#worldknowedgeforum2014

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The happy faces of some of our World Knowledge Forum 2014 writers, editors, and staff.

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Our press writers working on the final articles of the World Knowledge Forum 2014!

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Our writers working on their articles.

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MBN: Smart Energy Revolution

by Jeffrey Barg

October 16, 2014

Human invention has depended on fossil fuels for its energy needs for well over 150 years. When the train became the primary mode of shipment, coal was used in massive quantities. Eventually, with the invention of the combustible engine, oil became the energy source for the masses. But now even a schoolchild knows that eventually, those energy sources will be depleted. So the world is left with the problem of finding the next effective, efficient, and long-lasting energy source.

The Smart Energy Revolution panel discussion at the 15th Annual World Knowledge Forum in Seoul provided solid evidence that this new energy source may already have been found.

Among the speakers were Doctor Gunter Pauli, CEO and founder of Zero Emissions Research and Initiatives (ZERI), Doctor San Yup Lee, dean at KAIST, Seong Hoon Kim, a senior vice president of smart energy business for KT, Jaehong Jeong, director of GE Oil & Gas, and Martin Hauske, CEO of Accenture’s Smart Grid business in the Asia-Pacific. The panel of experts presented their ideas on the current direction of energy resources, creation, and application.

“I, of course, always owe an apology to the orangutan,” Dr. Pauli began. “In 1991, I saw that my biodegradable product was destroying their habitat. I realized it was biodegradable but not sustainable, and that forced me to change my model of business.”

Dr. Pauli has since spearheaded innovations across all disciplines of energy utilization, and went on to outline the myriad projects his companies have been a part of.

“Other industries pride themselves on eliminating jobs, but I don’t,” added Dr. Pauli.

His companies have focused on innovation and revenue creation. He went on to illustrate the various endeavors his company ZERI has undertaken in an effort to create renewable, sustainable resources. One such endeavor includes a water filtration system that works by extracting moisture from the air.

Dr. Pauli seems intent on changing the way the energy industry does business.

“In our organization, it is forbidden to write a business plan. You have to focus on doing things,” he said.

The sector of the energy industry that Mr. Hauske focused on was utilities. Certainly, with more people and more devices that use energy than ever before, the utilities industry is in need of its own share of resources.

“Our focus is on energy conservation, efficiency, substitution, and distribution,” he said. He added that fairly soon, there will be an app for everything, and that everyone’s devices will have to talk to each other. This unprecedented era of interconnectivity will result in more energy consumption through utilities, which his company is focused on providing in new and innovative ways.

General Electric has long been at the forefront of energy utilization and distribution, and Mr. Jeong spoke on GE’s place in the current energy revolution.

“We are trying to connect the Internet of Things, intelligent machines, big data, analytics, and people at work,” explained Mr. Jeong. By combining these five components into one fluid system, GE plans on minimizing unplanned down time and increasing result-oriented contractual services, thereby increasing overall productivity.

Mr. Kim brought the presentation back to the basics, rather than focusing on the creation and distribution of energy. KT is concentrating reducing energy consumption by analyzing customers’ lifestyles.

“Analyzing customer data allows us to use energy more effectively,” explained Mr. Kim. “The data allows us to compare energy consumption with your neighbors, and advise people on how to lower their costs. The difficult part is getting people to heed your advice and reduce their energy footprint.”

The discussion then turned to the newest form of energy creation: biofuels. Dr. Lee elaborated on several new forms of energy creation, including butanol, which is created through the fermentation processes of microorganisms.

Dr. Lee left no doubt about the importance of these biofuels as a cornerstone of future energy consumption.

“It’s not about us. It’s about our children’s children’s children,” said Dr. Lee. He then went on to explain the immense applications of the chemicals, plastics, and fuels produced through the employment of microorganisms.

With all the changes the energy industry will undergo in the near future, it appears that the majority of the panel believes we will adjust to such change, whether we are ready or not.

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Yukio Hatoyama: Asia’s New Beginning

by Sarah Miles

October 16, 2014

Returning to the World Knowledge Forum four years after delivering the keynote speech at the 2010 forum, Yukio Hatoyama, former Prime Minister of Japan, spoke on the great potential Asia has to take center stage in the 21st century. Dr. Hatoyama was especially adamant about the importance of an agreement for mutual collaboration and interdependence between Japan, China, and Korea.

“Such a grouping would make a great contribution to the stability and prosperity of Asia, and therefore to a more prosperous world as well,” he said.

Dr. Hatoyama demonstrated strong support for the “One Asia” initiative, pointing to evidence both in the past and in the current economic environment that such a joint collective may not be far off.

“Asia has always been a source for rich potential from times of old,” he said, “and the nations of Asia are already strengthening their mutual dependence on each other. The industrial structure between Japan, China, and Korea has already become a single organic body, an entity that can no longer be separated into its formerly separate parts.”

The majority of Dr. Hatoyama’s speech addressed the obstacles facing the realization of “One Asia,” and he was particularly critical of his own country’s policies and behavior in regards to the issue. In his own words, “the lion’s share of the problem lies on Japan’s side.”

