North American Sustainability - Panel Discussion on Opportunities and Barriers for Energy Sustainability

When

One day session on August 24, 2009, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
Topic One : Technology and its Metrics for a Sustainable Energy Production and Use
Topic Two : Public Policy and Education for a Sustainable Energy Production and Use

Context

North America represents the world’s largest free trade area providing many benefits to its population. Over the next few decades its economy is expected to continue to grow, as is its population which is expected to increase by approximately 100 million by 2030. This increase in wealth and population will result in significant pressures on resources including food, water and energy with strong implications on sustainability of the region which will, and have, resulted in increasingly tighter environmental policies.

In recognition of these facts, as well as the rapidly increasing cost of energy, the three North American chemical engineering societies; American Institute of Chemical Engineers, Instituto Mexican de Ingenieros Quimicos, and the Canadian Society for Chemical Engineering have organized a panel discussion on North American sustainability issues with the primary focus on energy. Energy use in the chemical industry is one of the primary drivers in the long-term economic viability of the industry. The adaptation and evolution of the chemical industry to the new situation will require a greater understanding of the technical, economic, legal, social and environmental considerations. A series of speakers form the three countries will address the following topics.

Panel Discussion Topics

Best practices in technology implementation and identification of major technology, policy, and legal gaps needed to be addressed for energy sustainability improvement in the North American chemical industry.  Energy sustainability issues will relate to the themes for the World Congress in :

green processing and manufacturing

new materials for new fuels and greater energy efficient production

new technologies (CCS, fuel cells, etc.)

bioenergy and other renewable energy

public policy

education curriculum

traditional chemical enterprise of separation processes, mixing, rheology polymers, etc.

Types of issues to explore :

  • Are Carbon emissions the major challenge for technologies to address, or are there other issues such as water issues, Criteria Air Contaminants, public perception ?

  • What existing technologies are not being implemented and why ? What segments of the innovation chain; from fundamental research, development, technology demonstration, to regulations and public acceptance, need to be addressed better ?

  • How are we measuring the improvements we make in energy sustainability ? Are benchmarks available and are they being used ? What types of life cycle analyses and sustainability indicators need to be developed ?

  • What are the barriers and incentives to sustainability inherent in current regulatory policies and discuss the design of regulations that would incentivize and help foster sustainability throughout the chemical enterprise in North America.

Organizers

Milena Sejnoha
Natural Resources Canada (Canada)
msejnoha@nrcan.gc.ca

Darlene Schuster
Institute for Sustainability (USA)
darls@aiche.org

Enrique Aguilar
Instituto Mexicano de Ingenieros Quimicos (Mexico)
eaguilar@imp.mx

Members of the Scientific Committee

Henry T. Kohlbrand, The Dow Chemical Company, USA
Alan D. Hecht, US EPA, USA
David R. Shonnard, Michigan Technological University, USA
Enrique Aguilar Rodriguez, Mexican Petroleum Institute, Mexico
Pablo Longoria Trevino, Universidad Genesis, Monterrey, Mexico
Victor Manuel Lopez Lopez, National Polytechnic Institute, Mexico
Terry McIntyre, Environment Canada, Canada
Murray Gray, University of Alberta, Canada
David B. Layzell FRSC, Institute for Sustainable Energy, Environment and Economy (ISEEE), Canada