Energy and climate week

 

 

 

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June 11th 2009, 10:09 pm | No Comments

The Vattenfall Energy and Climate Week – Final Day

 The experience from Sweden shows that it is possible to counter the greenhouse effect, while allowing economic growth, King Carl XVI Gustaf said as he opened the third and final day of the Vattenfall Energy and Climate Week, on the theme ”Responsibility to find solutions”.

 

King Carl XVI Gustaf opened the third and final day of the Vattenfall Energy and Climate Week

King Carl XVI Gustaf opened the third and final day of the Vattenfall Energy and Climate Week

The third and final day of Vattenfall’s Energy and Climate Week featured a score of interesting speakers, including King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden, Jeffrey D. Sachs, John Aston, Janusz Reiter, Michael Oppenheimer, Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg, Alexander Medvedev and Frederic Hauge.

King Carl XVI Gustaf, over the course of many years known for his support of  environmental and climate causes, opened the day:

- The climate is one of the critical issues for the Earth that needs to be addressed. King Carl XVI Gustaf also observed that Sweden’s environmental action has made great progress over the last few years, but that this is not enough.

Professor Jeffrey D. Sachs of Columbia University

Professor Jeffrey D. Sachs of Columbia University

Professor Jeffrey D. Sachs of Columbia University, USA, suggested that people of the Earth must act immediately to resolve these issues: - We cannot go on living our lives the way we do today.

John Ashton, Advisor on climate change to the UK Government, followed up along the same track, adding that caring about environment and climate should not be so difficult:

John Ashton, Advisor on climate change to the UK Government

John Ashton, Advisor on climate change to the UK Government

- There is nothing strange about what we have to do for the environment and the climate. We need to reduce emissions and we need to do it immediately.

John Ashton also looked forward towards the end of the year and the upcoming Copenhagen conference, a summit that carries great expectations from many people:

- At the end of this year, we have a golden opportunity to achieve political unity regarding environmental and climate issues. 

Richardo Lagos, UN Special Envoy on Climate Change

Richardo Lagos, UN Special Envoy on Climate Change

Ricardo Lagos, the former President of Chile, used the opportunity to congratulate Vattenfall to its first hundred years, and suggested that the best way to celebrate the anniversary was to host this energy and climate week.

Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg, the German Minister for Economics and Technology

Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg, the German Minister for Economics and Technology

Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg, the German Minister for Economics and Technology, explained that Europe shows a serious intention to resolve environmental issues and that the financial crisis that presently affects the world has made it even more important to address the climate issues that we are facing:

- Now is a great time to do this, he said.

Alexander Medvedev, Vice President of Gazprom, Russia, also joined the congratulators of the centennial Vattenfall:

Alexander Medvedev, Vice President of Gazprom

Alexander Medvedev, Vice President of Gazprom

- Vattenfall has a unique opportunity to lead the environmental and climate efforts.

Mr. Medvedev was also asked about the underwater gas pipeline which his company Gazprom intends to lay out in the Baltic Sea, off the island of Gotland:

- We expect that this will be successful and that all parts will be completed on schedule.

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June 11th 2009, 10:08 pm | No Comments

Long road ahead for achieving political unity on solutions to climate issue

As Vattenfall invited panelists from three countries to discuss political challenges for the climate issues, they all expressed positive feelings regarding the prospects for the future. Soon it also became apparent that the UN Climate Conference in Copenhagen in December will face great challenges when it comes to establishing common viewpoints.

 

Panel discussion with Janusz Reiter, Polish Ambassador for Climate, John Ashton, Special Representative for Climate Change for the British government and Professor Michael Oppenheimer of the Princeton Environmental Institute

Panel discussion with Janusz Reiter, Polish Ambassador for Climate, John Ashton, Special Representative for Climate Change for the British government and Professor Michael Oppenheimer of the Princeton Environmental Institute

John Ashton, Special Representative for Climate Change for the British government, argued that powerful and concerted political action is required for resolving the climate issue:

 

- We know that we must have an energy system that is CO2 neutral by 2050, and politics is the only power that can untie this knot. This for making the huge investments required for a new energy system, he said.

 

The EU has committed to a 20 percent reduction in carbon dioxide emissions by 2020, which is a cornerstone for these efforts, John Ashton commented, but he stressed that the rest of the world also must join these efforts in order to make a real difference:

 

- There is a tough political process ahead. The nations of the Earth are far from united behind the targets or how we should get there, he said.

