New Zealand Host International Energy Conference

New Zealand to Host International Energy Conference

Wellington will play host to some of the world’s leading energy economists at the annual conference of the International Association of Energy Economists (IAEE) between 18 – 21 February.

The conference – ‘From Restructuring to Sustainability: Energy Policies for the 21st Century’ will be the 30th gathering of the IAEE. Principal sponsors include Contact Energy, Transpower and BP, with the conference being hosted by Victoria University of Wellington’s School of Economics and Finance at the University’s Pipitea campus.

The conference is also sponsored by the Ministry for Economic Development, the Treasury, EECA, the Electricity Commission, the Gas Industry Company, and the Commerce Commission.

The IAEE is an independent, non-profit organisation for business, government, academic and other professionals concerned with energy in the international community. The association has 3,000 members in over 70 nations, with 30 nations having local affiliate organisations. Host cities for past conferences have included Berlin, Washington, Mexico City, Prague, Denver, and Taipei.

Conference Chair, Dr Geoff Bertram, said the conference was a rare opportunity for New Zealand to hear international experts debating global energy issues at precisely the time when the country was reviewing its own energy policies.

“At a time when we are grappling with issues of sustainability and climate change, facilitating major investment in new renewables, the role of transmission, the prospect of peak oil and the operation of the electricity market, this conference brings international experts to Wellington to discuss precisely these issues,” he said.

Dr Bertram said the conference was an opportunity for New Zealand’s energy sector, policy makers and officials, regulators, and the news media to learn about the latest developments in international energy markets.

The conference agenda features international experts including Professors Frank Wolak and James Sweeney of Stanford University; the Chief Economists of BP International (Dr Peter Davies) and Royal Dutch Shell (Dr Steven Fries); the Vice-Chair of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (Professor Mohan Munasinghe); the Gas and Energy Director of Petrobras Brazil (Dr Ildo Sauer); global LNG authority James T. Jensen; EU. Pacific Delegation head Dr Roberto Ridolfi; Columbia University Professor David Nissen, and a long list of other leading analysts and policy makers from Australia, New Zealand and around the world.

The full agenda can be viewed at the conference website at http://www.vuw.ac.nz/iaee07. Registrations to attend the conference are still open and people wishing to attend some or all of the sessions can register through the site.

ENDS

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