Aix-en-Provence

From Korea I flew to Paris, & then took the TGV down to Aix-en-Provence to attend the 7th International Conference of the International Center for Research on Environmental Issues (ICREI), which this year focused on air pollution and climate change.  ICREI is housed at the Universite Paul Cezanne (named after the town’s most famous native son), and I was invited to make a presentation concerning the role of environmental markets in China.  Other invitees included Denny Ellerman from MIT (the author of Markets for Clean Air), who talked about the U.S. acid rain program; and Charlotte Streck of Climate Focus, who had recently worked with me on the HK Stock Exchange project.  Charlotte spoke about the legal aspects of property rights under climate change emissions markets.

Cocktails at the Pavillon de Vendome

Luckily, the conference organizers left plenty of time for us to wander around the streets and narrow alleyways of this sun-drenched town, so that we could visit such places as the art school where Cezanne studied (now the Musee Granet); the schoolyard where he met his close childhood friend Emile Zola (although the two later had a falling out, based upon the way Zola characterized the painter in one of his novels); and the fountains and cafes and nooks & crannies of this delightful Provencal town.  They even organized a cocktail hour (complete with jazz band) in the gardens of the Pavillon de Vendome, an ornate structure built in 1665 by the Duke of Vendome solely to have a place for his trysts with a woman best known as “The Beauty of Canet.”   It was a gorgeous setting to offer an appreciative toast to our hosts — and especially Max Falque, ICREI’s Managing Director, who organized the meeting (and invited me to attend).