04/03/2008 (Agence Europe) - The European Patent Office (EPO), the European Commission and the Slovenian Presidency are holding an international conference on environmental technology and patents in Ljubljana on Tuesday 6 and Wednesday 7 May. Participants will discuss how intellectual property protection can contribute to respect for the environment and to tackling climate change. Among those speaking will be Industry Commissioner Günter Verheugen, Slovenian Economy Minister Andrej Vizjak, Executive Secretary of the UN Convention on Climate Change Ivo de Boer, EPO President Alison Brimelow and Jeremy Rifkin, President of the Foundation on Economic Trends. Four prizes honouring the European Inventors of the Year will be presented at the conference. (M.B.)