Energy ministers tout cost-cutting efficiency measures

Jul 21, 2010, 0:15 GMT

Washington - Energy ministers from the world's biggest polluters on Tuesday touted the cost-cutting benefits of clean energy as they pledged closer cooperation on boosting renewable alternatives and improving energy efficiency.

At a two-day gathering in Washington, officials from 21 countries - making up about 80 per cent of global economic output - pledged new joint programmes to encourage the use of greener sources of energy.

US Energy Secretary Steven Chu, hosting the gathering, said all countries had the ability to go much further in enhancing infrastructure, vehicles, utilities and appliances that could save dramatically on energy use.

'The moral of the story is a lot of things that we are not yet doing today can actually save money,' Chu said at the opening of a second day of meetings. 'All these things can transform the way we use and save energy.'

World governments remain deadlocked over a new global accord to cut greenhouse gases that are blamed for global warming. Yet the Washington gathering focused specifically on renewable energy sources, a topic on which there is more agreement than the broader struggle to tackle climate change.