5. INTERENEF

International Energy Forum

EU Energy Policy and Energy Democracy

Split, Croatia, 23. 7. 2021 ,Hotel Cornaro

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INTERENEF 2021.

What Are We Going to Talk About?

INTRO

The Fifth International Energy Forum is placed in the context of rethinking the global risk society and the new social paradigm (www.inegs.com). The Covid-19 pandemic during 2020 generated an economic and energy crisis. Under the influence of the crisis, countries reacted differently in the field of energy policy. On the eve of the Covid-19 pandemic, energy policy actors pursued their interests and goals. The European Commission has announced a new development policy and a European green plan. Russia and Ukraine have signed a long-awaited agreement on gas transit under new conditions. The United States has imposed sanctions on companies working on the Nord Stream 2. The Turkish Stream has been put into operation. What all this means for EU countries and citizens is the topic of the Fifth International Energy Forum (INTERENEF).

Idea

The International Energy Forum is conceived as a meeting place for actors from academia, energy companies, governments / politics and the media to reflect on and problematize different dimensions of energy policy.
The forum will also address the geopolitics of energy as an important component of the energy policy of governments and states at the global level.
The International Energy Forum is the only one in the Republic of Croatia and beyond in Southeast Europe that systematically deals with various dimensions of energy policy at the national, EU and global levels (energy globalization).

Concept

The International Energy Forum promotes the energy policy concept.
The International Energy Forum has been placed within the framework of political science. The basic idea of energy political science is the idea of power and empowerment of actors in the international community by using energy resources as a lever of power.
The Forum seeks to promote the meaning and importance of energy diplomacy linked to foreign policy and overall national, especially energy security.

Goals

Promote the importance of energy policy for the functioning of the economy and society within the policy concept and energy policy as a type of public policy.
Present the energy strategies of nation states, the EU and global energy strategies.
Analyze the importance of energy diplomacy in the context of energy geopolitics as a component of energy policies of governments and states.
Demonstrate the importance of securitization in the context of energy supply or energy security within the framework of national security.
Investigate the economic dimension of energy and energy diversification.
Promote the concept of energy transition and renewable energy sources with special emphasis on climate change.
Develop the idea of energy democracy.
Special emphasis will be placed on the presentation of the public energy policy of the Republic of Croatia.

Three Panels

INTERENEF 2021.

The First Panel

EU energy policy. A common energy market between myth and reality

At the first panel, we will look at the new vision of EU development based on clean energy and climate neutrality until 2050 from an expert perspective. What are the challenges facing the EU internally, and which in cooperation with economic partners? At the same time, we will open a discussion on climate and energy plans and the energy strategy of the Republic of Croatia.In the last ten years, the European Union has undergone a major internal transformation towards an energy sector that will enable a secure energy supply, a fully integrated EU internal market, energy efficiency and the decarbonisation of the economy. Since 2015, the EU has taken a leading role in the global climate struggle by ambitiously implementing the Paris Climate Agreement and the UN Sustainable Development Goals by 2030 in European Union legislation. A year after the most complex legislative package since the creation of the European Union – the Energy Union – was completed, the new European Commission proposed the Green Deal to set a target of reducing net greenhouse gas emissions by at least 55% compared to 1990 to 2030. , significantly tightening the existing 40% agreed in 2014. It sounds almost unbelievable that just three months after the Commission’s proposal, Member States in the EU Council accepted the proposed reduction rate as an initial negotiating position with the European Parliament, which is expectedly more ambitious with its 60% emission reduction proposal.

The vision of the Green Agreement to make Europe the first climate-neutral continent by 2050 requires a development program for rapid adaptation of all sectors of the economy, industry, production and consumption, infrastructure, agriculture, tax policy, etc. In addition, this goal implies significant investments that will have to increase by about 350 billion a year. In the age of globalization, this turn will affect the surrounding countries and all economic partners of the EU, so that the EU does not remain alone in the implementation of climate policy. How will this turnaround affect EU industries, such as the chemical industry, iron and cement production? Will all member states be able to adapt to the new direction in EU energy policy, or will this path be more difficult for some, as some Eastern European members have already announced? What challenges can the EU expect in working with major economic powers when it comes to energy transition?

