Brown to open energy markets to overseas investors
Brown says judge me on my recordBritain is also striving to meet targets to cut greenhouse gas emissions. It reckons it will need investment of up to 100 billion pounds in renewable energy to meet those goals, and the government sees sovereign wealth funds as a valuable source.
On Saturday, Britain's Energy Minister Malcolm Wicks said the government would unveil a "green revolution" next week which aims at getting 15 percent of the country's energy from renewables by 2020 - up from less than five percent now.
Britain's prime minister argues that unless there is a better understanding of the global problems of supply and demand, there is little chance of affecting today's oil price.
He says consumers must lessen their dependency on oil by using other energy sources, such as renewables and nuclear power, and by using energy more efficiently.
Oil producers should also be given an opportunity to invest in alternative energy sources to diversify their risk as developed nations gradually move to low carbon economies.
"In this way we move from the old conflict of interest between producers and consumers to building what the world needs and can allow us to move forward," Brown said in his speech to the summit.
Brown has just under two years until he must hold a national election and with his Labour Party trailing badly in the polls, he needs a marked economic turnaround to boost his chances.
But while oil prices are high, the inflation rate risks sticking above the central bank's two percent target, making it harder to justify the early interest rate cuts Labour favours to stimulate growth.
|
|
