Organizing Group. The IAC Co-Chairs subsequently appointed a small Organizing Group, consisting of Drs. Jose Goldemberg (Chair), Shem Arungu Olende, Li Jinghai, Rob Socolow, Nebosja Nakicenovic, Mohamed El-Ashry, Rajendra Pachauri, and Michael Phelps. This Organizing met in Amsterdam on 25-26 April 2005 and produced a report to the IAC Co-Chairs regarding the following aspects of the proposed study:
Commissioned Papers. The Organizing Group advised the IAC to commission a total of 19 papers on various topics considered important for the study, as intellectual start capital for the Study Panel. This advice has been carried out; 16 papers have been received and used as background/discussion material in workshops.
Study Panel. Taking into consideration nominations from science and engineering academies and advice from the Organizing Group, and following official IAC Study Panel selection and appointment procedures, the IAC Board formally approved in September 2005 a slate of candidates. Fifteen persons were subsequently appointed to the Study Panel:
Two Study Panel Co-Chairs:
Thirteen Study Panel Members:
The work of the Study Panel is assisted by Jos van Renswoude, IAC Director of Studies, in the capacity of Study Director; and Dilip Ahuja, Professor, Indian National Institute of Advanced Studies, as Special Advisor to the Study Panel.
IAC Energy Workshops. Two workshops were held in 2005: one in Durban, South Africa, at the end of October 2005, and one in Beijing, China, in mid-November 2005. In early January 2006, a workshop was held in Berkeley, California, hosted by Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory.
The Durban Workshop, held as a satellite event to the World Conference on Physics and Sustainable Development, focused on energy challenges and controversies on the African continent. It had thematic emphases on the use of renewable energy sources (biomass, solar and wind energy); on distributed, decentralized energy supply; as well as, on leapfrogging potential. The Workshop was chaired by Study Panel Co-Chair Jose Goldemberg.
The Beijing Workshop, hosted by the Chinese Academy of Sciences, was dedicated to aspects of the energy situation in China and thematically focused on energy efficiency (especially in building construction) and the application of clean technologies to the use of fossil energy sources (clean coal technology, enhanced oil recovery and carbon capture, use of gas hydrates). The Workshop was chaired by Study Panel Co-Chair Steven Chu.
The Berkeley Workshop was thematically dedicated to energy-related, cutting-edge science and technology. Topics included sustainable energy technologies and energy efficiency, potential hybridizing technologies, new plant and microbial approaches, energy transformation for transport and storage, and third and fourth generation fission nuclear energy. The participation of U.S. scientists brought attention to the U.S. energy situation. The Workshop identified new productive avenues of research that could have a strong impact on future local and global energy use. The Workshop was chaired by Study Panel Co-Chair Steven Chu.
Additional workshops are tentatively planned in Rio de Janeiro (end of March 2006), New Delhi (first half of April 2006), Paris (late spring/early summer 2006), London (late spring/early summer 2006), and the Asia-Pacific region (late spring/early summer 2006). Each of these workshops will address regional energy issues, as well as global energy issues thought especially relevant for a given region.
First Study Panel Meeting. The first meeting of the full Study Panel is scheduled to take place on 31 January -- 2 February 2006 in Amsterdam, coinciding with the 2006 Annual IAC Board Meeting. This first Study Panel meeting will be of crucial importance for the Energy Study, as it will result in:
Input to this Study Panel meeting will consist of (a) the preparatory work done by the Organizing Group; (b) 16 commissioned papers on various energy issues; (c) the results of three workshops already held; and (d) the contents of a recently constructed, extensive database of existing reports, papers, and policy documents on energy and energy-related topics.
Study Timeline 2006--2007. Following at least two additional Study Panel meetings and related workshops in 2006, it is anticipated that a final report of the Study Panel will undergo a formal review process in late 2006 and be ready for publication by the IAC Board in early 2007.
Funding. Financial contributions for this study have been gratefully received from the Chinese Academy of Sciences, the Government of Brazil, the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, the United Nations Foundation, and the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft.