Executive Assembly

Rome, Italy - Minutes

11 November 2007

Download Minutes ( PDF File, 85KB)

1. Chair's Opening Remarks

The Chair welcomed all members, thanked the Italian Member Committee for hosting the Executive Assembly and introduced Pierre Gadonneix as incoming Chair. He also expressed his gratitude for the support of WEC members and his fellow officers during his term and gave special thanks to retiring officers Majid Al-Moneef, Ron Wood, Chicco Testa and Alioune Fall.

The following changes to the Agenda were proposed:
" Point 4b to be a report on Rome 2007 instead of the 2010 Montreal Congress;
" New Point 4d to be a presentation about the nuclear incident in Japan;
" Point 6a to be deleted from the agenda.

The Chair called for a motion to approve the Agenda as amended. Canada moved, France seconded and the Agenda as amended was approved.

 

2. Secretary General's Announcements

The Secretary General welcomed Tajikistan as a new Member Committee. Unfortunately, representatives from the new Committee were unable to attend the Executive Assembly.

He also welcomed the Chair of the new Colombian Member Committee, Dr. José Antonio Vargas, and proposed that the Executive Assembly approve Colombia's membership application by acclamation. This was done, and Colombia was then welcomed as WEC's newest Member Committee.

Dr. Vargas thanked the members for their vote and expressed his appreciation to the Secretary General and to LAC Vice Chair Norberto de Franco Madeiros for their support during the Committee's formation and application for membership. Dr. Vargas expressed the Committee's commitment to WEC and its enthusiasm for and interest in contributing to WEC and establishing strong relationships with other Member Committees.

The Secretary General then welcomed representatives from WEC's partner organisations. In particular, he recognised Peter Storm, who was retiring as Secretary General of the International Gas Union. He invited Mr. Storm to say a few words and introduce his successor, Mr. Torstein Indrebø. Mr. Storm thanked WEC for its cooperation over his tenure and received a round of applause from the Executive Assembly.

 

3. Minutes of the Last Meeting

The Minutes of the 2006 Executive Assembly in Tallinn were previously distributed via the website. Poland moved approval of the Minutes. This was seconded by France, and the Minutes were approved.
 
4. Matters for Information

a) To NOTE the Report of the Officers Council

The Chair reported that the Officers Council met in Rome in December 2006 and again in Houston in June 2007. 

The Officers meeting in Rome in December 2006 approved the broad outlines of the WEC Statement 2007, which was published in March 2007. It was picked up by the Wall Street Journal, and a successful launch of the Energy and Climate Change report, on which it was based, took place in New York during the Conference on Sustainable Development in May 2007. A major media roundtable on Energy and Climate Change, involving the Study Chair, Kurt Yeager (USA), as well as the Executive Director of the UNFCCC was the final step in making WEC's views on the low carbon economy known throughout the world. The Rome meeting also reviewed the final plans for the WEC Congress, with Congress Vice Chair Chicco Testa providing a full report on the final preparations. It was also the occasion for Communications and Outreach Chair Marie-José Nadeau to seek approval of a new Communications Plan to raise the visibility of WEC.
 
The main topics of the Houston meeting were preparation of the 2008-2010 Business Plan, selection of the winner of the 2007 Global Energy Award 2007, a session of the Patrons Advisory Group and review of the 2006 audited financial statements. In the latter case, the Officers Council noted that WEC is in healthy financial shape. However, a stronger value message to assist Member Committees to expand their membership and national activities in support of WEC is needed.

Since the last EA, WEC regretfully withdrew the memberships of Bolivia and Venezuela but welcomed Norway and Tajikistan to membership and received Colombia's application for membership.

