Trottier Symposium on Sustainable Engineering, Energy and Design

Trottier Symposium on Sustainable Engineering, Energy and Design

The Technological Dilemma: Exploit Without Ruin


Symposium Trottier 2023

The fight against climate change seems to be turning into a frantic race for technology, leaving little room for reflection on the exploitation of resources and the deployment of efficient technologies that already exist.

At the 2023 Trottier Symposium, we asked how we can harness our resources for a sustainable future, without leaving behind a depleted world. Join this essential reflection.

Philippe Bihouix (engineer and essayist) and Sofia Kabbej (Institut de Relations Internationales et Stratégiques) joined Normand Mousseau (IET) to debate the place of technology in achieving climate goals. 

It’s high time to pause and reflect on how we can use technology effectively and responsibly. At the risk of surprising you: not all innovation is beneficial or indispensable.

Watch the recording of this thought-provoking symposium on the place of technology in our society and its contribution to the fight against climate change.

Meet our Speakers

Philippe Bihouix

Philippe Bihouix is an engineer and Managing Director of AREP, a multi-disciplinary agency and subsidiary of SNCF (National Society of French Railway). He has worked as a consulting engineer or manager in various industrial sectors, including transport, energy, telecoms and construction. For over 15 years, he has been exploring the issues surrounding the energy transition, the consumption of non-renewable resources and the associated technological challenges, notably through works such as L’Âge des low tech: Vers une civilisation techniquement soutenable.

Sofia Kabbej

Sofia Kabbej is an associate researcher at the
the Climate, Energy and Security Unit at the Institut de Relations Internationales et Stratégiques (IRIS). She works in particular on the Observatoire Observatory on climate change issues. Her current research focuses on the security impacts of climate change climate change, which she has studied as part of the within the framework of the Observatoire défense et climat by the French Ministry of Defence. She also studies climate geo-engineering and the associated associated socio-political issues.

Contact Us

Please feel free to contact our team at IET@polymtl.ca