DS09 Reykjavík: A Big Success

The Driving Sustainability Forum.

Iceland is unique in the sense that the country’s usage of energy is already 80% sustainable. Removing fossil fuel vehicles from the roads would make Iceland’s energy usage 98% sustainable and therefore the most sustainable country in the world. The conference was born out of that dream and with 3 conferences under our belts, it is beginning to happen. More importantly the issues and ideas discussed at the conference are catching on elsewhere.

This years conference resulted in identifying 5 areas that would reduce 55% of the oil used by vehicles today in 10 years through:

1. A set of clear goals of replacing oil with sustainable locally produced energy and fuels
2. Creating harmonized incentives that create a demand for low and zero emission vehicles
3. Developing new business models that lower the high capital costs of battery powered electric cars
4. Cooperation of key stakeholders
5. Public campaigns that alter the people’s travel behavior

It was also concluded that the best solutions for sustainable mobility in the next 3-5 years are:

1. The plug-in hybrid vehicles
2. Biogas vehicles
3. Electric vehicles
4. Mixed fuel vehicles
5. And continued lifestyle changes and better planning

Icelandic President Ólafur Ragnar Grímsson

Dr. Anne Marie Sastry, Founder & CEO of Sakti3 / Professor University of Michigan

Carsten Beck, Copenhagen Institute for Future Studies

Jim Motavalli of the New York Times

Klaus Bondam, Mayor for the Technical and Environmental Administration, Copenhagen

Bradley Skaggs, Ichiro Fukue, Executive Vice President, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Japan, Teitur Thorkelsson, FTO and one sweet Tesla

The FTO Team after a great conference