Practical information
As part of the Center for Energy at Ifri, a seminar with Matthias Dürr, Head of Brussels Office, RWE AG, Maïté Jauréguy-Naudin, Director of the Center for Energy, Ifri, Luc Van Nuffel, Head of Regulatory Affairs, Department Strategy & Sustainable Development, Electrabel GDF SUEZ.
Chaired by Wiliam C. Ramsay, Senior Adviser of the Center for Energy and Jacques Lesourne, Chairman of the Scientific of the Center for Energy at Ifri.
In the aftermath of Fukushima, Germany decided to phase out nuclear power plants. The last reactor will stop functioning in 2022. Following the German decision, which would give credibility to such a scenario, several countries are questioning their energy mixes and the role of nuclear. However, the path to a nuclear-free future is not easy in Germany and elsewhere. Some lessons can already be drawn from the initial shutting of seven German nuclear power plants, especially in a context where the expected increase in RES is threatening the competitiveness of gas-fired power plants and delays necessary investments, and where the financial burden on final consumers and on budget finances make the investment framework blurry. Will the needed high tension lines be built in time to transport electricity from North Germany to the South? How are the neighboring countries coping with the change of electricity flows? Is there still a European energy policy? How can its main inconsistencies be remedied? The speakers will attempt to answer some of these questions. Their presentations will be followed by a Q&A session.
Other events
Brussels, Germany, France and Italy Facing the Energy and Industrial Crises: Coordinated or Diverging Trajectories?
Amidst soaring defense spending, higher borrowing costs, erosion of energy intensive industries, renewed energy price hikes and possibly physical shortages, the European Union and its Member States are again struggling to stabilize the European economies. Governments are tempted by uncoordinated, short-term moves while in Brussels, there is a struggle between the “more of the same” and the “scrap it largely” approaches to the transition.
Geopolitical stakes of the New Moon race
As the United States, China, and India solidify their lunar ambitions, Europe is still seeking to define its stance: should it be a reliable partner or an autonomous strategic player? This conference will examine the stakes of this new race to the Moon and Europe’s interest in asserting itself as a lunar power through partnerships, industrial ambitions, and whether its participation in the new lunar race serves as a lever for strategic autonomy and internal cohesion, or an illustration of its dependence.