Next week a series of meetings on the use of technology to tackle global problems will be held in Little Rock by Club de Madrid — a coalition of more than 100 former democratic former presidents and prime ministers from around the world — and the P80 Group, a coalition of large public pension and sovereign wealth funds founded by Prince Charles to combat climate change. The conference will discuss deploying existing technologies to increase access to food, water, energy, clean environment, and medical care.

The proceedings build on the “Little Rock Accord,” a 2012 agreement between Club de Madrid and P80 that created a joint task force to mobilize political will to address climate change, sustainable development, and resource shortages.

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The opening event, free and open to the public, is Monday, Dec. 12 at the Robinson Center Performance Hall. Seats can be reserved here.

From the two groups’ press release:

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The exploding growth in the world’s population has made it clear that the key resources that impact human existence and economic development – access to adequate food, clean water, reliable energy, a clean environment and comprehensive medical care – will be in short supply, with these shortages also driving up the price.

Fortunately, in many instances there are already existing solutions to these problems. Many proven technologies can: more efficiently produce, store and conserve energy; clean and conserve water resources; produce and distribute food more efficiently; help clean the environment; and improve delivery of quality medical services.

The challenge is to accelerate the deployment of these proven technologies into the global market, providing effective solutions to growing problems and also stimulating the economy and creating jobs. 

Full press release after the jump:


Representatives of Club de Madrid, P80 Group Reconvene in Little Rock to Address World Problems

Goal: deploy technologies to increase access to food, water, energy, clean environment, medical care

LITTLE ROCK – Dec. 7, 2016 – Global government, finance and technology leaders will descend on Little Rock the week of Dec. 12 for a series of comprehensive meetings that will address growing global problems and develop plans to deploy innovative technologies to alleviate them.

The proceedings build on the Little Rock Accord, signed in Little Rock in 2012 by a group of more than 100 former presidents and prime ministers of the Club de Madrid and the P80 Group. The P80 group was founded by HRH Prince Charles to work with large pension and sovereign wealth funds to encourage increased investment in technology deployment to help alleviate pressing global problems.

The opening event will be held at 8:30 a.m. Monday, Dec. 12, in the newly renovated Robinson Center Performance Hall. The event is free and open to the public; those interested in attending can reserve a seat by accessing: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/opening-plenary-club-de-madridp80-reunion-proceedings-tickets-29803545206. However, space is limited, and all reservations will be accepted on a first-come, first-serve basis.

Subsequent sessions, open only to registered conference participants, will be held at the Clinton Presidential Center, the Clinton School of Public Service and Heifer International, concluding Thursday morning, Dec. 15, at the Little Rock Regional Chamber.

The exploding growth in the world’s population has made it clear that the key resources that impact human existence and economic development – access to adequate food, clean water, reliable energy, a clean environment and comprehensive medical care – will be in short supply, with these shortages also driving up the price.

Fortunately, in many instances there are already existing solutions to these problems. Many proven technologies can: more efficiently produce, store and conserve energy; clean and conserve water resources; produce and distribute food more efficiently; help clean the environment; and improve delivery of quality medical services.

The challenge is to accelerate the deployment of these proven technologies into the global market, providing effective solutions to growing problems and also stimulating the economy and creating jobs.

The Little Rock Accord pledged cooperation between the Club de Madrid, the P80 Group and other participants to accelerate deployment of these problem-solving technologies and making financing available to the companies developing these technologies so they can scale up quickly.

This month’s Club de Madrid/P80 Group meeting also marks the official launch of the new Global Solutions Institute, a global organization to be based in Little Rock with a mission to accelerate the deployment of proven, problem-solving technologies, especially to developing countries, which will address key resource shortages in the areas of energy, water, food, environment and health care.

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