Take a Week to Change Tomorrow
by Christine Lepisto, Berlin on 01.27.08
With the slogan, "Take a week to change tomorrow", the EU brings back sustainable energy week, 28 Jan - 1 Feb 2008, for the second year. The event places an exclamation point on the announcement of the proposed directive, published on Wednesday 23 January 2008, detailing how Europe will use renewable energies to meet the goals of the unilaterally aggressive EU Energy Plan. The proposed directive already provokes controversy by establishing ambitious renewable energy targets unequally between the EU states, potentially penalizing those countries which have made a head start towards sustainable energy efficiency. Certainly recent controversial reports regarding the risks of biofuels in energy policy will also be a topic of discussions.
The Strategic Energy Technology Plan will be featured in the weeks discussions and presentations. Topics range from panel debate on optimal ways to achieve sustainable home heating to a presenting a new culture for urban mobility. José Manuel Barroso himself will chair the topic "Intelligent Energy Future - Making our Lifestyles More Sustainable", hosting big names like Richard Branson and IPCC Chair Rajendra Pachauri to examine how to leverage drivers and strategies to achieve smart change.
Looking for something less likely to cause grey-matter warming? Simply take in a movie like "An Inconvenient Truth" (for anyone who hasn't seen it yet) or "The Gulf Stream and the Next Ice Age". Or check out the award winners in the Sustainable Energy Europe competition.
If you can't make it to Belgium, there are also events taking place in Austria, France, Germany, Italy, Lithuania, Montenegro and Spain. See the EU Sustainable Energy Week Program for more details. Attendance is free of cost, but pre-registration is required.
Via EC-DG Energy and Transport
For the hardcore: see the full proposed EU Directive as pdf
