Remarks on Acceptance of the Blue Planet Prize 2007

In his 2007 Blue Planet Prize acceptance remarks, Amory B. Lovins argues that Japan is uniquely positioned to lead a global transition to benign and affordable energy, provided it overcomes complacency in energy efficiency, leverages its renewable energy potential, adopts distributed generation, and reforms bureaucratic energy policies.

• Japan's previous leadership in energy efficiency following the 1970s oil shocks has declined, with passenger vehicles and buildings now showing efficiency levels similar to or worse than those in the United States. Lovins asserts that current techniques could profitably triple Japanese energy efficiency.
• Despite a lack of fossil fuels, Japan possesses the highest amount of renewable energy potential among major industrial nations, which could meet the long-term energy needs of an energy-efficient Japan at lower costs and risks than current plans.
• The traditional reliance on large, vulnerable power plants is considered obsolete due to advancements in information and miniaturization. Lovins suggests that millions of smart distributed electric generators are now more reliable, cheaper, and faster to build than centralized plants.
• Japan's energy policy requires a shift away from bureaucratic and monopolistic habits toward a more agile and open system where all energy-saving and production methods can compete fairly regardless of technology, size, or ownership.

APA

Lovins, A. B. (2007). Remarks on Acceptance of the Blue Planet Prize 2007. RMI. https://rmi.org/app/uploads/2017/05/RMI_Document_Repository_Public-Reprts_2007-15_BluePlanetPrizeRemarks.pdf

Chicago

Lovins, Amory B. Remarks on Acceptance of the Blue Planet Prize 2007. RMI, 2007. https://rmi.org/app/uploads/2017/05/RMI_Document_Repository_Public-Reprts_2007-15_BluePlanetPrizeRemarks.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite press release |last1=Lovins |first1=Amory B. |title=Remarks on Acceptance of the Blue Planet Prize 2007 |publisher=RMI |date=2007 |url=https://rmi.org/app/uploads/2017/05/RMI_Document_Repository_Public-Reprts_2007-15_BluePlanetPrizeRemarks.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@misc{lovins2007remarks, author = {Lovins, Amory B.}, title = {{Remarks on Acceptance of the Blue Planet Prize 2007}}, publisher = {RMI}, year = {2007}, url = {https://rmi.org/app/uploads/2017/05/RMI_Document_Repository_Public-Reprts_2007-15_BluePlanetPrizeRemarks.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }