16 September 2008: Angel Gurría, Secretary-General of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), participated in the Energy Leaders Summit organized by the Financial Times and World Energy Council, in London, UK, on 16-17 September 2008. Addressing heads of the main traditional and new energy companies, as well as government representatives and financiers, who met to discuss the future of energy beyond 2025, Gurría highlighted the need for public-private partnerships for the development and deployment of “large-scale transformative energy technologies.”

He suggested, for example, global innovation funds to share the risks and costs of these technologies, and noted that carbon capture and storage (CCS), next generation nuclear, fusion power, and hydrogen-fuel cells are technologies particularly well suited for this type of collaboration. He emphasized that the “first priority is to get an ambitious and credible climate agreement by all countries in Copenhagen in December 2009. This will signal a long-term commitment that will favour investments in low-carbon technologies….” by facilitating the establishment of a predictable world carbon price. [Secretary-General’s Speech] [Energy Leader’s Summit website]