Energy in focus

Energy is currently a high priority all over the world and many of the UBC cities have a diversified and great knowledge in this field. The urge to Thnd new solutions for our communities to manage the existing turmoil in the energy market has driven Oskarshamn to start the process of establishing a new commission within the UBC.

The working group within Oskarshamn municipality has been composed of three persons working in unison to build up the structure and to identify common focus areas for the new UBC Energy Commission. Contacts have also been established with the Commission on Environment

and other UBC cities, the EU-commission and different NGOs and industrial structures to get all the necessary input before outlining the proposed strategies. The work is divided into three integrated areas: coordination and communications, policy and organisational structures and academic platform for future R&D.

When it comes to coordination and communications the focus has been on the efficient use of the Internet. We need to create a proper electronic infrastructure for fast and efficient communication between the meetings. An "Energy forum" will be a useful tool to discuss online between meetings and within different working groups. From a policy point of view the work has been more to grasp the diversity and find the common ground upon which we have to base our Commission.

The organisation has been outlined to be small, efficient and able to reflect fast changes we deal with in our common geo-political environment. At the same time it needs to be a firm administrative structure that can communicate, initiate and respond to various issues.

Since UBC has now a representation office in Brussels, we will try to establish ourselves as an influential lobby group in the EU-structure.

To enhance our R&D efforts we have formed a "competence board" that shall be a supporting structure to the Commission.This group shall consist of leading scholars and researchers that can provide newvisions, extended knowledge and future insights. The current work of this group is today financially supported by the Swedish Energy Agency.