REMARKS BY PRESIDENT MCALEESE AT THE OPENING OF THE OCEAN ENERGY SEMINAR IN TRONDHEIM
REMARKS BY PRESIDENT MCALEESE AT THE OPENING OF THE OCEAN ENERGY SEMINAR IN TRONDHEIM ON THURSDAY, 16TH OCTOBER , 2008
Trondheim is a perfect setting for this ocean energy forum and the subject a perfect vehicle for a shared Norwegian/Irish debate for it is an area of strategic environmental and commercial importance to both Norway and Ireland. So it is a pleasure to be able to play a small part in this seminar which will hopefully help deepen our understanding of, and interest in, this emerging and promising technology.
Ireland and Norway share a rich maritime heritage; it forms an inescapable part of narratives of both our countries. Long before the words “technology transfer” had been invented the 8th century Irish had copied the boatbuilding techniques of your Viking ancestors.
For centuries the North Atlantic Ocean has been our highway of connection. It offered those early Vikings opportunities for adventures in travel which, technology transfer aside, it has to be said did not always entirely endear them to the Irish. Now however, that ocean offers us both new opportunities for it is the locus of unrivalled renewable energy potential along our western coasts. The technologies are within our realm of contemplation but to bring them into the realm of marketable and affordable reality will take considerable investment in research and development. Our respective governments are already committed to that investment.
The Irish Government will be committing €200 million to energy related research over the coming years and just two weeks ago, the Norwegian Government announced its plan to double investment in the Fund for Renewable Energy next year. If we are to become low carbon economies, if we are to ensure sustainable economic success and prosperity in the years to come then this focus on the emerging renewable energy technologies is essential.
I do not remember who it was reminded us that ‘we do not inherit the earth from our ancestors: rather, we borrow it from our children.’ But it is worth remembering for the world’s children have already had their unlived futures significantly compromised and mortgaged by damaging past and present practices. To begin repaying our debt to those as yet unborn children, member States of the European Union have an ambitious target of ensuring that 20% of all energy in the EU comes from renewable sources by 2020. And just last month a report from the International Energy Agency, estimated that nearly 50% of global electricity supplies will have to come from renewable energy sources if we want to halve CO2 emissions by 2050. The report states that ‘moving a strong portfolio of renewable energy technologies towards full market integration is one of the main elements needed to make the energy technology revolution happen.’
Making that technology revolution happen will be a far from painless process and indeed no single technology solution is likely to be our answer but as with many of life’s difficult challenges that are more effectively faced when burdens are shared, the greater the cooperation across boundaries the quicker the solutions will reveal themselves. Ireland and Norway as relatively near neighbours, have much to commend them to one another as well-matched partners on this journey into the earth’s ocean energy future and as leaders on the international stage in making renewable ocean energy a reality. The flexible, timely and innovative approaches taken by our Governments, our research institutes and our industries are very reassuring steps in that direction. I hope that this seminar will be another step towards commercially viable ocean energy and indeed the awakening of our perception of the potential of our marine environment for beyond the issue of renewable energy potential there lies an asset base of considerable untapped value.
Ireland’s national marine research strategy was set out in 2006 in a document entitled ‘Sea Change’. It highlights the significant global market potential linked to the development of marine technologies and resources. Our marine sector is still only in its infancy yet generates some €3 billion annually and supports more than 44,000 jobs. But the scope for growth is vast and with our Marine Institute and Sustainable Energy Ireland working with Enterprise Ireland and other Departments and State Agencies, universities and other educational institutions, local authorities and the private sector, we are well positioned to reveal and realise that potential across fields as diverse as tourism, pharmaceutical and chemical industries, as well as our indigenous and traditional marine sector and the new energy technologies. By raising the economic development profile of the sector we hope to build on its growing capacity to attract foreign investment. Our journey in all this is still at an early stage. But given that our sea-mass is nine times the size of our land-mass, and given all the prospects our marine space holds across such a range of areas, we are excited about the huge possibilities for the future.
In the same vein, I noted with interest that the Nobel Prize for chemistry last week went to three scientists – two from America and one from Japan – working in the marine science field. As a humble lawyer, I make no claim whatsoever to understanding the details involved but I read that it had to do with how jellyfish glow under certain conditions! I understand that as well as assisting fundamental research in terms of how biological systems work, the technique involved is also hugely valuable in regard to genetic engineering. It is a further example of the enormous potential that lies beneath our waves in ways that we previously could simply not have imagined.
We the public, rely on your professional guidance and your personal enthusiasm to steer us safely through the uncharted waters of tomorrow’s technologies from basic and applied research to full scale and commercial market penetration. Our ocean environments are very promising but now you have to bridge the gap between what we can do today and what we want to be able to do tomorrow. In some ways it is as momentous and history altering a journey and adventure as that undertaken over a millennium ago by those Viking ancestors. The taming of our winds and oceans will change the quality of life for all of humanity. It is a great vocation to be committed to. Enjoy it and may you be successful and soon.
I would like to thank the organisers here today, our hosts Enova and Sustainable Energy Ireland, and indeed the University in Trondheim for providing us with such a wonderful opportunity to share ideas and to network.
Thank you for what you have achieved and are set to achieve in the cause of us all.