At the request of the ICSU membership, an ad hoc Working Group was convened
to evaluate the potential roles for ICSU in advancing research and development
related to the challenges of providing clean, sustainable energy sources
to the world’s growing population. The Working Group held two meetings
(Tokyo, December 2003; Paris, April 2004), during which time they developed
a brief report containing recommendations for future ICSU action.
The Working Group affirmed that ICSU does have an important role to play
in addressing this issue, but it is necessary to carefully define the
most effective ‘niches’ for ICSU, in light of the numerous
existing international organizations that address energy R&D issues.
ICSU should focus on efforts aimed at removing barriers among different
disciplines involved in energy R&D, removing barriers to wider use
of existing energy technologies, and building international networks among
existing national-level energy R&D programmes. Some specific activity
topics that were recommended as examples include:
End-use energy R&D: exploring efficiency improvements with a
focus on energy services
An international scientific dialogue on the concerns of nuclear power
generation
Facilitating technology adoption and diffusion in developing countries
Advancing techniques for production of alternative transportation
fuels from cellulosic materials
Building global networks to advance technologies for C capture and
storage, H2 storage, and renewable H2 sources
It was further recommended that ICSU will need to work with its National
Members to reach appropriate experts and stakeholders in countries around
the world, and will need to expand it’s circle of expertise in the
social sciences and engineering fields, in order to address the full range
of critical issues related to energy R&D. The full report, contains
a detailed description of the activities listed above.
Sustainable
Development