The Officers Council meeting held just previous to the EA session was the last for Chicco Testa, Alioune Fall, Majid Al-Moneef and Ron Wood. Replacements had been identified, but WEC could not have made the outstanding progress on its broader, more regionally effective work Programme over the last three years without the contributions of these officers. WEC Chair André Caillé also stands down at the end of the Rome Congress, and the members gave him a resounding ovation for his leadership over the last three years.

b) To NOTE the Report on the 2007 World Energy Congress

On behalf of the Italian Member Committee and the Rome 2007 Organising Committee, Gilberto Callera, Chair of WEC Italy, thanked WEC members for their presence, cooperation and support of the 20th World Energy Congress. He especially recognised Gerald Doucet, Chicco Testa, Carlo Hermes, Alessandro Blasi, Alessandro Lanza, the WEC staff, and all those who had worked on the preparation and organisation of the Congress. He also gave a special thank you to Alessandro Clerici, WEC Italy Honorary Chairman, and Erminio Fragassa of Micromegas for their hard work on the Congress.

Chicco Testa welcomed all WEC members to Rome and apologised for the logistical problems some members had encountered. He said the Congress programme was of a very high quality, with approximately 200 speakers, including industry leaders and decision-makers. An excellent set of technical papers and posters were to be presented. A total of 3,900 persons were registered for the Congress, including 200 speakers, 2,600 delegates, 150 accompanying partners, 720 journalists and 204 Youth delegates. One hundred seventeen countries and 1,450 companies were represented, with over 300 exhibitors in 40,000 m2 of exhibition space. Mr. Testa thanked the sponsors for their support and pointed out the important media partnerships with the Financial Times and CNN. In conclusion, he wished all members a successful Congress and thanked André Caillé for his support.
 

To NOTE the Nominations to the Standing Committees

The Secretary General informed the EA that C.P Jain would continue as Chair of Studies for the 2008-2010 cycle and that Ron Wood would be replaced by Mary M'Mukindia as Chair of Programmes, with Communications & Outreach Chair Marie-José Nadeau's term continuing to 2009.

He then noted that the list of nominees to the Standing Committees had been reviewed and approved by the Officers Council, stating that over 60 nominations were received for just 27 vacancies. The rosters which were being presented to the EA were the result of trying to balance regions, countries, experience, expertise, new additions and reappointments. However, he said, despite all Standing Committee slots being filled, there is still room on the various Study Groups and working groups, and those interested in becoming involved should contact Elena Nekhaev, Director of Programmes, Stephan Albrechtskirchinger, Director of Communications & Outreach or Bob Schock, Director of Studies.

The Secretary General also noted that Murray Stewart was retiring as Executive Director of the Montreal Congress and thanked him for his hard work, then welcomed the new Executive Director, Stephane Bertrand.

Presentation by TEPCO on impact of recent earthquake

Representatives from TEPCO gave a presentation about the impact of the earthquake that struck one of the company's nuclear power stations, particularly highlighting the measures that had been taken to ensure the security of the station.
  
Alessandro Clerici (Italy) complimented the TEPCO on their handling of this sensitive situation and asked when the power plant would be back in service. The representatives said this was not clear but that they would have a better idea in a month.

Incoming WEC Chair Pierre Gadonneix congratulated TEPCO on its efforts regarding security and pointed out the importance of transparency in any communication on nuclear power in order to keep the public fully informed.

 

4. Matters for Approval

a) To approve the Report of the Studies Committee

C.P. Jain, Chair of the Studies Committee, reported that all three studies for the 2005-2007 work cycle - Scenarios, Energy and Climate Change and the Survey of Energy Resources -- had been completed and would be presented at the Rome Congress.

He thanked Robert Schock, J.K. Mehta, the London office, all Study Group Chairs, and the 67 Member Committees and 400 experts who contributed to the Studies. He said he also looked forward to their continuing support for the next working cycle.

France moved approval of the report, Romania seconded and the Report of the Studies Committee Chair was approved.

b) To approve the Report of Programme Committee Chair

Outgoing Programme Committee Chair Ron Wood thanked all WEC staff and contributers for their support over the previous three years. He said the Programme Committee had participated actively in the Rome Congress preparation and that the outcomes of WEC's technical work would be presented in a series of special WEC sessions during the Congress, which he urged members to attend. He highlighted the reports on PGP and Energy Efficiency as well as the databases which were now available on WEC's website. He reported that CFFS focused most of its work on Carbon Capture and Storage and held a number of meetings and workshops, while the grid reliability work was completed in 2006 and followed by a series of workshops, and he said there was significant activity in the regions, with over 60 regional meetings, forums and workshops being held around the globe. 

