CSPC2016

CSPC President Welcome Remarks
Mehrdad Hariri

Opening Remarks
Hon. Dr. Reza Moridi

A Conversation: A Minister and A Nobel Laureate. The two will explore the intersection of Science and Humanity by discussing their two different experiences.

Climate change is one of the defining challenges of our time. Solutions will require collaboration and new policy approaches that work across traditional geographic, sectoral, and disciplinary boundaries. International agreements, such as the one reached in the climate change conference in Paris, are signals of the importance of the challenge, as are fiscal reforms and taxation instruments that encourage energy efficiency and the shift to renewables. However, significant scientific and technological barriers remain that require the best minds in the global S&T community to work together along with full government support. 

The international community needs to agree on a single mission: to accelerate the pace of clean energy science and innovation to achieve the breakthroughs required to revolutionize energy systems throughout the world. To achieve that mission, international scientific collaboration, strategic and bold thinking, and engaging the world’s best scientists and engineers, will all be essential to achieve the scale and rate of clean energy innovation required to meet and hopefully exceed the targets set in Paris last November.
Advances in solar energy research are a case in point. It is estimated that enough solar energy reaches the earth’s surface in ten minutes to meet the planet’s current energy demand for one year. However, to fully realize the potential of solar power, we require transformative advances in the underlying science of harvesting, storing and transmitting energy. 

To accelerate the bold thinking and the formation of interdisciplinary and international teams of the world’s top scientists and engineers, and to catalyze industry and government to play their part, new international mechanisms are required.

This panel brings together perspectives from global leaders in academia, government (Canadian and foreign), and industry to propose policies and pathways forward. The panel will discuss potential innovative intergovernmental mechanisms that will enable governments, the scientific community, and industry to work together to bring about a transformation in clean energy S&T. An important goal of this panel is to stimulate the necessary dialogue to ensure international efforts are aligned; that the pace of funding, discovery and innovation are commensurate with this grand challenge, and the potential consequences of the failure, to act; and, that new governance models are explored to the extent that it enables nations to effectively collaborate viable and realistic solutions.

Round-table discussion with Dr Homa Hoodfar

Luncheon Session - A Conversation with Hon. Minister Duncan: “A Year as Minister of Science”

2016 CSPC Science Policy Award of Excellence– Youth Category presented by Minister Duncan
Award Winner:Amani Saini