Officials from more than 100 countries gathered Tuesday in Bonn to discuss ways of using more renewable energy resources.

"Renewable energies are of key importance for climate and resources protection, for peace and security and for technological innovation," said Jurgen Tritten, Germany's federal minister for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety, during the opening of the International Conference for Renewable Energies on Tuesday.

"They open up potential for economic development and they create jobs."

Around 2000 delegates are meeting in Bonn, capital of the former Western Germany. Participants include heads of state, energy ministers, regional leaders and business, public pressure and youth groups.

The four-day event will highlight the main obstacles to the wide use of renewable energy and attempt to find solutions. Participants will address key challenges in sustainable development such as access to energy for the poor and protection of the global climate.

The Chinese delegation, comprising about 50 members and being led by Zhang Guobao, vice chairman of the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), will hold a China Day event this afternoon to introduce the development of renewable energy in the country.

China is one of the biggest energy consumers and has one of the most dynamic economies in the world.

"The use of renewable energy resources plays a key strategic role in maintaining a balance between energy supply and demand in China," Wang Zhongying, director of the NDRC's Center for Renewable Energy Development, told China Daily yesterday. "The Chinese Government has therefore consistently promoted renewable energy," he said.

At the opening session of the conference, Yongamele Mbaba, a representative from the Youth Energy Summit 2004, called for governments to fulfill their responsibilities to their people by supporting renewable energy.

She stressed that focusing on renewable energy would reduce poverty and protect people from the effects of polluting energy sources such as fossil fuels and nuclear power plants.

(China Daily June 2, 2004)