9th Annual ASPO conference

We welcome five policy experts in the respective fields of Energy Policy, Agriculture, Finance, and Material availability to speak at the ASPO 9 Conference.

- Jeff Rubin, former chief economist of CIBC World Markets and author of the book,Why Your World Is About To Get a Whole Lot Smaller, will talk about the effects of triple digit oil prices on the economy, a topic that could not be more timely now we have again reached the 100 dollar per barrel threshold. Already in January 2010 Jeff Rubin predicted the situation we are in now, adding that oil prices could be very well going up to 160 dollar per barrels in 2011 to 2012. 

- Philippe Lamberts, EU Parliament member of the Greens/European Free Alliance and co-spokesperson of the European Green Party, will share his views on Peakoil and European Energy Policy, in the session on the final day on European Energy Policy in an Era of Expensive Oil

- Derk Bol, Progam Manager at the Materials to Innovate Insitute (M2I), will present his extensive insight of material and metal supply and demand and research developments in this field. Topics that he works on in large research programs with companies such as Philips and ASML. In his presentation he will talk about the specific challenges and constraints to Energy Solutions and the importance of taking material availability into account in Energy Policy. Background material on this topic can be found in the M2I study on Material Scarcity.

- Jørgen Henningsen, former director of the EU Commission DG Environment and senior consultant European Policy Centre, will reflect on current EU Energy Policy and what strategies should and should not be selected to further advance Renewable Energy.In 2006 he wrote a thought provoking issue paper at the European Policy Centre about an EU Energy Strategy, that is remarkably accurate still today. Signalling as one of the first that there is not an integrated EU Policy for the oil/transport sector in terms of energy security, and that there is a significant importance for the EU to take oil price rise effects into account in their energy policy. 

- Christian Anton Smedshaug, senior advisor of the Norwegian Farmer's Union and author of the book Can Agriculture Feed the World? Agriculture and Society in the 21st Century, will talk about how to feed the world in the 21st century as oil production declines, including his views on how developing countries can be aided in utilizing their agricultural potential.