Green Week 2009 is structured on four themes:
- EU climate policies,
- The international dimension,
- Living with climate change and,
- 2050 Vision: a carbon-free society.
There will be eight sessions on each theme. The sessions are numbered by theme. During the conference all sessions will be streamed live on this site.
Green Week 2009 will also include a series of side events and side sessions. Please read Green Week's programme carefully.
The conference programme shown on the following pages is updated regularly as invited speakers confirm their participation.
Green Week is organised by the Directorate-General Environment of the European Commission which is EMAS-registered and works at improving the environmental impacts of all its activities.
Fighting climate change through better use of our resources : Today EU climate policies
This double session will explore how sustainable management of material resources can help reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The focus will be on policies addressing use of natural resources, product design, consumption, waste and recycling. Specific discussion points will include impacts of waste management, such as approaches to waste disposal, composting, re-use and recycling. Links between our consumption patterns and waste reduction, as well as our overall efficiency in using resources, will also be considered.
This first part looks at policies and actions that are running today or that could be easily implemented today.
Sessions 1.5. and 1.6. will comprise presentations by leading experts followed by a lively open debate with the audience.
Speakers:
Prof Robert Ayres, INSEAD
Matthew Quinn, Director, Welsh Ministry for Environment, Sustainability and Housing
Oliver Wolf, Joint Research Centre (JRC)
Moderated by: Cathy Smith, Television Journalist
Fighting climate change through better use of our resources (2): Tomorrow
EU climate policies
11:30 - 13:00
This session follows on from session 1.5. and will further explore how sustainable management of material resources can help reduce greenhouse gas emissions. A variety of policy perspectives will be considered that could be implemented in the near future.
The session will focus on:
- The crystal ball: What are short, medium and long-term predictions?
- Low hanging fruit: Where are the biggest impacts?
- Make change: How should policies be improved to bring about change?
Speakers:
Jérôme le Conte,
Directeur General, Veolia Propreté France and President of Veolia Propreté Benelux and Switzerland
Dr Joachim H. Spangenberg,
Vice Chair, Sustainable Europe Research Institute, Germany
Moderator and speaker: Ray Hammond, Author and Futurologist
2050 Vision: Transport and spatial planning in a decarbonised world
By 2050, it is projected that 70% of the world's population will live in cities. Urban transport and spatial planning could be revolutionised by decarbonisation, with radical public and private consequences. While many past predictions have foreseen "groundbreaking" technologies, they have often failed to anticipate the considerable improvement of existing technology that has actually occurred.
This session will look at what decarbonisation could mean for transport and spatial planning, exploring different visions of the future and how they will interact with our transport needs. (Sessions 4.5. & 4.6.)
Speakers:
Prof Dr Bert van Wee,
Delft University of Technology
Prof Alan McKinnon,
Director, Logistics Research Centre, UK
Prof Hermann Knoflacher,
Technical University of Vienna
Prof John Adams,
University College London
Prof Herbert Girardet,
Director of Programmes
Moderated by: Fred Pearce, Journalist, New Scientist
Transport initiatives and their GHG savings : EU climate policies
14:30 - 16:00
Transport is the EU's second largest greenhouse gas emitting sector and, unlike most other key sectors, its emissions continue to increase.
This session looks at some existing or planned initiatives in different Member States that can play a role in reducing transport's greenhouse gas emissions. They involve economic instruments, behavioural changes and the introduction of new technology.
Speakers:
Martin Lowson,
Deputy Chairman, Advanced Transport Systems Ltd, NESTA
Robert Thaler,
Head of Division Transport, Mobility, Settlements and Noise, Austrian Federal Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry, Environment and Water Management
Prof Dr Werner Rothengatter,
Head of the Institute of Economic Policy Research and the Unit of Transport and Communication, University of Karlsruhe
Moderated by:
Anya Sitaram,
Executive Producer of Rockhopper TV and former Presenter at BBC World News