 

Janusz Reiter, Polish Ambassador for Climate, agreed with Mr. Ashton about the need to reduce CO2 emissions.

Janusz Reiter, Polish Ambassador for Climate, agreed with Mr. Ashton about the need to reduce CO2 emissions.

Janusz Reiter, Polish Ambassador for Climate, agreed with Mr. Ashton about the need to reduce CO2 emissions. He also stated that since all countries are not equally prepared for action, a treaty adopted in Copenhagen should be designed so that it allows for countries to use different roads towards the agreed targets.

 

- Poland’s power generation is based on coal, and we have large reserves of coal in our country. Yet we produce less CO2 per individual than other European countries. We have a brief history of economic development, and we see no reason for giving up our ambitions to increase consumption, he said.

 

Regardless of this, he stressed the importance of the EU target for 2020 and said that the Union has reasons to be proud of this jointly supported treaty. He also believed that new energy-efficient solutions would contribute to CO2 reductions in the years ahead.

 

Professor Michael Oppenheimer of the Princeton Environmental Institute, portrayed the United States as a nation that wavers between the Polish and EU positions, and where public debate is fixed on the same spot as twelve years ago. But there are also positive signs, he added:

 

Professor Michael Oppenheimer of the Princeton Environmental Institute

Professor Michael Oppenheimer of the Princeton Environmental Institute

- The new administration has signaled that they are taking the climate issue seriously. And the United States needs a program where emission levels are harmonized between states, if we are to reach the targets, he said.

 

Oppenheimer also added that U.S. policy makers will not be ready in time for the Copenhagen summit, but that congress will eventually arrive at new legislation.

 

- It will take some time, but I ask for your patience, as the U.S. is now headed in the right direction, said Michael Oppenheimer.

 

 

 

 

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June 11th 2009, 9:32 pm | No Comments

“The world should unite behind concerted efforts to manage CO2 emissions”

- The United States needed less than a decade to put a man on the moon. With a concerted effort, the development of the CCS technology could probably be accelerated,” said Jeffery D. Sachs, Professor of Sustainable Development at Columbia University in the United States.

Panel discussion with Jeffery D. Sachs, Professor of Sustainable Development at Columbia University, Vattenfall CEO Lars G Josefsson and Richardo Lagos, UN Special Envoy on Climate Change. Moderator Vijay Vaitheeswaran, Global correspondent The Economist

Panel discussion with Jeffery D. Sachs, Professor of Sustainable Development at Columbia University, Vattenfall CEO Lars G Josefsson and Richardo Lagos, UN Special Envoy on Climate Change. Moderator Vijay Vaitheeswaran, Global correspondent The Economist

Speaking at a panel at the Vattenfall Energy and Climate Conference in Stockholm, Professor Sachs underscored the importance of CCS, i.e., the emerging technology for separation and underground storage of carbon dioxide that is produced by combustion of fossil fuels.

- We need CCS in order to meet environmental targets, but we must find a way to move forward at a faster pace than the market demands. This requires political initiatives, he added.

Professor Sachs stated that while he is impressed by Vattenfall´s work for developing the technology to an industrial scale, the current target date for a full scale launch by 2020 lies too far ahead.

- If it takes until 2020, the technology will not be regularly used in countries such as China until five or ten years later. We cannot afford to wait that long, he said.

He also expressed his disappointment regarding the world’s largest users of coal:

Professor Jeffrey D. Sachs of Columbia University

Professor Jeffrey D. Sachs of Columbia University

- In 2001, President Bush said that he would invest in CCS development, but there is still not a single power plant in the U.S. where CCS is implemented. The same goes for China and India.

As the Copenhagen climate summit is now approaching, Professor Sachs hopes that this will result in agreements for using public funding to increase the pace of developing industrial-scale applications of the technology:

- International agreements on reduction of CO2 emissions by 2020 will amount to nothing if we don’t have access to CCS. Without this technology, such commitments will have no effect. But with CCS, we could see a whole different world in ten years time, said Jeffrey D. Sachs.

Professor Jeffrey D. Sachs of Columbia University and Vattenfall CEO Lars G Josefsson

Professor Jeffrey D. Sachs of Columbia University and Vattenfall CEO Lars G Josefsson

When questioned whether it is possible to develop CCS within a shorter time frame if larger resources are available, Vattenfall CEO Lars G Josefsson responded that he believes that the process could be speeded up to some extent, perhaps so that the technology becomes available by 2016.

