Forum'10 "Smart Energy Usage for a Sustainable Society"

Interactive Discussion 1: Industry Users Behavior

In this 21st century an industrial revolution is sweeping through the emerging economies of the developing world. In China alone total energy use doubled between 1990 and 2006, and is expected to double again by 2025.

In parallel the entire world faces the challenge of reducing CO2 equivalent gas emissions in order to combat the threat of climate change.

The need to conserve energy has arguably never been so great.

Topics to be discussed

• This session will look at the possible role industry can play in responding to key emerging trends, such as electrification and decarbonisation through optimising the efficient and productive use of energy in the short, medium and longer term.
• Will there be incentives for industry to accelerate change to their installed infrastructure, and if so will it be up to individual member states to provide these? Or will there be a return to the command & control EU regulatory approach with targets, minimum performance standards and arbitrary timetables? Does industry have a preference?
• When should leadership come from industry via voluntary sectoral initiatives and when from government mandated measures. Who goes first?
• Every sector will have its leaders and its laggards, its multinational giants and its SME’s – how might we ensure the maximum effective participation in “smart” energy use?
• The Construction and Transport sectors can contribute substantially to reducing energy wastage – is there sufficient predictability in the regulatory environment to facilitate the mainstreaming of best practice in the medium term? Is more action needed to accelerate change?
• If it’s unlikely however that upgrades to manufacturing plants and their infrastructure will be enough on their own, how can industry contribute to a more radical systems rethink of more sustainable consumption patterns? Or is that for someone else