[WEC Inside] 

Interview with WEC Vice Chair, Younghoon David Kim



Three issues that keep me up at night:

1) Nuclear weapons in North Korea
If the North continues with its missile launches thus contributing adversely to military and political equilibrium
in the region, then Northeast Asia could suffer economically as well.

2) Global outreach of the Green Eco Energy Park (GEEP) Project
On June 10, we celebrated the completion of the first phase of GEEP, an anti-desertification demonstration project in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia. I am excited about this technological breakthrough. Our initial success at our site just outside of Ulaanbaatar is commendable; however, I am concerned about how we may bring this project to other areas facing desertification throughout the world. Our challenges include how to adapt this technology to different climates and geographical conditions.

3) Energy price instability
Predictions are that we may have passed the worst of the economic crisis. However, instability in energy prices could throw cold water again on an emerging recovery. We have been experiencing a rise in oil prices in the past few months. So I am convinced that it is now more than ever necessary to establish a global regime to ensure stability in world energy prices. Many people share this view, but transforming it into a reality remains a challenge. 

I would appreciate feedback from WEC members on…:
Local or regional projects of value that we may consider for implementation or feedback on, for example:
1. Model cases demonstrating energy saving technology and know-how that can be shared;
2. Model cases demonstrating successful examples of energy efficiency;
3. Breakthrough technologies in IT + energy. 
WEC should think about…:
- Adding Chinese and Arabic as working languages of WEC along with English and French.
- The fact that “small is beautiful” i.e.: smaller scale projects can be highly effective and have the potential to become more widely implemented than large scale projects. 
- Providing support for “MCs at risk”

Any other comments:
To paraphrase the familiar statement: “Any international organization is only as strong as its weakest member committee.” Often our less active MCs are the ones that need the most help in terms of general support as well as information and technology sharing. Let’s make sure this happens.