Germany's Lessons On Renewable Energy

Hermann Scheer, German MP, chair of the World Council for Renewable Energy:

"Our dependence on fossil fuels amounts to global pyromania ... and the only fire extinguisher we have at our disposal is renewable energy."

"The subsidies paid for fossil and nuclear energy are ... around 10 times more than has been spent on renewables over the past two decades ... and nuclear power stations, for instance, are even relieved from having to pay their huge insurance bill because the taxpayer picks it up. So this argument about renewables and subsidies doesn't stand up."

"There's a so-called nuclear renaissance taking place, and according to the British government this will happen without public money. This will never work. I assume this is just a trick to get the British public support for nuclear, but without public money it's impossible."

"The amount of sun, wind, geothermal and bioenergy at our disposal is by far sufficient. Take just the sun - it sends around 15,000 times more energy to our planet than all 6 billion people need. These resources are indefinite and cheap - the sun and wind won't be sending you a bill, and neither can you privatise them."

"Not only do renewables mitigate climate change, they also give us cleaner cities, improved health, revitalise the agricultural economy so that the farmers of today will become the oil sheikhs of tomorrow, and fight underdevelopment and deprivation in the developing world."

"You give people energy independence and you get social commitment - you only get that with renewables."