- There are many steps in the process that must be completed, which means that this time frame is required. But we are very open for initiatives, such as public-private partnerships that helps accelerate development, said Lars G Josefsson.

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June 11th 2009, 2:40 pm | No Comments

Great challenges await UN climate summit

Jeffrey D. Sachs, Professor of Sustainable Development Columbia University, USA

Jeffrey D. Sachs, Professor of Sustainable Development Columbia University, USA

Countries of the world are facing great challenges and must be prepared for concessions, for the UN Climate Conference, held in Copenhagen in December, to be successful.

 

Economic growth puts huge demands on the world. With annual growth of four percent, the economy will double in 18 years. Professor Jeffrey D. Sachs of Columbia University observed a number of challenges from this development.

  

- At the time when Vattenfall was born, the Earth had a population of just over one billion. Today we are an additional five billion. We have inhabitated the planet with a multitude of needs, and now the earth is ’jammed with people’. This will cause a sense of hopelessness with people. We cannot go on living our lives the way we do today.

 

Professor Jeffrey D. Sachs of Columbia University

Professor Jeffrey D. Sachs of Columbia University

- While we cannot just stop this development, we have a world where a large share of the population are struggling to survive, and where water is in short supply in many places, and where not enough food is produced, said Professor Sachs.

 

According to his research, there are four great needs in the world that must be fulfilled. The first is a completely new energy system, based on fossil fuels and nuclear power, but without climate-threatening emissions. Further, poverty must be fought. The world also has to adjust to the climate changes that are inevitable, including the proliferation of deserts. He also called for a new code of ethics for economic and political life, where decisions are based on science and knowledge, with sustainability as the guiding principle.

 

 

Richardo Lagos, UN Special Envoy on Climate Change

Richardo Lagos, UN Special Envoy on Climate Change

Ricardo Lagos is UN Special Envoy on Climate Change. He talked about what he believes will be essential for the Copenhagen Climate Conference to be successful where the previous summit at Kyoto failed.

- We should no longer discuss who is the biggest culprit here. The climate issue is everyone’s issue. The United States will not resolve this alone, and the rest of the world will not do it without the U.S. We need to find a compromise, and the solution is that countries adopt voluntary goals that they pledge to accomplish.

 

He mentioned the by the EU for a 20 percent reduction in emissions by 2020, and the U.S. Congress vote to reduce emissions by 17 percent compared to 2005. But contributions from developing countries will also be required.

 

For instance, he called for a declaration from China to increase energy use by just 0.8 percent for each percent of GNP growth, and that Latin American countries will voluntarily set limits on deforestation, including the Amazon region.

 

- I believe that we will see a global paradigm shift, where the progress of a country is measured by its efforts to limit emissions, said Ricardo Lagos.

 

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June 11th 2009, 1:27 pm | No Comments

”Sweden has made progress, but it is not enough”

The stage is set for day 3 of Vattenfall Energy and Climate week. Theme of the day: "Responsibility to find solutions"

The stage is set for day 3 of Vattenfall Energy and Climate week. Theme of the day: "Responsibility to find solutions"

The world population grows rapidly, but the global use of energy increases at an even more rapid pace. Developing countries and industrial nations have an equal right to economic development. This affects the global climate. The rapid climate changes could produce extreme effects, even within our lifetime. To reduce emissions to a sustainable level, a stable, long term development model is required. And since we are all part of the problem, each one of us must also accept our share of responsibility to be a part of the solution.

 

 

King Carl XVI Gustaf opened the third and final day of the Vattenfall Energy and Climate Week, on the theme ”Responsibility to find solutions”.

King Carl XVI Gustaf opened the third and final day of the Vattenfall Energy and Climate Week

- The experience from Sweden shows that it is possible to counter the greenhouse effect, while allowing economic growth, King Carl XVI Gustaf said as he opened the third and final day of the Vattenfall Energy and Climate Week, on the theme ”Responsibility to find solutions”.

 

- It has already been said, and needs to be repeated, that the climate is one of the critical issues for the Earth that needs to be addressed. For this to be successful, we must all work together.

 

The King further remarked that climate change has become a key issue for a wide array of people, including business leaders, schoolchildren and scientists. He also mentioned his visit to the Lillgrund wind farm, which he inagurated last year.

