Professional Groups
Out of the Energy Labyrinth
David Howell and Carole Nakhle
18:00 for 18:30, Tuesday 29 January 2008
Institute of Physics, 76 Portland Place, London W1B 1NT
Presentation given by Carole Nakhle
The Rt. Hon. Lord Howell of Guildford is currently Deputy Leader of the Conservative Party in the Lords and Chief Opposition Spokesman in the House of Lords on Foreign Affairs. Dr Nakhle is an energy analyst specialising in world oil and gas market developments, energy policy and security and international petroleum fiscal regimes. Lord Howell and Dr Nakhle are joint authors of a recently published book "Out of the Energy Labyrinth" upon which their talk will be based.
Lecture Synopsis:
Carbon emissions are rising world-wide and will continue to rise as the developing world grows and demands more, much more, energy. Policy shifts and hope-filled targets, whether under Kyoto One or Kyoto Two, are not going to halt this trend. These 'ambitious' targets will certainly be missed.
Instead of political posturing and pious exhortations we need:
First: adaptation. This is now urgent, all round the globe, including here on this island, to cope with on-coming climate disasters, such as most recently in Bangladesh, which are now completely inevitable.
Second: practical and effective measures, starting now, to transform energy use, hugely increase energy efficiency, commercialise alternatives to oil, clean up coal burning and mobilize the general wish, as much in China and India as in the West, to halt and reverse air, water and environmental pollution. These are the only ways global warming is going to be checked.
It is time for more frankness and more honesty in the climate and energy debates. Without it both goals – energy security and climate security – will be lost.
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Dr Beth Taylor (Director of Communication, Institute of Physics) introduced the speakers. |
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