At a day-long forum here devoted to probing every aspect of the BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, activists and scientists saved discussion of alternative energy technology for last, but they agreed it could be the most important focus for public policymakers.

“Opportunity is dressed up like a crisis,” said Jigar Shah, chief executive of the Carbon War Room, the climate change advocacy organization founded by Virgin Atlantic billionaire Richard Branson. Shah, who founded the solar energy service company SunEdison before joining Carbon War Room, said that both the oil spill and the threat of global climate change should be providing the impetus to move toward a cleaner energy future. “There is no Planet B,” he said.

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