 

- In Sweden, this and other initiatives have shown that it is possible to reduce greenhouse gases while maintaining economic growth. Sweden has done progress, but it is not enough.

 

- The environment presents a challenge to all of us. We must all work together, and we need dedication and leadership to be successful.

 

Lars G Josefsson, President and CEO Vattenfall AB

Lars G Josefsson, President and CEO Vattenfall AB

In his subsequent address, Vattenfall CEO Lars G Josefsson said:

 

- The world has arrived at crossroads, which sometimes means tough choices. Climate is the name of this crossroads. We can all do much to help, and that is why we are here today.

 

 

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June 10th 2009, 10:22 pm | No Comments

The Vattenfall Climate Week – Second Day Summary

Discussion about Energy for at Sustainable Society by the end of the second day.

Discussion about energy for at sustainable society by the end of the second day.

The world needs electricity, heating and cooling. It needs energy. But processing of energy sources always affects the environment in some way. Fossil fuels such as lignite, oil and natural gas still account for some 80 percent of the major energy supplies of the world. The role of nuclear power is still subject to debate. Power from renewable sources will not suffice in the short term.

 

Is it possible to supply energy to a sustainable society? Which energy sources, solutions and technology are acceptable and viable? And during what time frame can they be used? On the theme ”Energy for a sustainable society”, the second day of the Energy and Climate week featured speakers from SEB, Siemens, Skanska, Volvo, WWF and Vattenfall. 

 
Hans von Uthmann, Senior Executive Vice President Vattenfall AB and Head of Vattenfall Nordic

Hans von Uthmann, Senior Executive Vice President Vattenfall AB and Head of Vattenfall Nordic

The day was opened by Hans von Uthmann, Head of the Vattenfall Nordic Region. He set out by underlining the great importance of nuclear power for covering Sweden’s present energy needs. The Forsmark plant produces one out of every six kilowatt hours used in Sweden, he mentioned.

- Since our nuclear power plants were built, new findings and new technology has appeared, he said. Today they are being modernized to enhance security and efficiencies of the plants that are currently operational.

 

 

Tuomo Hatakka, Senior Executive Vice President Vattenfall AB and Head of Vattenfall Central Europe

Tuomo Hatakka, Senior Executive Vice President Vattenfall AB and Head of Vattenfall Central Europe

Tuomo Hatakka, Head of the Vattenfall Central Europe Business Group, highlighted the importance of modernization of the energy sector and of applying high-tech solutions.

 

- Coal is often viewed as part of the problem, while CO2 emissions is the true culprit here. Coal does have a future, but CO2 emissions do not. Using CCS technology, coal can become part of the future sustainable society.

 

 

 

Klas Eklund, Senior Economist SEB

Klas Eklund, Senior Economist SEB

Klas Eklund, Senior Economist with SEB, highlighted the financial aspects of the efforts to stop climate change. He argued for setting a price on emissions, preferably a global price, even though this will be difficult to achieve.

 

- To establish a price on emissions would mean that we corrected a flaw in the free market economy.

 

Arne Mogren, Head of Climate Policy Vattenfall AB

Arne Mogren, Head of Climate Policy Vattenfall AB

Arne Mogren, Vattenfall’s Head of Climate Policy, presented the long term vision of a society where CO2 emissions are limited to one Metric ton annually for each individual, which is required for stabilizing the atmospheric CO2 level at 450 parts per million. 

- There are solutions available, both financially and technologically, The main issue no longer deals with electric power, but of human power – if there is leadership and political determination.

 

Anna Borg, Head of Sales Vattenfall Nordic

Anna Borg, Head of Sales Vattenfall Nordic

Anna Borg, Head of Sales for Vattenfall Nordic, described several cases where Vattenfall helps business customers, including IKEA, Holmen, and Vargön, to achieve a more efficient energy usage.

 

- What a sustainable city is about is managing our energy requirements in a way that future generations will also be able to manage theirs.