The representative from the Pakistan Member Committee asked for the Renewables Taskforce to be reactivated. Mr. Wood acknowledged that this Task Force had not been very active due to lack of interested participants. He said any members who wished to become involved should contact Elena Nekhaev.  Jamal Saghir of the World Bank said that his institution had worked on the topic of financing renewables and that they would be happy to share information with WEC. Mr. Wood thanked Mr. Saghir and said this could be explored.

Francisco Barnés (Mexico) thanked Ron Wood for his leadership as Chair of Programmes, particularly with regard to the regional work.

Mexico moved approval, with Poland seconding, and the Report of the Programme Committee Chair was approved.

c) To approve the Report of the Communications & Outreach Committee Chair

Marie-José Nadeau, Chair of the Communications & Outreach Committee, reported an increase in both visibility and outreach and also significant support to the Congress organisers through the establishment of media partnerships.

A new, more readable website was launched in July, and Ms. Nadeau presented statistics on the number of times WEC reports had been downloaded. There has been an 80% increase in these figures since 2006; the Korn Ferry report was downloaded 2,800 times, and the Energy and Climate Change publication was downloaded 2,400 times. The 2004 edition of the SER was downloaded 2,000 times in total, but the 2007 edition was downloaded 7,000 times in only two months.

The Committee adopted a new publications strategy, with only Executive Summaries of reports being printed, but with free downloads of the full WEC reports available from the website.

Media roundtables to launch the WEC reports attracted an average of 35 journalists at each session. This built visibility among leading energy journalists from press such as the Financial Times and the Economist.

At the Congress, over 800 journalists were accredited, with 30 people involved daily in media relations. Ms. Nadeau highlighted the importance of the Financial Times being a major media partner for the Congress. Special attention was also given to the Youth programme, which was launched via a very successful blog.

Hisham Khatib (Jordan) congratulated the Communications & Outreach Committee, the Chair and the WEC London Communications team on the work that had been done to increase WEC's visibility.  Norberto de Franco Madeiros (Brazil) also expressed his support for the Communications & Outreach Committee, the many successful communications activities and the excellent work of the Communications Director and his staff.

Canada moved approval of the report. This was seconded by New Zealand, and the Report of the Communications & Outreach Committee Chair was approved.

d) To approve the 2007 Membership Report

The Secretary General said he was pleased to report that Congo (Dem Rep) and Paraguay had made significant payments against their arrears. He also reported that, after being a very active member for many years, Venezuela had withdrawn for political reasons. However, he said that the LAC Vice Chair and Regional Manager would work with regional and national interests to bring Venezuela back at the appropriate time.

Jordan moved to approve the Membership Report. This was seconded by Brazil, and the Membership Report was approved.

e) To approve the 31 December, 2006 Audited Consolidated Statement for the World Energy Council

Finance Chair Asger Bundgaard-Jensen reported, referring to Annexes 5e and 5f, the WEC Consolidated and the WEC Services Ltd. Audited Financial Statements for 2006. He asked for both reports to be taken together, as they were interlinked.

The Chair noted that the 2006 audit was clean, with no material concerns. He said this was a fine achievement and thanked the London office, especially Finance Director Emily Melton, for their efforts in accomplishing this.

The Chair said that for 2006, in order to comply fully with the Statement of Recommended Practice (SORP), all salaries and overheads were allocated on a project basis; Notes 3-4 in the accounts show how these allocations have been split out. The WEC accounts and the Trustees report are now completely in line with best UK practice and the Statement of Recommended Practice (SORP), with the Trustee's report now placing greater emphasis on the activities and achievements of WEC. He also noted that the 2005 comparatives were restated for consistency in the Statement of Financial Activities and that the auditors' opinion for both WEC Consolidated and WSL was unqualified.

