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L’énergie dans le développement de la Nouvelle-Calédonie

 | 
Yves Le Bars
, 
Elsa Faugère
, 
Philippe Menanteau
, 
et al.

Section 2: Review and recommendations. English Version

Foreword

Michel Laurent

Full text

1In a letter dated 17th June 2008, the Government of New Caledonia and the Environment and Energy Management Agency (ADEME), by means of its territorial representation, commissioned the Development Research Institute (IRD) to produce a scientific report entitled Energy in the development of New Caledonia. The IRD undertook this work, under the leadership of its Reporting and Evaluation Department, using a specific tool and method that it has been offering to its French southern and tropical overseas partners for ten years now, known as an “experts’ report”.

2At a time when the IRD is redefining its strategic focus as well as its scientific and geographic priorities, this first piece of work devoted to the issue of energy and related challenges deserves attention, in particular given the current backdrop in New Caledonia and decisions that the territory is about to make. In actual fact, the aims were ambitious in light of this multifacetted subject and the interrelations between numerous disciplines. A decision was made, with the sponsoring authorities, to cover the subject as broadly as possible, rather than restricting it to one or two aspects, although this may have meant not having the same depth of understanding of the entire spectrum. The expert panel specifically deemed it necessary to incorporate issues relating to climate and the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions, which are inextricably linked to that of energy in the strictest sense, wherever possible

3Rapidly formed on the day after the initial workshop was held in Nouméa at the end of October 2008, and arriving on the ground for the first time in March 2009, this multi-discplinary panel of experts brought together researchers, research lecturers and specialists from scientific communities, normally working remotely from each other, and various establishments (research bodies, universities, ENS Cachan). Their expertise and knowledge were incorporated and put “into production” under the active chairmanship of Yves LE BARS, honorary engineer-general for land, water and forestry, in order to cover one of the five thematic areas included in the report’s specification.

4At the same initial workshop - the physical embodiment of a genuine desire to bring together all stakeholders on the part of the Government of New Caledonia - a monitoring committee, comprising both sponsors and stakeholders involved in the subject, was formed. Meeting five times over the course of the next twelve months, it was kept up-to-date on the progress of work by the panel of experts, in order to pass on comments to the latter. At its final meeting on 16th December, it approved the issue of the report.

5I now have the honour of providing the reader of this work with the final experts’ report. In addition to the unabridged contributions of the authors, gathered together on a CD-ROM, any reader wishing to immediately view the main conclusions of this work can find the recommendations compiled by the panel of experts at the end of the summary. Of the numerous points raised by these recommendations, I would like to highlight the need for New Caledonia to devise a sustainable and autonomous system for training/education, research, technological monitoring and expert evaluation, which capitalises on regional experiments and innovation in terms of the geological storage of CO2 and adjustment to climate change, which the Grand observatoire de l’environnement et de la biodiversité terrestre et marine du Pacifique Sud (GOPS) (Observatory for the environment, land and marine biodiversity for the South Pacific) could naturally support.

6On behalf of the IRD, I would finally like to thank all the stakeholders and partners who have enabled this experts’ report to be completed within the limited time frame for this operation.

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