ALSTOM represented at high profile UK-German global climate change conference in Berlin

A senior company expert represented ALSTOM at a high-profile UK-German conference on global climate change, held as part of the UK Queens State Visit to Germany in November 2004.

The conference, opened by the Queen and attended by several UK and German Ministers of State, was convened in order to establish an action plan to encourage co-operation between the two countries on global climate change issues.

Nick Otter, Director of External Affairs at ALSTOMs Power Technology Centre, was among the 80 invited guests from industry bodies, research organisations and government departments in both countries. Conference invitees successfully agreed a plan for joint implementation by the two countries which included promotion of a carbon abatement technology portfolio approach embracing fossil fuels.

Mr Otter said: It is extremely important for companies such as ALSTOM to be represented at such meetings. In terms of our research and development priorities, we need to make the right decisions to deliver the products that governments and society in general will need in order to take effective action to address climate change.

High efficiency products, such as the latest gas turbines, steam turbines and boilers, combined with optimised plant systems, are the kind of technologies needed if we want developing countries highly reliant on fossil fuels to embrace action on greenhouse gas reduction. Also, in order to develop towards zero emission technology, companies such as ALSTOM need to be sure that governments are backing serious measures on climate change. This would certainly help provide the confidence so necessary when investing in the advanced research needed to make a real difference to climate change problems. It is clear that the clean use of fossil fuels will be a critical transition issue as we move towards a sustainable energy future, added Mr Otter.

Editors notes.

The Global Climate Change Conference was held at the British Embassy in Berlin on 3rd November. The UK government was represented by Jack Straw (the Foreign Secretary) and Margaret Beckett (Minister for the Environment), and Germany by Jurgen Trittin (Minister for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety) and Edelgard Bulmahn (Minister for Education and Science).

The discussion was lead by Sir David King, the UK Chief Scientific Advisor, and Professor John Schellnhuber, Research Director of the Potsdam Institute and the UK Tyndall Centre on Climate Change.

Nick Otter, in addition to his responsibilities at ALSTOM, is the chairman of the UK Department of Trade and Industry Advisory Committee on Carbon Abatement Technology and Advisor to the UK Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council. He is also on the advisory board of the Tyndall Centre on Climate Change supported by the Research Councils. He is also an assessor of the German Helmholtz Energy Research Programme.He is a member of the European Commission External Advisory Group on Non-Nuclear Energy (NNE), helping to establish and direct the priorities for the EC Framework Research Programmes FP5 and 6. He was awarded the Order of the British Empire (OBE) for services to the UK Energy Industry in the Queens New Years Honours 2003.

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ALSTOM is a global leader in power generation and rail transport infrastructure. The Company serves the energy market through its activities in the field of power generation and the transport market through its activities in rail and marine. ALSTOM's annual sales are around 14 billion. It employs 71,000 people in over 70 countries worldwide.
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