News
As input to its upcoming study on Transitions to Sustainable Energy Systemes, the InterAcademy Council sponsored three workships: in Durban, South Africa, at the end of October 2005; in Beijing, China, in mid-November 2005; and in early January 2006, a workshop in Berkeley, California, USA.
The Durban Workshop, held as a satellite event to the World Conference on Physics and Sustainable Development, focused on energy challenges and controversies on the African continent. It had thematic emphases on the use of renewable energy sources (biomass, solar and wind energy); on distributed, decentralized energy supply; as well as, on leapfrogging potential. The Workshop was chaired by Study Panel Co-Chair José Goldemberg.
The Beijing Workshop, hosted by the Chinese Academy of Sciences, was dedicated to aspects of the energy situation in China and thematically focused on energy efficiency (especially in building construction) and the application of clean technologies to the use of fossil energy sources (clean coal technology, enhanced oil recovery and carbon capture, use of gas hydrates). The Workshop was chaired by Study Panel Co-Chair Steven Chu.
The Berkeley Workshop, hosted by the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, was thematically dedicated to energy-related, cutting-edge science and technology. Topics included sustainable energy technologies and energy efficiency, potential hybridizing technologies, new plant and microbial approaches, energy transformation for transport and storage, and third and fourth generation fission nuclear energy. The participation of U.S. scientists brought attention to the U.S. energy situation. The Workshop identified new productive avenues of research that could have a strong impact on future local and global energy use. The Workshop was chaired by Study Panel Co-Chair Steven Chu.