The seminar, organized within the framework of the thirteenth meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the UNECE Industrial Accidents Convention (CoP-13), will introduce the audience to the rapidly changing global economic and environmental conditions related to decarbonization, focusing on the importance, goals and challenges of industrial safety of the energy transition. As countries move away from fossil fuels, presentations will provide technical expertise and safety considerations regarding the hazards and risks associated with new and increased uses of hazardous substances and technologies being used to produce, transport, store and distribute energy.
The seminar will first review interlinkages between industrial safety and the energy transition. A series of presentations will then cover emerging industrial safety hazards and risks in the energy transition, including with information on recent legal and policy developments, technologies available and/or good practices to address those hazards and risks. The presentations will be structured under the following five areas: (A) Lifecycle of critical minerals needed for renewable energy and battery technology; (B) Large-scale battery energy storage systems (BESS); (C) Carbon capture and storage technology; (D) Hydrogen and ammonia; and (E) Electrification and decarbonization of energy-intensive industrial facilities/processes. Furthermore, the seminar will provide a basis for understanding how the UNECE Industrial Accidents Convention can further support policy development and knowledge generation to strengthen industrial safety and environmental and health protection in the context of sustainable development during the energy transition.
The conclusions and recommendations of the seminar will equip the audience with knowledge of the main risks and a basis for deciding on concrete actions to address them moving forward. Following the seminar, the Conference of the Parties will be invited to consider the draft decision on the work on the Industrial Safety of the Energy Transition under the Convention (ECE/CP.TEIA/2024/3), as prepared by the Bureau, in cooperation with the secretariat, following the Bureau’s establishment of its Small Group on Industrial Safety of the Energy Transition over the 2023-2024 biennium and findings from its related survey amongst UNECE member States.
The seminar will be held at Palais des Nations in Geneva, Switzerland on 27 November 2024, 10:20 a.m.–1:00 p.m. with interpretation in English, French and Russian. The participants of the COP-13 will be invited to participate in person, and the public will be invited to follow the seminar on UN Web TV.
Please direct all inquiries to: [email protected]