World Summit on Environmental Accounting

Beijing Normal University:  July4-6, 2016

The World Summit on Environmental Accounting (WSEA) 2016:  Emergy Analysis for Designing a Prosperous and Sustainable Future, was held at Beijing Normal University, July 4 to July 6, 2016.  The WSEA was the first international conference sponsored by ISAER and ISAER’s China Chapter.

By every metric the conference was a success. The organization of sessions was very good, with many interesting themed sessions and with two very good keynote sessions on the first two mornings.

Lunches and the first night’s dinner were generously provided. The foreigner groups were especially well taken care of with a welcoming dinner Sunday and farewell lunch on Sunday for those still around.

Welcoming Dinner

As an international conference, all talks were in English, which is an added challenge for Chinese students and faculty, and we congratulate them. For many of the students, it was likely their first conference in English and we commend their efforts.

The organizing and assistance to attendees by Liu Gengyuan was exceptional. An essential part of organizing an international meeting, Gengyuan’s prompt replies to travelers with passport and visa and accommodation needs was very welcome.

WSEA 2016

Three days of talks were followed by a fourth day field trip for many of the participants. We traveled to the Great Wall where we had the opportunity to become ‘great men’ by walking and climbing to the top (of one large section, there are actually many).

Certainly a number of new acquaintances and collaborations were begun, and older ones renewed. The Italians had the biggest showing of foreigners, but there were also Brazilians, Indians, Pakistanis, Kiwis (Murray), Swiss (Wackernagel), Argentinians (Walter Pengue), Japanese, and of course a strong contingent of Italians transplanted to Luxembourg.

According to the program there were also attendees from Ghana, Australia, South Korea, Finland, Norway, and Inner Mongolia. The Chinese attendees were from many different universities and institutions across China. The final count of attendees was approximately 300.  Additional sightseeing was also had by some.

All in all, a beautifully done meeting and we congratulate especially Liu Gengyuan and Yang Zhifeng for their outstanding effort. And final thanks to the army of student volunteers who seemed to be everywhere helping out.

Post-Conference Emergy Course

The conference was followed by an emergy course taught by Dr. Mark Brown of the University of Florida and several guest lecturers, including Murray Patterson and Sergio Ulgiati.

Mark Brown Lecture

Emergy Course