The Institute Helps Establish New U.S.-China Green Energy Council
Several directors of The 1990 Institute have been instrumental in collaborating to create the U.S.-China Green Energy Council, which launched in San Francisco with a successful conference held on April 18, 2008 entitled "U.S.-China Clean Energy Conference: Fueling a Clean Energy Future."
Both the U.S. and China face daunting challenges in the areas of national security, long term economic competitiveness, and global warming. Energy is a vital component of all three, making it arguably the most important problem that we must solve in the coming decades. While there are no magic bullets, the answer clearly lies in increasing energy efficiency in the short term and developing sustainable, carbon-neutral energy sources over the longer term.
This conference was the first to bring together leading clean energy specialists from business, government, and academia from both the U.S. and China. The San Francisco Bay Area, Beijing, and Shanghai are rapidly becoming the global centers for clean energy technology promotion, development, and investment, and there are enormous gains to be achieved through enhanced collaboration between the regions. This conference, and a larger conference to be held in Beijing in November 2008, represent the beginning of an effort to encourage long-term collaboration between clean energy policymakers, researchers, businesspeople, and investors in the two countries.
Among the urgent questions to be addressed:
Both the U.S. and China face daunting challenges in the areas of national security, long term economic competitiveness, and global warming. Energy is a vital component of all three, making it arguably the most important problem that we must solve in the coming decades. While there are no magic bullets, the answer clearly lies in increasing energy efficiency in the short term and developing sustainable, carbon-neutral energy sources over the longer term.
This conference was the first to bring together leading clean energy specialists from business, government, and academia from both the U.S. and China. The San Francisco Bay Area, Beijing, and Shanghai are rapidly becoming the global centers for clean energy technology promotion, development, and investment, and there are enormous gains to be achieved through enhanced collaboration between the regions. This conference, and a larger conference to be held in Beijing in November 2008, represent the beginning of an effort to encourage long-term collaboration between clean energy policymakers, researchers, businesspeople, and investors in the two countries.
Among the urgent questions to be addressed:
- What are the dimensions of the energy challenge?
- What has been achieved to date in research, applications, investment, and policy?
- What are the most vexing issues yet to be addressed?
- What technical developments and business models are needed to foster improved energy efficiency and the adoption of renewable energy sources?
- What can we expect to see over the next five to ten years?
- How are Bay Area and Chinese firms and individuals working together to create a clean energy future? How can we do better?
- What cooperation between government policy organizations in the U.S. and China can best promote energy efficiency and renewable energy? How can such cooperation promote closer ties between the two countries?
April 18, 2008 Speakers
Keynote Speakers:
Zhao Zhongxian, Vice Chairman, CAST (Chinese Association for Science and Technology), Chairman of the Chinese Academy of Science Advisory Committee
Thomas Rooney, Managing Partner RCI; former CEO, Insituform Technologies (INSU)
Panelists:
Zhou Dadi, founding director, Beijing Energy Efficiency Center (BECon); Director, China Energy Research Institute, PRC
Ren Dongming, Deputy Director, Center of Renewable Development, Energy Research Institute, PRC
Gary D. Conley, CEO, SolFocus, Inc.
Dian Grueneich, Commissioner, California Public Utility Commission
Neal Gutterson, President and CEO, Mendel Biotechnology
Regis B. Kelly, Director, California Institute for Quantitative Biosciences (QB3), University of California
Robert Larson, Co-founder and Managing Director, Woodside Fund
Mark Levine, Group Leader, China Energy Group, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (moderator)
William Morrow, President and Chief Executive Officer, Pacific Gas and Electric Company
Matt Rogers, Director, McKinsey & Company
Scott Sandell, General Partner, New Enterprise Associates
Paul Willems, Vice President, BP (moderator)
Carolina Y.C. Woo, Owner, CW Group
About the U.S.-China Green Energy Council:
The U.S.-China Green Energy Council was founded in 2008 to provide business, educational, scientific, and technical support for enhanced energy efficiency and the development of renewable energy sources in the United States and China. The Council works to build partnerships, enhance communication between the public and private sectors, and gather and organize scientific information and research, and provide public education and training through business seminars, lectures, workshops, conferences, publications, and other media.
Co-founding Organizations
Asia Society Northern California
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
Berkeley China Initiative
Berkeley Chinese Alumni International Association
The 1990 Institute
Bay Area Council
Bay Area Science Innovation Consortium (BASIC)
University of California Office of the President 10+10 Program
San Jose State University
Chinese Association of Science and Technology
Energy Research Institute
