Meeting the Challenge of Increased Energy Demand: Opportunities for a “Clean” Energy Matrix?
Friday, April 11, 2014
Session Description
Realities of climate change make the transition from fossil fuels to renewable energy a shared imperative. Increased demand from emerging economies and conflicts surrounding energy generation projects only increase the complexity. Meeting energy demand while maintaining global warming under a two degree limit will require a fresh approach to solving technical, social, and political hurdles. What have we learned about different drivers for transforming the energy matrix? Do advances in Latin America and other regions offer models for building sustainable energy capacity while reducing inequality? Engage in a lively discussion of fresh experiences that may point the way toward a more sustainable energy future.
Time & Location
Time:
13:15 - 14:30, Friday, April 11, 2014
BST
Location:
SBS, Edmond Safra Lecture Theatre
Speakers
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Speaker
Executive director, Chile Sustentable
Sara Larrain is Executive Director of the Sustainable Chile Program, a member of the Interamerican Network for Water and Life Defense, and a board member of the Internacional Forum on Globalization. Past roles include teaching at the Universidad Católica de Chile; co-founder of the Ecological Action Nacional Network; coordinator of the energy/atmosphere campaign of Greenpeace Latin America and the Energy Program of the Sustainable South Cone Program. She has participated in the design of public policies for the National Program for Energy Efficiency; the design and approval of a law establishing a quota of 10% of new renewable energies for 2024; the creation of the Environmental Ministry; Environmental Tribunals; the closure and restoration of mining sites and a law increasing to 20% in 2025 the mandatory quota of renewable energies. Today her team is working to guarantee the human right to water and the protection of glaciers in the Andes Mountains threatened by mining expansion.
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Speaker
Tasso Azevedo is a forester and social entrepreneur on forests, climate and sustainability. Tasso is the general coordinator of MapBiomas (land cover and land use change monitoring initiative) and Chair of the Board Conection Forest People initiative. Tasso was founder and general director of IMAFLORA and General Director of the Brazilian Forest Service. He is a visiting scholar of Brazil Lab at Princeton University, an Ashoka Senior Fellow (2021) and Skoll Award Fellow (2022) and board member of Rainforest Alliance, Preferred by Nature and Santander.
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Moderator
Chairman of the Board, Fundación Avina
Sean McKaughan has over 20 years of experience in the field of sustainable development. He is Chairman of the Board of Fundación Avina, a Latin American philanthropic foundation contributing to sustainability in 18 countries of the region.
Prior to his current role as Chairman, Mr. McKaughan led Avina’s executive team for seven years as CEO. During his tenure at Avina, Mr. McKaughan has been an advocate for inclusive business, the Amazon, social innovation networks, and the promotion of sustainability in Latin America and throughout the world.
Mr. McKaughan holds master’s degrees in Urban Planning and Latin American Studies from the University of Texas at Austin. He and his family have lived in Rio de Janeiro since 2001.
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Speaker
Managing Director, Capricorn Investment Group
Dipender Saluja is Managing Partner of the Technology Impact Fund, Capricorn Investment Grp, an investment firm founded to demonstrate that it is possible to invest profitably while driving sustainable positive change. TIF is an early investor in iconic companies like Tesla, Redwood Materials, Planet, SpaceX, FORM & Helion. Prior to CIG, Dipender was Chief of Staff at Cadence, a global leader in electronic design, where he built & managed businesses that worked closely with electronics companies around the world. Prior to that he was at Data General (EMC), Honeywell, ROLM (IBM), & GFERC. He’s an electrical engineer by training & attended UND, Univ of Minnesota & Stanford. Dipender serves on the boards of AST, Electric Hydrogen, Halio, Joby (NYSE:JOBY), Navitas (NDAQ:NVTS), QuantumScape (NYSE:QS), Saildrone, SPAN & Summit Nanotech, International Solar Alliance, IonE, the Cyclotron Road Leadership Council, PRIME IAC, & commissioner of the Global Commission to End Energy Poverty (GCEEP).
