be acceptable, but both are much less reliable than coal, and much more expensive.

Greater reliance should be placed on energy taxes and an effective ETS to deliver all three.

Of course, increasing import dependence does not necessarily mean less energy security, any more than self sufficiency guarantees uninterrupted supply.

By 2020, the effort to increase reliance on renewables will cost the European Union alone 250 billion annually.

Alternative energy sources are too expensive and nowhere near reliable enough to replace fossil fuels.

At the same time, the country must modify its consumption model through greater reliance on hydroelectric, nuclear, and wind energy.

Energy dependency is compounded by the difficulties that countries face in importing technology and holding on to their human resources, in particular the most qualified among them.

Canadian farmers in the past have benefited from relatively inexpensive and reliable sources of non renewable energy and, as a result, the agricultural industry is predominantly reliant upon oil and gas.

The electricity sector in Venezuela is one of the few to rely primarily on hydropower, and includes the Guri Dam, one of the largest in the world.

Indeed, dependence on wood biomass leads to massive felling of plant cover to satisfy domestic energy needs, so accelerating the process of deforestation and soil degradation.

Where this will lead the world can be seen even today China already has the world s most ambitious scheme for expanding nuclear energy, and every year it builds coal fired power plants whose electricity output is roughly equivalent to the capacity of the entire British power grid!

It is cheap because it is plentiful. It is easier to use than wind or solar power because it can produce electricity around the clock, without reliance on weather conditions.

Banking on the BRICS

Above all, though energy dependence is a key element of US policy in the region, it is far from being the only factor.

Parliamentarians, United Nations representatives, and the International Energy Agency (IEA) alike agreed that ending dependency on fossil fuels is one of the most urgent steps needed to combat it effectively.

Rising dependence on energy imports has already been used to rationalize an increased emphasis on maritime power, raising new concerns about sea lane safety and vulnerability to supply disruptions.

The overall impact of this economic attrition is erosion of the Palestinian production capacity and degradation of people's ability to feed themselves, and therefore increased dependence on imports, especially from Israel.

Today is Europe s moment of maximum flexibility as dependence on Russian energy supplies grows, the EU s leverage weakens.

Of course, increasing import dependence does not necessarily mean less energy security, any more than self sufficiency guarantees uninterrupted supply. Yet greater short term insecurity seems inevitable as geographic diversity of supply is reduced and reliance on vulnerable supply routes grows.

For the US, energy self sufficiency is the perfect excuse for a phased withdrawal from the Middle East freed from energy dependency, America should be able to concentrate on the Pacific.

Business led innovation and market based solutions can drive a decisive global shift from crippling fossil fuel dependency to more efficient renewable energy systems.

First, the production chain must shift from export dependence toward domestic consumption.

The net result would be a loss of jobs and weakened economies. Countries might end up energy independent, only to become steel dependent or petrochemical dependent.

Russia has a number of means of pressuring Ukraine short of using military force. One is energy.

Oil is not a reliable deterrent to democracy in the long term, owing to price volatility and the development of alternative energy sources.

For Germany, this will leave a gap that it cannot fill with alternative energy sources, leaving it little choice but to rely more heavily on coal power.

You can count on the full support of our delegation.

Self reliance and local integration

When considered in this wider European context, there was more symmetry in the Russia Ukraine energy relationship than the simple numbers on energy dependence implied at first glance.

In other words, the very policy that was supposed to achieve greater energy security is in fact likely to hike prices and lead to greater reliance on foreign energy imports.

It is estimated that 200,000 400,000 healthcare facilities in developing countries lack access to reliable electricity.

They need to align the goal of avoiding dangerous climate change with disincentives for carbon intensive energy including taxes, carbon markets, and support for green alternatives.