Referring to the WSL accounts, he said that these had been consolidated on a line by line basis with the WEC Consolidated accounts. The WSL profit for 2006 was transferred under the UK Gift Aid provision to the Charity, and therefore, the year-end result for WSL, for tax purposes, was zero.

In WEC Consolidated, the annual result was a net loss of £133,000, including the investment gains. Without these, the loss would have been £207,000.

He also referred to Note 3, which showed the breakdown of spending on specific work programme activities. Overall, the total resources expended in 2006 were roughly £200,000 higher than the income. Had it not been for the revenue from the Patrons programme and the gains on investments, the year would have ended with a much higher deficit.

The Chair also pointed out that the year-end result included a non-budgeted exchange loss on the US dollars held by WSL, WEC and, within WEC, by the WEC Foundation. The Balance Sheet shows total funds of £1,732,000, with the majority of these being held in the Foundation. However, in 2006, approximately £270,000 in sterling investments had to be sold from the Foundation to cover WEC's cash flow needs to fund the work programme, thus reducing the total Foundation assets. While this is not a problem for now, it has implications for future work programmes.

An area of concern is the substantial holdings (about 60% of total assets) of US dollars from the Patrons programme within the Foundation. There are no investment opportunities for US dollars within the Charity Commission Common Investment Funds; US dollars at present may only be invested in Treasuries through Barclays. The Finance Committee is exploring other possible investment options to maximise the return on the US dollar investments and to maintain a low level of risk to capital.

There being no further discussion, the Chair recommended approval of the 2006 audited Financial Statements for WEC Consolidated and WSL. This was moved by Brazil and seconded by Greece, and the 2006 Audited Statements for WEC Consolidated and WEC Services Ltd. were approved.

f) To approve the 31 December, 2006 Audited Statement for WEC Services Ltd
  Please see above
 
g) To approve Horwath Clark Whitehill LLP as WEC & WSL Auditors for 2007

The Chair said that Horwath Clark Whitehill had an excellent grasp of UK charity regulations and accounting, that they were now very familiar with WEC and WSL and that they had done a fine job of auditing the accounts for the past several years. Therefore, he said the Finance Committee recommended that Horwath Clark Whitehill be reappointed as the auditors for WEC and for WSL for 2007. This was moved by Nigeria, Finland seconded and the motion was carried.

h) To approve the 2008-2010 WEC Business Plan

The Secretary General presented the 2008-2010 Business Plan and outlined the specific work WEC will undertake as follows:

Global Studies

Vulnerabilities
The Vulnerabilities Study will look at skills and manpower, logistics and materials and the importance of and linkage between energy and water. The plan is to undertake Vulnerabilities as the major study for the cycle, with a first report ready at the end of 2008, a second completed by the end of 2009 and a possible link to the Montreal Congress theme.

Mega Cities
It is estimated that in the year of 2020, more than ten cities will have a population of over 10 million people. This will create significant challenges in terms of energy, particularly in terms of distribution and access. Asia is one key area that is expected to be affected particularly hard. The study will examine the issues and challenges of energy as it relates to extremely large urban areas.

Survey of Energy Resources
The 2010 edition of the Survey of Energy Resources will be ready in time for the Montreal Congress, with plans to update it on an annual basis.

Global Energy Assessment
The Secretary General reported that negotiations related to the Global Energy Assessment were still ongoing. This is a $20 million project in collaboration with IASA. However, if the negotiations do not work out, it is possible the project might be dropped.

Alessandro Clerici (Italy) highlighted the importance of the Vulnerabilites study at a time when the price for prime energy sources had sky rocketed and the high investment costs of prime materials such as copper have had a negative impact on the sector. The Secretary General stated that manufacturing and infrastructure were included in the proposed study to cover just such issues. Studies Chair C.P. Jain said price is indicative of demand and supply, and that the issue of supply must be addressed in order to deal with the price problem; this too will be covered in the Vulnerabilities work. The Secretary General said that the Terms of Reference for Vulnerabilities would be available for review shortly.

