Unprecedented Int'l Meeting Releases Preliminary Vision for our Energy Future

WATERLOO, Ontario, June 9, 2011 -

- Global Energy Summit in Waterloo, Canada Offers Ideas for Action on
Sustainable Low-Carbon Electricity

A unique, international summit of scientists, engineers, entrepreneurs
and future leaders from around the world has concluded with the release of
the Equinox Summit: Energy 2030 Communiqué. The event's preliminary report
includes visionary proposals for transformative action to reduce the
electricity-related emissions that drive global warming.

The full Equinox Communiqué is now available at:
wgsi.org/files/EquinoxCommunique_June9_2011.pdf

The Communiqué identifies a group of technological approaches and
implementation steps that have the potential over the coming decades to
accelerate the transition of our energy systems toward electrification and,
in the longer term, toward an energy future where our dependence on fossil
fuels is greatly reduced.

"Given the right support, the six priority actions we have identified can
catalyze change on a global scale, from the cities of the developed world, to
the billions of people who live in towns and villages that lack adequate
access to electricity to provide the central link to improvements in the
quality of life," said summit advisor Professor Jatin Nathwani, Executive
Director of the Waterloo Institute for Sustainable Energy at the University
of Waterloo and Ontario Research Chair in Public Policy for Sustainable
Energy.

Can we low-carbon power the planet in 20 years?

Equinox Summit: Energy 2030 participants came together to intensely
explore, discuss and propose how science and technology can catalyze the
urgent change required.

With representatives from countries including Canada, Brazil, China,
Costa Rica, Indonesia, Nigeria, the USA, and more, the Equinox Summit
embodied the realities, challenges, and hopes of the enormously diverse
global community - from those living in the world's 21 mega-cities of more
than 10-million inhabitants, to the one-third of humanity who survive without
electricity.

An electricity roadmap for nations

The Equinox Communiqué is a brief snapshot of the ideas and visions
developed by the Summit participants, who aimed to address the great
complexity of transitioning to low-carbon electricity production. It provides
a series of immediate, concrete opportunities for action by industry and
governments, both locally and internationally. These ideas will be explored
in more detail in a future document, the Equinox Blueprint: Energy 2030.

The pathways described in the Communiqué include: accelerating
implementation of technologies to enable the integration of large-scale
renewable sources of power, such as wind and solar, into existing electricity
grids; new ways to develop low-carbon transportation; ways to build
energy-smart cities; and means of providing sustainable electricity to those
who currently live without it.

The Equinox Communiqué compliments a comprehensive online video resource
of archived lectures and discussions by world-leading thinkers on achieving a
low-carbon, sustainable electricity future.

That resource includes:

- Summit participants expanding on their closed-door discussions in
public forums (wgsi.org/video)

- The Summit's infographic-style benchmark clips (
www.youtube.com/user/wgsisummit)

- A photo-diary of the week's accomplishments (
www.flickr.com/photos/wgsisummit/)

What's next

The ideas outlined in this Communiqué will form the basis of a detailed
document that will be produced in coming months - the Equinox Blueprint:
Energy 2030.

Equinox Blueprint: Energy 2030 will paint a picture of the challenges
faced by society in energy, detail forecasts from various global and national
agencies for the likely state of affairs in 2030, and list the Equinox
Summit's recommendations and proposals to address these.

Equinox Blueprint: Energy 2030 will be aimed at informing, advising and
inspiring science and technology influencers, industry leaders and
governments globally. It will focus on how science and technology can
contribute to the challenges faced. It will offer practical, real-world
solutions - based on the latest scientific thinking - and offer
recommendations for investment and focus, and for the coordination of
national and international scientific and engineering efforts which may, over
the next 20 years, help address energy challenges in a meaningful way.

Cover online

- Watch the archived Equinox Summit: Energy 2030's video content,
including the Summit's concluding session at wgsi.org/video.

About the Equinox Summit: Energy 2030

The Equinox Summit: Energy 2030 was the inaugural event of the Waterloo
Global Science Initiative (WGSI), a non-profit partnership, founded in
October 2009, between Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics
(perimeterinstitute.ca/) and the University of Waterloo.
(www.uwaterloo.ca/) WGSI's mandate is to catalyze longterm thinking
and solutions to the world's most fundamental social, environmental and
economic challenges using science and technology. WGSI provides a rare
opportunity for great minds to come together, share new ideas and
collectively work towards a better future. For more information, visit
wgsi.org.

TVO is the presenting media partner for the Equinox Summit: Energy 2030.
For more information TVO, visit www.tvo.org.

For further information:

Media Contacts

Equinox Summit: Energy 2030 Media Centre (open until 9:00 PM ET, June 9,
2011) +1(519)569-7600 x7506

    RJ Taylor
    WGSI Communications Liaison
    +1(519)569-7600 x5371
    newsroom@wgsi.org

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