A discussion titled Cleantech: The Next Big Things is to feature in an international climate change & business conference to be held in Melbourne in August

The cleantech discussion will form part of the business opportunities stream on the morning of Day 3 of the 5th Australia-New Zealand Climate Change & Business Conference (24-26 August, Melbourne, Australia).

Ian Porter, CEO of the Alternative Technologies Association, will chair the sessions which feature the following senior technology provider panel representatives:

• Advanced Solar: Barry Lake, Project Manager Advanced Solar Initiative, Worley Parsons
• Wave & Tidal: Tim Finnigan, Chief Executive Officer, Bio Power Systems
• Algae: Andrew Lawson, Managing Director, MBD Energy
• Electric Vehicle Network: Talal Yassine, Head of Business Development & Operations, Better Place Australia
• Ceramic Fuel Cells: Brendan Dow, Managing Director, Ceramic Fuel Cells Limited
• Geothermal Power: Gerry Grove White, Chief Executive Officer, Geodynamics
• Biochar: Nick Gerritsen, Director, Carbonscape NZ

The morning session will open with an overview of the cleantech industry by Matthew Warren, Chief Executive Officer of the Clean Energy Council of Australia. The panel members will each outline what emissions reduction potential their technology can deliver & what policy measures and drivers they need to become commercial:

Julien Turecek, Investment Manager at Cleantech Ventures, will also outline what investors are looking for from cleantech companies.

The afternoon discussion will feature international success stories of Australian & New Zealand cleantech companies in Asia and America. Austrade and Trade & Investment New Zealand will co-chair this session and profile companies that have accessed overseas markets, including Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) qualified projects.

The Conference runs for three days, from 24-26 August. Over 80 expert international and regional speakers are confirmed, including the Australian & New Zealand Climate Change Ministers Wong and Smith. Day one of the conference will offer introductory workshops on climate change adaptation, policy measures and carbon markets including the CDM market. Day two will outline domestic & international policy updates and feature business panel discussions on policy impacts and financing the move to a low carbon economy. Day three includes themed concurrent sessions, including the Cleantech opportunities stream, plus a focused discussion on the potential of the Copenhagen meeting. Full program details are available from the website.

The conference series is a not for profit initiative organised by the Australia – New Zealand Climate Change & Business Centre and Point Carbon. The Victorian Government is Foundation sponsor and host for the 2009 Melbourne event.

Single Day registration is available. Early bird registration until July 17, 2009

For further details visit: www.climateandbusiness.com