Technical Programmes
The Secretary General noted that there are plans to expand the Task Forces and split the management of Regional Programmes and Technical Programmes. Technical programmes for 2008-2010 will cover the following:

The Performance of Generating Plant (PGP) Committee will continue their work with benchmarking workshops globally, with the purpose of discussing availability, maintenance best practices and technology transfer innovations.

The WEC - ADEME partnership will continue on Energy Efficiency Policies and Indicators through the organisation of workshops and annual updates of the energy efficiency database on the WEC website.

Major work will be undertaken with USDOE and other partners on Cleaner Fossil Fuels Systems (CFFS).

There will be a new Task Force on Biofuels, a regional project in partnership with the International Standards Organisation. Initially, this will be part of the North American and LAC regional action plans, but the work will be expanded eventually to encompass a global view.

The Oil Refining Task Force was proposed by the Italian Member Committee and was supported by North African Member Committees; the goal is to demonstrate the potential benefits of properly designed and maintained transport infrastructure.

The Interconnectivity Task Force will continue the grid reliability work which was originally undertaken in the 2005-2007 work programme.

The Gulf States will lead a Water Desalination Task Force.

The work on Centres of Excellence for Sustainable Energy will be carried out in consultation with WEC regional Vice Chairs, with the goal of enhancing regional energy cooperation, promoting best practices and facilitating the transfer of clean technologies in Asia, Africa and Latin America and the Caribbean.

A member of the Pakistan Member Committee said he was disappointed that the work on Financing Renewable Energy seemed to have been dropped. The Secretary General restated his earlier comment that the work had not moved forward due to lack of interest; however, he said that a cooperative effort to take advantage of the World Bank's work on this topic could be undertaken, although he emphasized the importance of not duplicating work that had already been done by other organisations.

Regional action plans
New three year Regional Action Plans will be prepared for Africa, Asia, Europe, Gulf States, Latin America and the Caribbean and North America. The Secretary General said work would continue on "signature" projects within each region, such as the Inga Hydropower Project, the Mongolian Solar and Wind work and the Private Project Partnerships work in Asia.  The Regional Action Plans will be reviewed by Member Committees in the respective regions and will then be presented to the Programme Committee for approval in January 2008.

WEC Member Committees in developed countries will promote and facilitate collaboration with Member Committees in developing countries, expanding the role and financing of Centres of Excellence for Sustainable Energy in developing countries.

Yoshiaki Imaizumi, who is seconded to WEC London from TEPCO, will become Director of Regional Programmes and lead the regional work from WEC London.

The Secretary General took the opportunity to thank Regional Managers Gloria Pina (LAC), Chong Moo Lee (Asia), Latsoucabe Fall (Africa) and Slav Slavov (Europe) for their achievements in the last work cycle.

Communications
The Secretary General highlighted the following priorities for Communications between now and the 2010 Congress:
" To further evolve and enhance the WEC website as a tool for Studies and Programmes but also to market WEC publications, increase value to members and non-members and develop innovative services, such as a global Energy Yellow Pages
" To work with Member Committees to increase WEC's visibility in the media and regularly position WEC in international business and opinion-maker press
" To develop WEC's outreach to the financial community, with the purpose of promoting adequate energy investment and positioning WEC as a bridge between public institutions, the energy industry and finance
" To further pursue partnerships with other organisations at a global level in order to enhance WEC activities and impact. A new partnership with the Financial Times for a WEC annual conference is under development
" To deepen the action-oriented focus of WEC studies and programmes through early consideration of the target audience, the timing and the methods of communication
" To ensure a rejuvenation of WEC by organising Youth activities and integrating young energy professionals into WEC's activities and work
" To strengthen regional communication hubs, with assistance from regional Vice Chairs, Member Committees and regional media secondments, in order to build a top-down/bottom up media network on a global level.

Finally, the most significant Communications project for the 2008-2010 work cycle will be to support the preparation and delivery of the Congress in Montreal 2010 and to use the full potential of Congress communications to achieve a successful WEC outreach initiative.

The report was severally moved and seconded, and was then approved.

