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Consensus Science Roadmap Published for Directing Global Energy Development

InterAcademy Council
2007-10-22 07:43 525

'Lighting the way' details scientific framework for securing economic growth and climate protection

BEIJING, Oct. 22 /Xinhua-PRNewswire/ -- The InterAcademy Council released a report today commissioned by the governments of Brazil and China identifying and detailing the scientific consensus framework for directing global energy development. Lighting the way: Toward a sustainable energy future lays out the science, technology and policy roadmap for developing energy resources to drive economic growth in both industrialized and developing countries while also securing climate protection and global development goals.

An international teleconference for news media will be held on Monday, Oct. 22, at 10 AM U.S. EDT/ 12 Noon Brazil/ 2 PM GMT/ 3 PM London/ 10 PM CST (China Standard Time). Call-in information is available upon request.

Lighting the way calls for immediate and simultaneous action in three areas:

-- Concerted efforts should be mounted to improve energy efficiency and

reduce the carbon intensity of the world economy, including the

worldwide introduction of price signals for carbon emissions.

-- Technologies should be developed and deployed for capturing and

sequestering carbon from fossil fuels, particularly coal.

-- Development and deployment of renewable energy technologies should be

accelerated in an environmentally responsible way.

"The 'business as usual' energy path we are on today is not sustainable and is counter to the long-term prosperity of every nation," said Nobel Laureate Steven Chu today, co-chair of Lighting the Way and Director of the Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. "This report stresses the urgency of the energy problem, and then goes on to describe technologies that can be applied today, needed scientific and technological innovations, and policy tools that could be used to help policy makers guide their countries toward a more prosperous, secure and environmentally sound energy future."

Lighting the way recommends that governments, united in inter-governmental organizations, should agree on realistic price signals for carbon emissions, recognizing that the economics and energy systems of different countries will result in different individual strategies and trajectories.

The report has been delivered directly to leaders of the Chinese and Brazilian governments by the study co-chairs Chu and Jose Goldemberg, former Secretary of State for the Environment for the State of Sao Paulo, Brazil. Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao personally received the report's findings and recommendations in a meeting with Chu in Beijing and Brazilian Minister of Science and Technology Sergio Machado Rezende received the report in a meeting with Goldemberg.

Lighting the way was produced by a study panel of 15 world-renowned energy experts from Brazil, China, Europe, India, Japan, Russia, the US and other nations, chosen from nominations by over 90 academies of science around the world. The InterAcademy Council, representing the world's leading academies of science, engineering, and medicine, appointed the panel that includes Rajendra Pachauri, Chairman of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, recipient of the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize.

Lighting the way is available in its complete form on the IAC website, http://www.interacademycouncil.net .

The InterAcademy Council launched the study in 2005 and commissioned 19 reports to inform seven energy workshops held in 2005 and 2006. The report underwent an extensive peer review monitored by Ralph Cicerone, President of the U.S. National Academy of Sciences, and R.A. Mashelkar, President of the Indian National Science Academy, and incorporates the analysis and actions of leading global energy and development institutions, such as the United Nations Development Program, the World Bank and the International Energy Agency.

Addressing the unequal access to energy and economic development experienced by one-third of the world's population, Lighting the way calls for ensuring access to basic, modern energy services to the world's poorest people as a necessary part of global energy development. The report concludes that it is in the best economic and societal interest of developing nations to "leapfrog" past the wasteful energy trajectory followed by today's industrialized nations, and provides recommendations for how governments, industry and multinational agencies, such as the United Nations and the World Bank, can pave the way.

Lighting the way outlines incentives that can accelerate the development of innovative solutions, provides recommendations for financial investments in research and development, and explores other transition pathways that can transform the landscape of energy supply and demand around the globe.

In addressing mitigation of the environmental impacts of energy generation and use, Lighting the way will inform global action on climate change, such as implementation of the Kyoto Protocol, agenda setting for the Asia-Pacific Partnership on Clean Development and Climate, and ongoing multinational talks on future global action to reduce greenhouse emissions.

For more information and to download the report, visit the IAC website at: http://www.interacademycouncil.net .

Source: InterAcademy Council
Keywords: Food/Beverages
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