Arnold Schwarzenegger’s R20 welcomes Alliance support
- The Renault-Nissan Alliance backs Vienna R20 Conference
- Speakers from Renault and Nissan to address delegates
- Fleet of electric vehicles on hand for participants to test
VIENNA, Austria – The Renault-Nissan Alliance is backing R20 (regions20.com), the climate action group founded by former Governor of California Arnold Schwarzenegger, by becoming a partner of the Vienna R20 Conference (Jan 31-Feb. 1).
The Conference – the group’s second international event – will focus on ‘Implementing the Sustainable Energy Future’ with a series of forums and presentations.
Among the speakers are environment specialists from Renault and Nissan. Dr. Philippe Schulz, Expert Leader of Environment, Energy and Raw Materials at Renault and Olivier Paturet, General Manager of Nissan Europe’s Zero Emission Strategy, will both sit on forum panels.
Dr. Schulz will present the Alliance’s view of the ‘Energy Mix of the Future’ while Mr. Paturet will discuss ‘Technologies for a Smart Future.’
The Alliance will also be represented outside the conference hall. As the global leader in zero- emission mobility, it will be providing a fleet of electric vehicles for conference participants to try. As well as Nissan LEAF, the world’s best selling EV, there will be examples of the Renault Fluence Z.E. and Renault Kangoo Z.E. on hand. All are pure battery-powered electric vehicles, producing zero tailpipe emissions.
The R20 Regions of Climate Action is a non-profit public-private partnership founded in 2010 by Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and other global leaders in cooperation with the United Nations.
This coalition of partners led by regional governments works to promote and implement projects designed to produce local economic and environmental benefits in the form of reduced energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions, strong local economies, improved public health and new green jobs.
Among its current ‘grass-roots’ projects are renewable energy generation, waste management and fuel switching schemes in Mexico, Morocco, China and Brazil.
Like the Alliance, R20 believes passionately that now is the time to tackle climate change, pointing out that each day lost increases the cost of stabilizing greenhouse gas emissions and their interference with the climate system.
Through its Nissan and Renault brands, the Alliance already sells five pure electric vehicles with more on the way. Led by Nissan LEAF, the EV portfolio includes the Fluence Z.E. sedan, Twizy tandem two-seater, Kangoo Z.E. combi van from Renault.
A compact city hatchback, Renault Zoe, will appear in showrooms across Europe, while other models in the pipeline include the Nissan e-NV200 LCV, which will be available as a people carrier and light commercial van, and a luxury EV from Infiniti.
Together, Renault and Nissan have sold more than 70,000 electric vehicles around the world since the group’s first EV – Nissan LEAF – went on sale in December 2010.
About the Renault-Nissan Alliance The Renault-Nissan Alliance is a strategic partnership between Paris-based Renault and Yokohama, Japan-based Nissan, which together sell one in 10 cars worldwide. The companies, which have been strategic partners since 1999, sold 8.03 million cars in nearly 200 countries in 2011. The Alliance also operates strategic collaborations with automakers including Germany’s Daimler, China’s Dong Feng, and India’s Ashok Leyland and recently formed a joint venture with state corporation Russian Technologies to acquire a majority stake in AVTOVAZ.
Biographies Dr. Philippe Schulz is Expert Leader for the Environment, Energy and Raw Materials at Renault SAS, a position he has held for the last two years. He joined Renault in 2004 as manager of Renault’s fuel cell vehicle program before becoming senior manager of the energy and environment division in Renault’s corporate planning department. He holds a degree in chemical engineering from Ecole Supérieure de Chimie Industrielle de Lyon, France.
Olivier Paturet is General Manager of Nissan Europe’s Zero-Emission Strategy. Based in Paris, he is responsible for the deployment of Nissan’s zero-emission strategy across Europe. He has a Master of Science degree in marketing from the University of Kansas, USA, and a degree in business administration from Ecole supérieure de Commerce de Clermont-Ferrand, France.
