The final remarks highlighted that, factoring in unconventional sources of energy, the global oil and gas resources were enough to last about two more centuries. Although, it also clarified that the world will have to tap into more and more remote and difficult-to-access resources. In terms of coal, the WEC concluded that there are enough resources to last several hundred more years.

In terms of nuclear energy, with second and third generation technologies, today's uranium resources were forecast to last about 200 years.

The WEC also underlined the huge potential in hydropower, wind and solar energy.

In concluding remarks, the congress said that no progress could be achieved toward reaching the Millennium Development Goals if the world failed to efficiently tackle “energy poverty” that affects two billion people. In order to tackle the problem, the WEC said, governments should use available technologies.  On the demand side too, solutions already existed, it clarified.

Touching on the supply side of the equation, the WEC said the real issue was not so much their overall level, but their uneven distribution across nations, the law of their diminishing returns and the fact that ensuring security of energy supply would necessarily lead to an increase in energy prices.

In order to meet huge challenges ahead, it urged innovation in policies, as these are just as important as technological innovation.

While making the concluding remarks, WEC President Pierre Gadonneix said the market alone cannot solve all problems. “The invisible hand of the market cannot address alone all the global issues. There is need for energy policies to balance the market. Therefore, we must find concrete ways to allow market and public policies to go together efficiently. At the same time, we will have to make sure that these public policies are coherent and compatible at an international level and enable us to address the global challenges, namely: climate change, safety etc."

Energy players require long-term horizons. Energy industry timeframes are long term: investments are made over periods of 3 to 15 years, and plants are built to last for 30 to 60 years. In energy sector, 2030-2050 is a much more relevant horizon than 2020.

The council also called for change in behaviors and habits. “Norms and standards will play a vital role in encouraging businesses and consumers to incorporate energy efficiency in buildings and transport, for instance.”

“Open up energy sector trade, while preserving the sovereignty of the players, protecting intellectual property rights, keeping in view special issues confronting energy trade, emphasized Pascal Lamy, director general of the World Trade Organization. With the focus of the congress finally moving on to accountability, policies, regulations and financing, it was emphasized that right policies and stable regulatory frameworks were required to ensure optimal use of resources, propelling the industry toward making the right investment decisions and at the same time, ensuing good rates of return. Achieving a balance between these elements may not be easy and would require unprecedented levels of public-private cooperation and new forms of government partnership, most of the speakers highlighted.

Achieving the objective of free energy trade was becoming all the more difficult in the wake of the ongoing economic crisis that has given way to protectionism all around the globe and the need for governments to create jobs through sustainable energy initiatives, Lamy said, addressing the conference through video from Geneva.

On the sidelines of the congress, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) announced the launching of a study on renewable infrastructure in rural areas. The objective of the study, to be conducted at 12 different rural communities in various OECD countries, is to try and work out the integration between rural development and renewable energy.

Robert Suave, the deputy minister for Quebec Department of Natural resources and Wildlife, while delineating the objective of the study highlighted job creation and green development in rural areas as the two major targets.