On Friday June 10, 1:45 pm at the UBC Vancouver campus, select delegates of the International Student Energy Summit (ISES), will participate in a live stakeholder negotiation simulation on the proposed Enbridge Northern Gateway Pipeline Project. This controversial development has garnered both criticism and support from its many stakeholders, and ISES delegates will tackle these views head on from a student perspective.
Global Energy Dynamics Program Lead Jennifer Matchett explains: “This is a unique opportunity for a global group of students to debate about a pressing sustainable energy development issue that encompasses international energy policy, the question of Canadian oil sands expansion, and ultimately how we should approach these development issues into the future.”
With the local and global impacts the pipeline could have, ISES will directly allow students to engage in difficult questions from how British Columbia’s image as energy leaders could be influenced by the construction of the pipeline, to the debate format which will illuminate the difficulty in making decisions about how the people in developing energy markets can access energy in a democratic way. The objective of the exercise is for teams to understand the need for constructive participation in policy development and how major decisions about our energy future are made.
According to UBC Professor of environmental policy Dr. George Hoberg: “This debate gives participants an opportunity to grapple with a challenging real world issue that embodies the complex trade-offs among economic, environmental, and social values that are reflected in so many of our choices about building a more sustainable global energy system”
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To cover this story, email amitchell@studentenergy.org
Filed under: Plug Out Tune In Tagged: | Alexandria Mitchell, andrew leach, enbridge, international student energy summit, ises, ises 2011, jennifer matchett, northern gateway pipeline, oilsands, peter mansbridge, rosie pidcock, ubc vancouver
