1.Strong IEA input at COP 10 - major books on hydrogen and carbon capture/storage

2. Demand-side management, energy storage, heat pumps - new IEA collaborative projects planned

3. Public access to IEA/SMP transport spreadsheet model

4. Coming in From the Cold – Improving District Heating Policy in Transition Economies

- Electricity Transmission and Distribution Technology and R&D
- Trends in Photovoltaic Applications
- International Collaboration - Is it worth it? IEA Solar Heating and Cooling Programme's response
- Bus Systems for the Future (in Spanish)

. Action on 1 Watt: A Meeting on Standby Power, Copenhagen (Denmark), 8-9 March 2005.

. Second International Conference on Clean Coal Technologies for our Future, Castiadas, Sardinia (Italy), 10-12 May 2005.

. Global Advances in Heat Pump Technology Applications, and Markets - 8th IEA Heat Pump Conference, 2005, Las Vegas (United States), 30 May-2 June 2005.

. Fourth International Symposium on Non-CO2 Greenhouse Gases (NCGG-4) Science, Control, Policy and Implementation, Utrecht (The Netherlands), 4-6 July 2005.

. 2005 International Conference on Coal Science and Technology (ICCS&T), Naha, Okinawa (Japan), 9-13 October 2005.

1. Strong IEA input at COP 10 - major books on hydrogen and carbon capture/storage. The Kyoto Protocol’s scheduled entry into force in February 2005 gives landmark status to the upcoming 10th Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). Providing pointers on policies and technologies for climate-change mitigation, the IEA will be a dynamic presence at this 6-17 December event in Buenos Aires (Argentina). New IEA publications will be launched on projections on use of carbon dioxide capture and storage technology and on hydrogen and fuel cell national R&D programmes at a press conference on Tuesday 14 December. Side events will also feature the projections of the IEA’s World Energy Outlook 2004 and in-depth analysis on wide-ranging climate-related aspects of energy policy and technology. Much essential reading for the climate community will be available at the IEA stand. For more details about the IEA's presence, consult the IEA’s website.

2. New IEA collaborative projects planned. The IEA’s international energy technology collaborative programmes regularly launch plans for new projects.

• IEA’s Demand-Side Management (DSM) Programme’s newly-commenced Task XV on Network-Driven DSM will identify and develop measures at demand-side level to forestall electricity network problems such as those linked to the 2003 blackouts in Europe and the United States. Contact the Operating Agent.

• IEA’s Energy Conservation through Energy Storage Implementing Agreement (ECES) is planning new tasks on:

o Distributed Generation and Electrical Energy Storage o Deployment of Energy Storage Technologies o Transportation of Thermal Energy Utilizing Thermal Energy Storage Technology o Optimised Industrial Process Heat and Power Generation with Thermal Energy Storage o Sustainable Cooling with Thermal Energy Storage.

For details and contacts, see the ECES Web page.

• Meanwhile, the IEA Heat Pump Programme’s latest project deals with Ground-Source Heat Pumps, Overcoming Market and Technical Barriers (Click on “Projects”). This Annex will identify systems that could improve performance and market attractiveness of ground-source heat pump systems. E-mail the Programme's contact for more details.

3. Public access to IEA/SMP transport spreadsheet model. Over the past two years, the IEA and the Sustainable Mobility Project of the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD) jointly developed a global transport spreadsheet model. This model is now available to the general public. It tracks vehicle sales and stocks, travel, efficiency, energy use and emissions for all major transport modes and regions worldwide. Reference case projections are made up to 2050, calibrated to the IEA's World Energy Outlook 2002. The model was used for the analysis and projections that fed into the WBCSD publication Mobility 2030: Meeting the Challenges to Sustainability (see OPEN Bulletin Issue No. 20). The WBCSD's Sustainable Mobility Project brought together and IEA and 12 leading international automotive and energy companies. Consult the WBCSD website for more information, including the IEA/SMP Transport Spreadsheet Model (8.3MB) and the accompanying report (40kb), which documents the model.

4. Coming in From the Cold – Improving District Heating Policy in Transition Economies. Wise management and investment in the former Socialist countries’ district heating systems could save as much natural gas annually as Germany consumes. This new IEA publication is based on an IEA project launched in 2002 to explore the benefits, challenges and most promising policy paths for district heating in the transition economies, where it covers up to 70% of heating and hot water needs. Exploring the dilemma of better regulation versus competitive market forces, the study weighs the relative advantages, underlining the importance of governments’ roles in whichever scenario. Key contributions to the project were made by the IEA’s Implementing Agreement on District Heating and Cooling and Combined Heat and Power, one of the IEA’s international collaborative R&D programmes. Consult the IEA’s website, including the executive summary and press release.