 

 

 

 

Wolfgang Dehen, CEO Siemens Energy sector

Wolfgang Dehen, CEO Siemens Energy sector

Wolfgang Dehen, CEO of Siemens Energy sector,

shared Siemens’ experiences from a research study of Munich, showing how CO2 emissions can be eliminated in the city by 2058, through the more efficient use of energy and intelligent solutions for construction, transport and application of new technologies.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Noel Morrin, Senior Vice President Sustainability and Green Construction, Skanska

Noel Morrin, Senior Vice President Sustainability and Green Construction, Skanska

Noel Morrin, Senior Vice President Sustainability with Skanska, called for higher EU energy standards for buildings and housing:

 

- We are ready to build houses today that would cut energy consumption by half, while the EU only demands savings of 25 percent. We would like to see that the EU raises their standards, and that the same rules should apply in all EU countries.

outlined some of the challenges with electric cars during the Wednesday afternoon session at the Energy and Climate Week.

 
Stephen Odell, CEO of Volvo Cars

Stephen Odell, CEO of Volvo Cars

Stephen Odell, CEO of Volvo Cars, outlined some of the challenges with electric cars during the Wednesday afternoon session at the Energy and Climate Week.

- The main obstacle is to develop batteries that deliver sufficient capacity without being too heavy. Another challenge is to convince customers about the advantages of electric cars.

 

Oliver Weinmann, Head of Innovation Management Vattenfall Central Europe

Oliver Weinmann, Head of Innovation Management Vattenfall Central Europe

Oliver Weinmann, Head of Innovation Management with Vattenfall Germany, spoke about the electric car trial in Berlin this summer, which includes 50 MINIe cars operated in a partnership with BMW.

- The great promises with electric cars are reduced CO2 emissions and cleaner air, while we also become less dependent on imported oil. For the electric power industry, electric vehicles could be a major new business opportunity.

 

 

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June 10th 2009, 9:32 pm | No Comments

WWF: ”Vattenfall has potential to become a positive force for environment”

Lasse Gustavsson Secretary-General for the World Wildlife Foundation in Sweden

Lasse Gustavsson Secretary-General for the World Wildlife Foundation in Sweden

- The world economy is in crisis, but the economy will recover. However, there is also an ecological credit crunch which demands powerful action. This is where Vattenfall can be a positive force, provided that your intentions are really true, said Lasse Gustavsson Secretary-General for the World Wildlife Foundation in Sweden, in his address at the Vattenfall Energy and Climate Week.

Lasse Gustavsson mentioned that he initially hesitated to take part in the conference, but that he decided to do so.

- Today, Vattenfall is part of the climate problem, but the company has the chance to become part of the solution instead, he said.

He was critical towards the balance of Vattenfall’s investment portfolio, which he believes should contain a much larger share of renewable energy projects.

- There are solutions that are workable today. The city of Masdan in Abu Dhabi provides one such example, where 1,500 companies work together to create a city entirely based on renewable energy. In China there are also similar projects going on, said Lasse Gustavsson.

He called for an entirely new business model at Vattenfall.

- Owned by the Swedish government, Vattenfall has the resources needed for becoming a true driving force in the development of a sustainable society, and it should be able to do much more than today, Vattenfall should use this potential to phase out its coal and nuclear power operations as soon as possible, Lasse Gustavsson said.

Hans von Uthmann, Head of Vattenfall’s Nordic Business Group, responded to Lasse Gustavsson criticism

Hans von Uthmann, Head of Vattenfall’s Nordic Business Group, responded to Lasse Gustavsson criticism

In the following panel, Hans von Uthmann, Head of Vattenfall’s Nordic Business Group, responded to this criticism:

- We are a large company and we already make large investments to reduce CO2 emissions. But outside the Nordic region, with its access to hydroelectric power, there are fewer alternative sources available. This is why we make major efforts to develop CCS technology, where we separate carbon dioxide for underground storage. But we need to work across all fields and industries to address the energy and climate issues, including the use of wind power, biomass, CCS and nuclear power, said Hans von Uthmann.

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June 10th 2009, 9:29 pm | No Comments

Sustainable cities with zero emissions are already possible

Det finns teknik för att minska energikonsumtion och koldioxidutsläpp markant, till och med till noll, i världens städer.

Noel Morrin, Senior Vice President Sustainability and Green Construction with Skanska, called for higher EU energy standards for buildings and housing.

There is technology available today that would radically reduce energy consumption and CO2 emissions in the world’s urban areas, and even to eliminate emissions. But this requires political determination and courage. This is one of the conclusions from the seminars Wednesday afternoon at Vattenfall´s Energy and Climate Week.

 

Today half of the world’s population lives in cities, which account for 75 percent of energy consumption. To address this trend is a key challenge for civil society and for the business community.

