This topic will be discussed by governments, institutions and sector associations from around the world at the first edition of an annual, international travelling conference - "GREENING THE ISLANDS! Integrated sustainability: energy & water for islands and remote locations" - which will be held on the island of Pantelleria, in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, on 30-31 October.
The conference, promoted and co-ordinated by The Green Consulting Group and organised by Let's Agreen Events, is being held in collaboration with Pantelleria Council under the auspices of WWAP UNESCO - UN Water and with the support of many water and renewable energy trade associations at an international level.
Speakers at the conference, which has as its main sponsors Global Hybrid Power, Siba-Veolia and Sofip-Smede and as sponsors Acciona and SMA, will include: Marco Marsilli Minister Plenipotentiary of Foreign Affairs; Michela Miletto - WWAP Deputy Coordinator at UNESCO; Gaetan Masson - International Energy Agency, Konstantina Toli, Programme Officer, Global Water Partnership; Panos Coroyannakis, coordinator, Islands Pact - EU; Miriam Balaban - Secretary General - European Desalination Society and Simona Vicari, Undersecretary of State, Italian Ministry of Economic Development as well as many top representatives of Governments of the Islands and Industry Associations.
During the two-day event, innovative best practices for energy and water production will be on show, solutions that will be ideal for scaling at a global level, both on islands around the world and in many remote locations.
Developing policies for sustainable energy and water supply is becoming an absolute priority, even for small islands and remote areas, at a time when the issue of climate change is on the agenda for discussion by leading heads of state and governments and under the close scrutiny of public opinion.
Indeed, islands find themselves facing a major challenge today. Island life and ecosystems are severely constrained by increased pollution of the air and the sea, pressures that come on top of the environmental impacts of meeting demand for energy and drinking water, which in any case incurs high and unsustainable costs.
To resolve these problems and construct a sustainable future for our islands, the green economy has already made available valid, mature solutions that can progressively lead to a "zero emission" system.
Greening the Islands, with its integrated approach, will provide an opportunity to show and propose large-scale sustainable solutions to increase the availability of water and energy at considerably lower costs. The most concrete way of triggering radical change and ensuring ecologically sustainable development for our islands (and for others too) is to bring a variety of parties to the table - decision makers from the spheres of business, science and politics - to discuss the most appropriate policies and strategies.
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