. Proceedings, IEA Workshop on Electricity Transmission and Distribution Technology and R&D, Paris, 4-5 November 2004. New technologies will be needed to modernise and improve reliability and security within electricity transmission and distribution systems. They will be needed to support competitive markets and accommodate distributed and intermittent generation. A number of barriers exist. Taking a close look at technology for 21st century power supply, this workshop reviewed technology priorities and pointed to the research and collaboration that will be needed to bring critical technologies to fruition. Click for the full Proceedings.

. Trends in Photovoltaic Applications - Survey report of selected IEA countries between 1992 and 2003. This latest report from the IEA Photovoltaic Power Systems Programme (IEA-PVPS) is based on the ninth international survey. It presents an overview of PV power systems applications and markets in the reporting countries at the end of 2003 and it analyses trends in the implementation of PV power systems between 1992 and 2003. Data on non-member countries and fuller industry information are included this year. To download, click here. IEA-PVPS is one of some 40 programmes within the IEA's framework for international energy technology co-operation.

. International Collaboration - Is it worth it? - IEA Solar Heating & Cooling Programme (IEA SHC) 2003 Annual Report. A full and positive answer to the question can be found in this IEA SHC report, downloadable from the IEA SHC programme's website, which also provides access to the latest Solar Update newsletter. IEA SHC is a programme within the IEA's framework for international energy technology co-operation.

. For Spanish-speakers, IEA's study Bus Systems for the Future is now available in a Spanish-language edition. This publication shows how providing better bus systems and technologies can put urban transport on a more sustainable path. The English-language version can now be downloaded free of charge.

. The IEA's Greenhouse Gas R&D Programme (IEAGHG) has expanded its website pages on CO2 capture and storage, an authoritative source of technology information on this important option for tackling greenhouse gas emissions. IEAGHG is another programme within the IEA's framework for international energy technology co-operation.

. Energy Statistics Manual. A free IEA guide to producing detailed, complete, timely and reliable statistics to monitor the energy situation at country level and at international level. Click to download.

. Key World Energy Statistics, 2004 Edition. Clearly presented free data on the supply, transformation and consumption of all major energy sources. Click to download.

. CO2 Emissions from Fuel Combustion 1971-2002 - 2004 Edition. Data designed to assist in understanding the evolution of these emissions, covering more than 140 countries and regions, by sector and by fuel. Bilingual English/French. Visit IEA's Online Bookshop.

. Renewables Information 2004 - Comprehensive analysis of renewables and waste energy supply, electricity production and installed electricity generating capacity in OECD countries. Visit IEA's Online Bookshop.

. Electricity Information 2004 - Over 600 pages on production, consumption, prices and trade in electricity. The report also contains coverage of heat production for OECD countries. Visit IEA's Online Bookshop.

. Energy Policies of IEA Countries - Portugal. The latest in the series of peer reviews of energy policies in individual IEA countries. Visit the IEA's online Online Bookshop.

Reminder: two calendar years after publication, pdf versions of many of IEA's publications are downloadable free of charge.

. Action on 1 Watt: A Meeting on Standby Power, Copenhagen (Denmark), 8-9 March 2005. This will focus on “where we are now": legislation, co-ordinating global procurement policies, accelerating progress on revision of test procedures, the future scenario beyond standby (e.g. dealing with low power modes and active-mode energy use). For further information about this invitation-only event, contact Alan Meier at IEA.

. Second International Conference on Clean Coal Technologies for our Future, Castiadas, Sardinia (Italy), 10-12 May 2005. Co-organised by the IEA Clean Coal Centre, this event will review the current major issues against the backdrop of fast changing coal markets. Click to learn more.

. Global Advances in Heat Pump Technology, Applications, and Markets - 8th IEA Heat Pump Conference, Las Vegas (United States), 30 May-2 June 2005. Organised under the auspices of the IEA Heat Pump Programme, this conference will focus on: heat pump technologies, air conditioning and refrigeration equipment, and systems for residential, commercial, industrial and district heating/cooling applications. On the agenda will be current technology and market status, progress and trends. For the call for papers and further information, click here.

. Fourth International Symposium on Non-CO2 Greenhouse Gases (NCGG-4) Science, Control, Policy and Implementation, Utrecht (The Netherlands), 4-6 July 2005. Organised in co-operation with the IEA Greenhouse Gas R&D Programme, this event will address the role of non-CO2 greenhouse gases in human-induced climate change.

. 2005 International Conference on Coal Science and Technology (ICCS&T), Naha, Okinawa (Japan), 9-13 October 2005. For more information, contact Dr. O Yamada of Japan's National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST), the sponsor organisation for the conference. The IEA Clean Coal Centre will also play an organisational role.