Membership & Finance
The Secretary General reported that membership is stable, and the goal is to maintain this stability. Efforts will be made to recruit new members, particularly in the Gulf States and Central Asia, and to bring back former members, including Venezuela, Malaysia and Singapore.

A new WEC Value Proposition has been developed and was reviewed at the WEC Secretaries meeting, with further refinements to come. This "kit" will be provided to Member Committees via the website to help them recruit and retain their own constituent members. Any suggestions or ideas on ways to improve the kit are welcome.

The Secretary General emphasized the importance of the WEC Patrons programme, saying that the income from the Patrons programme goes into the WEC Foundation and is used to fund WEC's work programme. Membership subscriptions bring in only about £1.3 million of WEC's £2 million budget, so the Patrons programme is vital to maintaining WEC's ability to carry out its core work.

WEC Services Limited is looking at ways to develop new revenue streams to help maintain WEC's financial health and stability.

Hilal Raza (Pakistan) said he appreciated the synergies between regional programmes and stressed the importance of linkages and bringing WEC's experience to other programmes in the regions, for example, the SAR energy centre in Islamabad

Professor Károly Reményi (Hungary) requested a report that presents and discusses the consequences of carbon dioxide reduction measures not being implemented. The Secretary General explained that this was a central topic to CFFS. A specific study was not planned on carbon dioxide, but the topic will feature in much of WEC's work for the next work cycle.

There being no further discussion, France proposed approval of the Membership Report. Greece and Iran seconded, and the report was approved.

i) To approve the 2008 WEC Budget

Asger Bundgard-Jensen presented the 2008 WEC and WSL budgets and explained that the budgets reflected the requirements of the 2008-2010 WEC Business Plan. He pointed out that the budgets are not prepared on the basis of the total cost of each project (that is, including staff costs and overheads), but this is done in the annual accounts each year, so it is possible to calculate the "true cost" of WEC's work.

He said that according to the latest estimate for 2007, Patrons revenue will fall short by about £150,000, and that the Rome Congress payments, which were made in US dollars, were booked at a lower value than anticipated because of the weakness of the US dollar. The net effect is that WEC Consolidated net income will be £170,000 instead of the budgeted £439,000. This has a knock-on effect for the following work cycle, particularly because of the anticipated increased expenditure on both global studies and communications in the 2008-2010 cycle.

Mr. Bundgaard-Jensen explained that, after several Member Committees requested that the current subscription formula and structure be reviewed, a special Task Force of former WEC officers was appointed to undertake this work. The results of their extensive deliberations were reviewed by both the London office and the Finance Committee, and the conclusion was that any change would benefit some Committees and penalise others, some severely. While the current formula may not be perfect, it does seem to work, and it is not likely that another formula can be found which will be acceptable to all Committees. Therefore, the Finance Committee agreed to recommend no change to the subscription formula.

Mr. Bundgaard-Jensen also said that for 2008, the anticipated revenue from Patrons had been set at £700,000, which will require WEC to bring in eight additional Patrons. However, he said the Secretary General believed this was an achievable target. The total funds in the Foundation should be about £1.5 million at the end of 2008, assuming the recruitment of new Patrons goes as expected.

Pierre Gadonneix said he was very pleased with the Business Plan, including the increased focus on the Studies programme and that the Regional Programme is also significant, particularly the bottom-up approach to the Scenarios report. He said he realised a larger budget would be required to support these programmes, but he felt it was very important to WEC's visibility and equilibrium.

Greece moved approval of the WEC and WSL 2008 budgets. Germany seconded, and the budgets were approved.

j) To approve the 2008 WSL Budget

Please see above

k) To approve proposed amendments of the Rules (By-Laws)

The Secretary General reviewed the proposed amendments to the Rules, highlighting in particular the insertion in Rule 7 of a new section to describe the responsibilities of the Communications and Outreach Committee. Most of the other changes are for clarity or to correct minor errors in wording.