Dr. Hatoyama expressed regret that Japan’s political leaders choose to place more priority on the Trans-Pacific Partnership, rather than on achieving a free trade agreement with China and Korea. He also blamed Japan’s failure to resolve historical issues for the precarious geopolitical atmosphere in East Asia.

“The single greatest obstacle to forming an East Asian community is the worsening state of Japan’s relationship with Korea and China. We must resolve the historical issues,” he stressed. “It is critical for the side that inflicted pain in the past to fully sympathize with the side that suffered as a result of those actions.”

However, recognizing the difficulties of enacting such a bold platform in Japan, Dr. Hatoyama suggested following the proposal of Korean President Geun-Hye Park, a less demanding strategy to improve relations in the short term.

“If we follow President Park’s proposal of a two track system, whereby discussion of historical problems are split from the discussion of other issues, I believe a Japan-Korea summit may be close,” he said.

The former Prime Minister also recommended a similar strategy for dealing with the many territorial disputes plaguing the East Asian triad, particularly the disputes over Dokdo Island and the Senkaku Islands.

“In my opinion, the Japanese government needs to clearly admit that the islands are disputed territory and agree to consign the resolution of that issue to the wisdom of future leaders. Both sides need to act with great care to avoid touching off any explosive situations. Territory issues cannot be solved simply, so it is better to leave it aside for a while, to leave it to the next generation to decide,” he said.

Dr. Hatoyama also called for a change in the overall attitude of both political leaders and the media in Japan towards their East Asian neighbors, as well as a lessening of the dependence on US-Japan relations.

“Unless there is a change in the attitude of government officials, no matter how things may seem to be okay on the surface level, there may be something different going on under the table,” he said.

Former Prime Minister Hatoyama concluded his speech with a renewed appeal to strive for a Pan-Asian community with the potential for worldwide benefits.

“We must strive to create a society of peace based upon the greatest esteem for human dignity,” he said. “Joining together under the doctrine of fraternity, we must set our sights on building the East Asian community.”

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Exterior Garden at the World Knowledge Forum 2014.

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Emerald Room at the World Knowledge Forum 2014.

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The Opportunities of ASEAN Economic Integration

by Thomas Kwon

October 16, 2014

Speakers:

Eric John, President, Boeing Korea, Vice President, Boeing International

Siow Yue Chia, Senior Research Fellow, Singapore Institute of International Affairs

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations has a tight deadline to fully establish its ASEAN Economic Community: December 31, 2015.  In a presentation at the 2014 World Economic Forum, Eric John, president of Boeing Korea, vice president of Boeing International, and former U.S. ambassador to Thailand, and Siow Yue Chia, senior research fellow at the Singapore Institute of International Affairs, discussed the ten-nation cooperative’s progress thus far. 

“You don’t have any conversation about regional institutions in East Asia that don’t begin with ASEAN,” said Mr. John.

Dr. Chia began by highlighting the strengths of ASEAN.  She named robust economic growth, a young growing population with 60 percent under the age of 35, and an abundance of natural resources, among other things.

“ASEAN as a region has been very dynamic in economic growth, so the growth has been on average 5.3 percent since 2009,” she said.

Another boon, Mr. John added, is the fact of outside parties negotiating solely with ASEAN.  He gave the example of open skies agreements liberalizing strict rules in the aviation industry, which have resulted in projections that over the next twenty years, of the 36,000 airplanes sold globally, 14,000 will be sold in the Asia-Pacific region, driven by ASEAN carriers.

“With ten separate countries, it becomes very complex…the freedoms of open skies agreements have led to an incredibly robust market,” Mr. John said. 

Of course, ASEAN also has its shortcomings.  Dr. Chia outlined the widening development gap amongst member countries, limited governmental harmonization, and vulnerability to external shocks.  She believes that this can lead to increased fracturing and intra-regional competition.

To support her point, Mr. John cited Indonesia’s step back in governance in removing local Parliamentary elections, Thailand’s history of military coups, and allegations of widespread corruption in many ASEAN nations.

“You’ve got a plethora of religions.  You have ten countries, but dozens of languages.  You’ve got ten countries with separate economies, but that have a lot of overlapping competitive interests,” he acknowledged.

Overall, however, the two remain optimistic.

Dr. Chia singled out the ASEAN+1 free trade agreements with China, South Korea, and Japan as indicators of progress toward the four objectives of a single market and production base, a competitive economic region, equitable economic development, and integration into the global economy.

“There is some trepidation that we will not be able to achieve, or set up to achieve, but the general conclusion is we are moving in the direction,” she said.

There has also been encouragement from other sources.  Dr. Chia admitted, “We have been beating ourselves in the last few years ever since the ASEAN scorecard was published…but outsiders tell us, ‘don’t be so hard on yourselves.’”

Mr. John took a moment to recognize the value of even having such a cooperative in place, without which agreements and dialogue might not occur at all.

“I would say actually one great strength that ASEAN has is simply that it exists.  A lot of times that’s taken for granted,” he said.

In evaluating the accomplishments of ASEAN, Mr. John considered the alternative.

“Look at it in the negative.  What would it be like if there were no ASEAN?  Right now we argue about if the glass is half-full or half-empty with regard to ASEAN…but just think about if there weren’t even a glass?”