IET: Renewable Energy - Current Global Trends and the Potential for Climate Mitigation
Speaker: Dr. Eric Martinot, Teaching Fellow, Victoria University of Wellington and Senior Research Director, Institute for Sustainable Energy Policies (Tokyo)
Time/Date: Monday Evening, April 6th at 6.30pm
Venue: School of Engineering University of Auckland, Room 3.401
Eric will give an overview of current trends in renewable energy markets, industries, and policies around the world, based on the REN21 Renewables Global Status Report, and then consider future energy and carbon scenarios, both globally and for New Zealand. He will also provide insights into the coming decarbonization of both electricity and transport sectors, including the use of energy storage, "smart grids" and electric vehicles. And he will address the scope for renewables in the next 10-30 years, both globally and for New Zealand.
How much can we really depend on renewables to achieve desired reductions in carbon emissions? And how fast? Of all the sustainable energy options, renewable energy offers the best opportunities for reducing carbon emissions,at the lowest economic and environmental costs. In 2008, the world invested more than $150 billion in new renewable energy capacity, and technologies like wind and solar are growing at rates of 30-50}% annually. While most forms of renewable energy are still more expensive than fossil fuels, costs are declining, and renewable energy can be lowest cost if environmental costs and future fossil-fuel price risks are included.
Dr. Eric Martinot is an internationally recognized scholar and teacher on renewable energy. He is author of the well-known REN21 Renewables Global Status Report, an annual synthesis of the state of renewable energy worldwide. He is currently a senior research fellow with the Worldwatch Institute and a senior research director with the Institute for Sustainable Energy Policies in Tokyo. From 2000-2003 he managed the renewable energy program at the World Bank's Global Environment Facility in Washington DC and from 2005-2008 he was a visiting professor at Tsinghua University in Beijing.
Further enquiry please contact John Irving, Chairman of Auckland Network at JRIrving@xtra.co.nz