Laurent Corbier, WBCSD, introduced his organization, a coalition of 175 international companies from 35 countries, and outlined its work program for 2004. He said facts and trends provided in a new WBCSD report are the basis for his organization’s future work on policies, business responses and tools.

William Kyte Obe, Eon, emphasized that, for the business community, climate change is only one of many concerns, and stressed the need to communicate climate change-related issues in a language that is understandable by top business executives. He called for long-term signals by policy makers and for setting a price for carbon, noting that the market will find solutions if appropriate prices are set.

David Hone, Shell International, introduced the publication “Facts and trends to 2050 - Energy and climate change,” which comprises sections on energy demand, climate impacts, technological change, and the future challenge. Presenting energy data of the International Energy Agency and IPCC climate change scenarios, he noted that energy demand will double

Rocky Anderson, Mayor of Salt Lake City, US, said since the US federal government is not leading to address climate change, leadership must be exercised at the local level. Highlighting links between global warming and local air quality, he said 60% of air pollution in the Salt Lake Valley comes from automobile use. He said his city aims to meet or exceed a 7% GHG emissions reduction compared to the 1990 baseline, and described how these reductions will be achieved through energy conservation and a shift to renewable energy. He described a number of transport initiatives, including the introduction of compressed-natural gas vehicles, promotion of public transport, and expansion of bicycle lanes.

Dieter Wartchow, City Hall of Porto Alegre, Brazil, highlighted the need for effective social management of environmental resources, stressing the need for environmental education to encourage public participation in emissions reduction initiatives. Indicating that the transport sector is responsible for 65% of energy consumption in Porto Alegre, he described

efforts to increase bicycle lane coverage and promote cleaner fuels. He outlined local efforts to promote energy efficiency and renewable energy use, highlighting economic benefits. He described EcoPark, a public-private partnership that aims to capture methane emissions from municipal waste.

Ryan Bell, ICLEI, introduced the Harmonized Emissions Analysis Tool (HEAT), a multilingual internet database for storing, tracking and reporting GHG emissions and offering criteria on air pollutants. He explained that HEAT will enable local governments to conduct emissions analyses, and predict future emissions and emissions reductions associated with projects. He indicated that HEAT will allow for analyses of emissions variations between jurisdictions with different geography, demography, development levels and economic profiles.

Paula Dobriansky, US Department of State, indicated that the Bush administration is providing economic incentives for energy-efficient technologies and US$4.1 billion in tax credits for emissions reductions. She explained that the US has bilateral relations with 14 countries to address climate change, resulting in over 200 projects around the world.

Altero Mattioli, Italy’s Minister for the Environment and Land Protection, stressed the need to disseminate low carbon technologies and promote the use of renewable energies. He outlined two initiatives undertaken in cooperation with the US: one that promotes the use of renewable energy in the Mediterranean region; and a second that involves creating gardens in Mesopotamia.

Prodipto Ghosh, India’s Ministry of Environment and Forests, indicated that his country collaborates with the US to promote a wide range of climate-friendly technologies. He stressed that partnerships do not represent uni-directional flows of technologies and resources, but entail

 landfills. She said the project provides cost-effective methane recovery for use as an energy source.

Jacqueline Schafer, US Agency for International Development, noted that her organization places an emphasis on partnerships in addressing a wide range of climate change issues.

Stephen Eule, US Department of Energy, said well designed collaborations can accelerate the development and implementation of cleaner energy technologies. He highlighted the Generation IV International Forum, saying it is concerned with promoting the fourth generation of advanced nuclear systems. He highlighted the need for strong private sector participation.

Discussion: Participants raised questions regarding the lack of market incentives for carbon sequestration, programs aimed at indigenous communities, the impacts of rising oil prices on climate technology markets, and the promotion of available alternative energy technologies in the short term.

Richard Sykes, Shell International, said the IPIECA and its working group on climate change had organized workshops for its member companies on, inter alia, long-term carbon management, carbon storage, and guidelines for reporting GHG emissions.

Fatih Birol, International Energy Agency (IEA), presented the World Energy Outlook 2004, highlighting that 90% of the increase in oil demand in OECD countries until 2030 will occur in the transport sector. He noted that the average carbon content of primary energy will increase slightly through 2030 due to a decline in the share of nuclear power in the world’s energy market, and called for faster technology development and deployment. He said according to IEA’s forecasts, the number of people without access to electricity will decline from today’s 1.6 billion to 1.4 billion people in 2030.

Mark Akhurst, BP, presented conclusions and recommendations from an

IPIECA workshop on long-term carbon and energy management, held in 2001, stating that fossil fuel availability will not be a concern over the next decades. On long-term policies, Akhurst said clear guidelines are needed, which take into account the fact that technologies must be efficient and economic.

Frede Cappelen, Statoil, said climate change is not a near-term priority in Asia and Latin America, noting that key issues in these regions include sustainable development, poverty alleviation and affordable energy. He stressed that the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) would offer one pathway to technology transfer, but lamented the complicated approval criteria and the weak capacity of the CDM Executive Board, which discourage the development of large-scale projects by the private sector.

Robert Greco III, American Petroleum Institute, discussed a workshop on

possibility of a Gulf Stream collapse, projected melting of Greenland’s ice sheet and the probability of severe heat waves. She said doubling carbon dioxide concentrations in the atmosphere would entail a 3-4°C increase in mean temperature and a 3°C increase in extreme temperature for Washington D.C., as well as a decrease in precipitation and rainforest decline in Amazonia. Regarding Gulf Stream dynamics, she said thermohaline circulation (THC) has shut down in the past, leading to dramatic cooling in the Northern hemisphere. She indicated that another shutdown would result in winter temperatures in London equivalent to those in Moscow. Noting that Greenland’s ice sheet is 3200 meters thick, Pope said local warming of 2.7°C in Greenland would trigger considerable ice meltdown over the next 1000 years. She added that human influence has more than doubled the risk of heat waves of the magnitude seen in Europe in the summer of 2003.

Discussion: Griggs stressed significant uncertainties regarding the possible implications of THC shutdown for regional sea level rise, cloud cover and the connection between El Niño and global climate change.