 

Anna Borg, Head of Sales Vattenfall Nordic

Anna Borg, Head of Sales Vattenfall Nordic

Anna Borg, Head of Sales for Vattenfall Nordic, opened the afternoon session by describing several partnerships where Vattenfall helps customers to achieve a more efficient energy usage. IKEA, Holmen, and Vargön just a few examples of businesses where Vattenfall makes a difference.

 

- What a sustainable city is about is managing our energy requirements in a way that future generations will also be able to manage theirs, said Anna Borg. 

 

 

Wolfgang Dehen, CEO Siemens Energy sector

Wolfgang Dehen, CEO Siemens Energy sector

Wolfgang Dehen, CEO of Siemens Energy sector, began by describing that Siemens has solutions available today for building sustainable cities. In a research study of Munich, Siemens has shown how the city could achieve zero CO2 emissions by 2058, through a more efficient use of energy and intelligent solutions for construction, transport and application of new technologies, e.g. engines for manufacturing.

 

Noel Morrin, Senior Vice President Sustainability and Green Construction, Skanska

Noel Morrin, Senior Vice President Sustainability and Green Construction, Skanska

Noel Morrin, Senior Vice President Sustainability and Green Construction with Skanska, called for higher EU energy standards for buildings and housing.

- We are ready to build houses today that would cut energy consumption by half, while the EU only demands savings of 25 percent. We would like to see that the EU raises their standards, and that the same rules should apply in all EU countries, he said.

Morrin added that the greatest challenge lies in upgrading existing buildings.

- At the current pace, it will take a century to renew and replace all energy-hungry buildings of today. The climate cannot wait that long.

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June 10th 2009, 9:26 pm | No Comments

”Set a price on emissions to stop climate changes”

Klas Eklund, Senior Economist SEB

Klas Eklund, Senior Economist SEB

During the second day of The Vattenfall International Energy and Climate Week in Stockholm Klas Eklund, Senior Economist with SEB, highlighted the financial aspects of the efforts to stop climate changes.He argued for setting a price on emissions, preferably a global price, even though this will be difficult to achieve.

- To establish a price in emissions would mean that we corrected a flaw in the free market-economy, he said.

- The cost to use fossil fuel should be increased to enable a higher development pace of new technology and to change people’s behaviour.

 

He also noted that such solutions must not be organised for each country, but in an international context. For nations that already have implemented advanced solutions, it may prove more cost effective to help other countries to reduce emissions, rather than making further progress at home.

 

Klas Eklund is interviewed in a two minutes long video where he argues that social economical efforts are necessary to prevail climate change.

 

 

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June 10th 2009, 3:20 pm | No Comments

“Possible to reach CO2 emission target of one Metric ton per year and individual”

 
Arne Mogren, Head of Climate Policy Vattenfall AB

Arne Mogren, Head of Climate Policy Vattenfall AB

- There is technology as well as financial solutions available for reducing carbon dioxide emissions. What we need now is leadership and political resolve, says Arne Mogren, Vattenfall’s Head of Climate Policy.

Arne Mogren presented the long term vision of a society where CO2 emissions are limited to one Metric ton annually for each individual, adding that this is required for stabilizing the atmospheric CO2 level at 450 parts per million. Today, average emissions are 7 tons per year and person, but this figure varies greatly between regions: from more than 20 tons in the United States to just 1-2 tons in India.

 

Arne Mogren, Vattenfall Head of Climate Policy, Klas Eklund, Senior Economist SEB and Hans von Uthmann, Vattenfall Nordic, discuss key solutions to make clean electricity for a sustainable society.

Arne Mogren, Head of Climate Policy Vattenfall , Klas Eklund, Senior Economist SEB and Hans von Uthmann, Head of Vattenfall Nordic, discussed key solutions to make clean electricity for a sustainable society.

He showed that it is possible to reach this goal. There are solutions available, both financially and technologically, the main issue no longer deals with electric power, but of human power – if there is leadership and political determination.

 

- It will be necessary to develop “carbon sinks” technology for extracting CO2 from the air for underground storage, he said. This is possible by mixing biofuel with coal in plants using CCS technology. Through this process, more carbon dioxide is separated than is used up by fossil fuels.

 

Arne Mogren’s presentation was partly based on the book A one tonne future – a guide to the low-carbon century, which was recently published by Vattenfall.

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