Practical information
As part of the Ifri Energy Breakfast Roundtable series, a seminar with Lew Fulton, Senior Transport Energy Specialist, IEA et Thomas C. Luthy, Distributed Energy Resources Global Leader, IBM, Energy & Utilities. Chaired by William C. Ramsay, Senior Fellow and Director du Programme Ifri Energy and Jacques Lesourne, Chairman of the Scientific Committee of the Ifri Energy Program
To listen to automobile manufacturers in Geneva last month, an electric vehicle (EV) will soon be in your garage. EVs are billed as the answer to increasing dependence on “insecure” foreign oil, unsustainable inefficiencies in transportation design, growing contribution of transport to carbon emissions, urban pollution, unemployment in the sector and a host of other ills. EVs indeed appear as one path to achieve European Union longer term CO2 reduction objectives, innovation and competitiveness. The European Commission will soon present an action plan on “clean and energy efficient cars”. Before research budgets, state aids, supporting/enabling legislation and new infrastructures are planned by policy makers, it is opportune to assess how real, beneficial and accessible this technology is.
Are EVs just another technology flavor of the hour or will they truly contribute to these virtuous policy goals? How do small scale demonstrations of the technologies and infrastructure scale up? Will battery technology, infrastructure and cost restrain deployment? Do consumers really want to drive electric vehicles? What will be the source of electricity to recharge the batteries? On April 29, we hope at least to frame many of these issues and perhaps dispel a few doubts
Other events
Europe Bracing for a Tough Winter: Prospects for Tighter Oil and Gas Markets
Summer witnessed a sharp escalation in the Russia-Europe confrontation, amidst continued partial closure of Hormuz and major extreme weather events. Oil and gas prices are high, and the price and supply outlooks for Europe this winter are very challenging for oil products, LNG and possibly, electricity markets which see growing contamination from the Hormuz crisis and growing risks of disbalances. Moreover, the phase-out of Russian gas supplies comes with renewed risks.
One Month Ahead of the Midterms: Where Is Trump’s America Headed?
The 24th edition of the Ifri Americas Programme Annual Conference will examine the dynamics at play in the United States and their implications for Europe and the transatlantic relationship. will examine the dynamics at play in the United States and their implications for Europe and the transatlantic relationship.
The EU in a World of Economic Warfare: Trade, Geopolitics, and the Battle for Economic Sovereignty
The international trading system has become a primary theatre of geopolitical competition. Tariffs, sanctions, and technology controls have replaced dialogue as the default instruments of economic relations.