July 2009

Please join our COMMEND community! Membership is free and let's you post messages, download LEAP and get access to additional features such as the interactive members map. Already a member? Click here to log in

Eighth Annual Workshop on Energy Policy for Sustainable Development and Use of the LEAP Modeling System
Bariloche, Argentina, June 15-26 2009.

The Institute for Energy Economics of the Fundación Bariloche (IDEE/FB) in Argentina has announced the dates for the 8th annual workshop on Energy Policy for Sustainable Development and Use of the LEAP Modeling System.  The workshop is designed for energy and environmental professionals and is open to participants from any country, but please be advised that most sessions will be conducted in Spanish and only some course sessions and materials will be available in English, so a high degree of fluency in both Spanish and English is required. The workshop will be split into two segments: week one will focus on the concepts of energy planning and energy scenario analysis and week two will be devoted to an intensive LEAP training session.  A limited number of scholarships are available to help defray the costs of attending.   More information and application forms available here.

Change in LEAP Licensing Policy for 2009

We have revised our licensing policy for the new year.  We will no longer be charging for the use of LEAP for any students from accredited academic organizations (universities, colleges, or schools).  LEAP has always been available at no charge to students based in developing countries but this policy has now been extended to all students, regardless of where they are located.

UNFCCC Resource Guides on National Communications 

SEI staff Charlie Heaps and Anja Kollmuss have authored the mitigation module of the the new UNFCCC Resource Guides on Preparing National Communications for Non Annex 1 (NAI) Parties.  The module introduces the basic concepts behind performing a mitigation assessment, reviews mitigation options in different sectors of the economy, outlines barriers to mitigation and provides a brief introduction to alternative modeling tools for mitigation assessment including LEAP, MARKAL, ENPEP and RETScreen.  Finally it provides guidelines for reporting on mitigation in National Communications. 

The mitigation module is available here.  A companion module about vulnerability and adaptation to climate change is available here.