Programs & Events 2009
Energy Efficiency Expert Mark Hopkins Addresses Climate-related Issues in Hungary
Director of International Energy Efficiency at the UN Foundation, Mark Hopkins visited Budapest between June 21-25, 2009 to discuss the Obama Administration’s special emphasis on global climate issues.
Mr. Hopkins, an internationally recognized expert on energy efficiency, exchanged views on energy efficiency issues with several government officials of the Ministry of Environment and Water and the Ministry of Transport, Telecommunication and Energy. He also shared the vision of the Obama Administration’s related global climate change initiatives and the elements of the new U.S. energy policy with a number of different Hungarian audiences including environmental experts, business leaders, alumni of American educational institutions, and university students.
Hungarian audiences were most interested in the speaker’s insights into the U.S. legislative process leading up to the December climate change conference in Copenhagen. Although he touched upon many aspects of energy efficiency such as the need for more "green jobs" engineers, Mr. Hopkins concluded all his presentations with the urgent call for a major reduction in energy use being the first step towards a greener future and perhaps the most important one.