There being no questions, Germany moved approval of the amendments to the Rules. This was severally seconded, and the amendments were approved.

l) To approve Nominations for Officers

The Secretary General reviewed the officer nominations and status as follows;

" Mary Kimotho M'Mukindia, Kenya, will now be officially seated as Chair, Programme Committee (2008-2010) after serving a one-year term as Chair-elect;
" C.P. Jain, India, is nominated for a second term as Chair, Studies Committee (2008-2010);
" Marie-José Nadeau, Canada, will continue as Chair of the Communications & Outreach Committee until 2009;
" Francisco Barnés is nominated for a second term to 2010;
" Elías Velasco García is nominated for a one-year term to 2008 as Vice Chair, Special Responsibility for Investment and Infrastructure;
" Having completed the final year of Alioune Fall's term as Vice Chair, Africa, Abubakar Sambo is nominated for a full, three-year term to 2010.
" Richard Drouin is nominated for election as Vice Chair Montréal Congress for a three-year term to 2010.

Argentina moved the re-election Francisco Barnés. Spain seconded, and the motion was approved.
Portugal moved to re-elect Elías Velasco García. Spain seconded, and the motion was approved.
Kenya moved to elect Professor Abubakar Sambo. Namibia seconded, and the motion was approved.
Canada moved to elect Richard Drouin. This was severally seconded, and the motion was approved.

m) To approve the site for the 2009 Executive Assembly

Thorkell Helgason, Chair of WEC Iceland, and Dr. Ozer Skarpeyesson of the Ministry of Industry in Iceland presented Iceland's bid to host the 2009 Executive Assembly and highlighted Iceland's unique position with respect to its geothermal energy. The proposed dates for the 2009 EA are 16-24 September. Dr. Helgason noted that Iceland has been a member of WEC since 1949, which would make the 2009 Executive Assembly in Iceland a 60-year anniversary event.

Austria moved approval of Iceland as the site of the 2009 EA. This was seconded by Finland, and the motion carried unanimously.

5. Other Matters for Approval

a) Introduction of new WEC Chair

Retiring Chair André Caillé introduced Pierre Gadonneix as his successor. Mr. Gadonneix said he wished to build on the success of WEC which André Caillé had helped to achieve. He said among WEC's most valuable assets were the enthusiasm, energy, competence and knowledge of its members and staff, and he said he would rely on this heavily during his term as Chair. He thanked André Caillé for his leadership over the past three years, particularly with respect to the WEC Patrons programme, and wished him well as he leaves office.

b) Approval of Honorary Officers

Mr. Gadonneix then proposed retiring WEC officers Majid Al-Moneef, Alioune Fall, Chicco Testa, Ron Wood and André Caillé as new honorary officers, and this was approved by acclamation.

c) Invitation to 2008 Executive Assembly

A presentation was given on the 2008 Executive Assembly to be held in Mexico City from 2-7 November. Dr. Pablo Mulas of the Mexican Member Committee noted that a North America-LAC Bi-regional Forum on Energy and Water will be held just prior to the start of the Executive Assembly meetings.

6. Other Business and Adjournment

Ricardo Falabella (Argentina) expressed his dismay that accompanying persons who had not registered for the Congress were not permitted to attend the Farewell Dinner and said he hoped this would not happen in Montreal. The member from Hungary also complained about this.

Pablo Mulas (Mexico) asked how Congress delegates could obtain the technical papers. The Secretary General said that these were available on a memory stick which was part of the Congress delegate pack.

Greece complained that those who had not registered through the Congress website or who were not staying at particular hotels could not use the shuttle buses. He felt this was unfair and made it more difficult and expensive for certain delegates. Congress Vice Chair Chicco Testa said that the organiser had made it clear that only those booking through the Congress website could use the shuttle buses because otherwise, they would have no way of predicting numbers of delegates who would use the buses or the number of buses needed.

The Chair then thanked all WEC member countries who had so graciously hosted him during his travels on behalf of WEC. He also thanked the London office staff and the Secretary General for their hard work as well as the organisers of the Rome Congress. He noted that the next meeting of the Executive Assembly would take place in Reykjavik, Iceland, in September, 2008.

There being no further business, the Chair then gavelled the adjournment of the 2007 WEC Executive Assembly.