Peak Oil Conference in Edinburgh, 25th April 2005

A one-day conference on the impending peak and decline in global oil production will be held at the Royal Museum of Scotland in Edinburgh on Monday, 25th April.

The conference is titled ‘Peak Oil UK: Entering the Age of Oil Depletion’ and it will bring together six leading experts to discuss the problem from various perspectives — economic, social, technical and political.

As mounting evidence suggests that the era of cheap, abundant oil is rapidly coming to an end, many experts are now forecasting that global production could reach its all-time peak before the end of this decade, or soon after. The clear implication is that ever-diminishing supplies will lead to rising prices — not only for oil itself, but for everything that depends on it. ‘Peak Oil’ will therefore be a critical turning point for the modern world, challenging our economic and social systems as never before.

Former UK Energy Minister Brian Wilson MP will head the programme. The other speakers will be Colin Campbell, chairman of the Association for the Study of Peak Oil (ASPO); Chris Skrebowski, editor of the UK Energy Institute’s magazine, ‘Petroleum Review’; Matthew Simmons, chairman of major US energy investment firm, Simmons & Company International; David Spaven, chair of TRANSform Scotland, the campaign for sustainable transport; and Jeremy Leggett, chief executive of the UK’s leading solar energy company.

There will be ample opportunity to ask questions and interact with the speakers during a roundtable session in the afternoon, moderated by Mark Stephen from BBC Radio.

The conference is being organised by an Edinburgh-based awareness-raising group, Depletion Scotland, with support from The Oil Depletion Analysis Centre (ODAC). Full programme details and a registration form can be downloaded from http://www.odac-info.org.