Climate and Energy Risks: a Transatlantic Comparison

Climate and Energy Risks: A Transatlantic Comparison

SEIU
1800 Massachusetts Avenue NW
Washington, DC 20036
April 8, 2013

9:00am – 9:15am Introduction: The Transatlantic Community: Handling Common Risks, Improving Cooperation
Stormy-Annika Mildner, SWP
Jack Janes, AICGS

9:15am – 10:45amPanel 1: Energy Security
Energy security is one of the fundamental questions Europe and the U.S. will have to address in the coming decades. Impacting economic policy and security concerns as well as the well-being of environment and citizens, decisions about energy resources, markets, and use now will shape many policy fields for decades to come. Risks associated with energy use and resources are differently assessed in the U.S. and Europe/Germany (shale gas and nuclear energy comes to mind for example). Yet, energy security is fundamentally an international problem and thus also a transatlantic issue. The first panel examines energy security and the associated risk assessment in Europe and the U.S.
Chair: Stormy-Annika Mildner, SWP
The U.S. Perspective: Paul Sullivan, Georgetown University
The EU Perspective: Oliver Geden, SWP
Commentator: Sarah Ladislaw, CSIS (tbc)

10:45am – 11:00amCoffee Break

11:00am– 12:30pmPanel 2: Case Study: The Shale Gas Challenge
Recent reports that the shale gas boom in the U.S. will make the country energy independent by 2020 have created an enormous echo, since this will have vast consequences for energy and climate policies in America and abroad as well as geopolitical implications. In Europe, possible exploitation of shale gas has been much more restrained; even Poland – owner of some of the largest shale gas – has not developed the resources to full capacity. France and Germany have both effectively banned shale gas development. Examining the transatlantic differences on natural gas development in Europe and the U.S. and an outlook of the impact of the shale gas revolution in the U.S. will be the objective of this panel.

Chair: Jack Janes, AICGS
The U.S. Perspective: Alan Krupnick, RFF
The EU Perspective: Roderick Kefferpütz, European Parliament
Commentator: Karen Florini, EDF

12:30pm – 1:30pmLunch

1:30pm – 3:00pmPanel 3:Case Study: Nuclear Energy
Many analysts argue that nuclear energy will play a central role in transition western and developing economies from carbon-intensive energy to carbon neutral energy sources. Yet, Germany decided in 2011 to phase out nuclear energy despite its commitments to reduce its carbon footprint under the EU 20/20/20 framework. Environmentalists in Germany see both as feasible; other experts warn that Germany will miss its climate goals. While nuclear energy is viewed as more safe in the U.S., the risk of environmental damage as well as terrorist attacks has led to high insurance costs and consequently no nuclear reactor has been built since the 1970s. This panel will assess the different assessment of nuclear risk in Europe (France and Germany as two opposing examples) and the U.S. and the policy and technological consequences.
Chair: Kirsten Verclas, AICGS
The U.S. Perspective: Wilfrid Kohl, Johns Hopkins University (tbc)
The EU Perspective: Severin Fischer, SWP
Commentator: Joseph Beamon, U.S. Department of Energy (tbc)

3:00pm – 3:15pmCoffee Break

3:15pm – 4:45pmPanel 4: Mitigating and Adapting to Climate Risks
After the U.S. experienced the hottest year in 2012 and President Barack Obama mentioned climate change in his inaugural address in 2013, analysts are hopeful that the discussion about mitigating climate risks becomes more prominent in the U.S. European policymakers continue to focus on this issue, even though the economic crisis in the last years has overshadowed serious progress. Most climate scientists, however, warn that the delayed mitigation causes another issue to become more pressing: The adaptation to inevitable climate change. In both Europe and the U.S. policymakers are yet not focusing on adaptation measures and risk assessments are scarce. This panel will examine mitigation of and adaptation to climate risks and the potential for a transatlantic response.
Chair: Jack Janes, AICGS
The U.S. Perspective:Thomas Peterson, Center for Climate Strategies
The EU Perspective: Susanne Dröge, SWP
Commentator: Dan Milstein, U.S. Department of Energy (tbc)

4:45pm – 5:00pm Conclusion

AICGS and SWP are grateful to the Transatlantik-Programm der Bundesregierung der Bundesrepublik Deutschland aus Mitteln des European Recovery Program (ERP) des Bundesministeriums für Wirtschaft und Technologie (BMWi).