Conference Notice

On June 5, the Norwegian Embassy in Washington, D.C. and National Geographic Society host a conference to celebrate World Environment Day. The conference will discuss political and technological solutions to global warming. Open to the public. The conference is co-sponsored by the Environmental and Energy Study Institute (EESI) and will discuss political and technological solutions to global warming.

National Geographic Headquarters
Grosvenor Auditorium
17th and M Streets NW, Washington, D.C. 2003

Time: 1.00 p.m. - 6.00pm, Followed by a reception

The Conference is open to the public, but registration is requested at rsvp.emb.washington@mfa.no

Program:

1.00 p.m.: Opening:   

• Terry D. Garcia, Executive Vice President, National Geographic Society
• H.E. Knut Vollebaek, Ambassador of Norway
• Video greetings from speakers at remote locations incl transmission  from the opening of
  the World Environment Day in Tromsø
• Bill Mansfield, Senior Advisor to the Executive Director, UNEP:
  Visual evidence of Global Climate and Eco System Change

Ice Bear - NG film screening (ed. vers.) with presentations 

• Liv Arnesen, Polar Explorer: Exploring the impacts on the Arctic environment
• Will Steger, Polar Explorer: Report from his latest expedition, Global Warming 101

Panel 1. Melting Ice – A Hot Political Topic? 

Moderator:  Juliet Eilperin, Washington Post Staff Writer (confirmed)

• Panel speakers to be confirmed
• Dennis Dimick, Executive Editor National Geographic Magazine: "The Big Thaw - Ice on the Run, Seas on the Rise".
• Erik Assadourian, World Watch Institute: "Moving beyond the consumer society"

Panel 2. Reducing Emissions - What Are the Options?  

Moderator: David F. Hales, President of the College of the Atlantic

• Bill Wehrum, Acting Assistant Administrator for Air and Radiation, EPA
• Lasse Nord, Norwegian Commission on Low Emissions: "How Norway can reduce its emissions by 50-80% by 2050"
• Silje Schei Tveitdal, Political Advisor on Energy and Environment; Norwegian Parliament: "From oil economy to renewable energies"

Carbon capture and storage:

• Introduction: William Christensen, Norwegian Ministry of Energy
• Svend Soeyland, Bellona: "CO2 sequestration - bridging technology towards a renewable future".
• Arve Thorvik, Vice President, EU Affairs, STATOIL: "Carbon Capture and Storage. Industrial solutions in the making"

Panel 3. Technological Solutions

Moderator: Dr. Joseph Romm, Center for Energy and Climate Solutions: The Low Carbon Car of the Future

• Alden Meyer, Director of Strategy Policy, Union of Concerned Scientists: "Technological solutions to global warming"
• Scott Sklar, President, Stella Group: Market Trends for Renewable distributed Generation and Smart Grids
• Peter Repinski, UNEP: Energy efficiency: Green buildings

Closing remarks representative from Sierra Club

Followed by reception offered by the Royal Norwegian Embassy (at National Geographic Society)