In the second panel, we will discuss Nord Stream 2 and the different perspectives of the most controversial energy project in the world. Is this pipeline an economic or political project, and what are the views of its opponents? The production of electricity from gas emits 50% less CO2 compared to coal, which contributes to achieving climate goals, and natural gas from underground deposits has a significantly better carbon footprint than LNG produced from shale. Nord Stream 2 can supply cheaper and cleaner Russian gas to much of northern and Central Europe, especially in the face of a significant drop in domestic production and an expected increase in consumption. However, not everything is so simple. North Stream 2 from Russia with its 2300 km passed through the Baltic Sea to Germany, and only a hundred kilometers separates it from the completion on the German mainland. Since the United States imposed sanctions on companies that install pipes for the project, it is not progressing as fast as expected. There are open issues on the part of the EU in terms of the implementation of the Gas Directive and its jurisdiction. The European Parliament is passing resolutions against the project, and recently the Polish competition authority issued a verdict against Gazprom and five European companies-investors in Nord Stream 2 with draconian penalties. Efforts to stop the project have brought together various political motives: the EU’s current position that gas cannot be considered a transitional fuel because it will jeopardize the achievement of EU climate goals and slow down the use of renewables and energy efficiency; consequently a ban on financing gas infrastructure from EU Funds in the programming period 2021-2027, and thinking about banning the use of natural gas in new installations after 2030; the EIB’s position to drastically reduce investment in the gas sector; to the view that this pipeline will in fact reduce the security of energy supply of the EU and weaken the principle of solidarity as one of the pillars of the Energy Union.

The questionable economic viability of the project is becoming another problem, because even Gazprom envisages the delivery of about 200 bcm per year for the EU for the period 2020-2030, and the existing capacities enable the transport of 270 bcm. Meanwhile, the European Commission is coming out with the Hydrogen Strategy as the energy source of the future after 2030, initiatives supporting the strategy are strengthening across the EU, but the fight in the hydrogen ring is between “green” hydrogen originating from renewable sources and “blue” and “gray” hydrogen originating from natural gas. There are emotional debates on this topic in the Bundestag. The gas pipeline is connected with every move of the Russian leadership in relation to the EU. What is the fate of the project? What is the role of gas in the EU’s new energy vision? Will the new US administration try even harder to stop the project? Can Europeans reach a unified position on the pipeline and US extraterritorial sanctions? Is this kind of geopolitical struggle a relic of the Cold War or is it a purely market game of American LNG against cheaper Russian energy? Will blue and gray hydrogen win in the hydrogen ring and thus prolong the life of natural gas? And will this debate cease to be topical in 2025, when gas transit through Ukraine will be minimized?

The Second Panel

Geopolitics of energy. Northern Stream and the role of global players: Germany-Russia-USA. A war of all against all

The Third Panel

Energy democracy

In the third panel, we will discuss the voice of the people. Energy democracy represents the desire for equal participation in the markets of the energy sector in relation to the situation in which corporations and geopolitics dominate. We will hear activists from Europe and our region fighting for the right to transparency and consensus in energy and the environment.

There is a growing global demand for a socially just system, universal access to energy, fairer prices and decently paid jobs in the energy sector. There are growing voices demanding a system that works in the public interest, with profits giving way to social and environmental equality. It is a massive movement in a world where renewable energy stands opposite the energy that pollutes the planet. A new approach to energy is proposed, with an emphasis on transparency, democratic control and equal opportunities for all. This need is also recognized by the EU, which recognizes that the transition to a climate-neutral EU must be fair and inclusive with support for the regions, industries and workers who will feel the greatest challenges in the process. Solutions must happen at the local level, because only in this way will we achieve the desired goals. The participation of the public, local executive, NGOs and industry, and confidence in the energy transition, is key to success, however, administrative and bureaucratic obstacles need to be removed and costs made acceptable to citizens. Are environmental activists heroes of our time? Is the action of non-governmental players and citizens a luxury that only richer countries can afford? Can we think of a fairer energy sector in a pandemic and economic downturn? Can we expect changes in energy companies that will accept citizens as partners, and not as competition whose activities are blocked by all possible bureaucratic and market barriers? What are the challenges for ordinary people in the process of energy transition? Is energy democracy a utopia or a possible emerging reality?

The key speakers

INTERENRF 2019.

Aleksandar Kovačević

Aleksandar Kovačević profesionalnu karijeru započeo je 1986. godine u Saveznom zavodu za produktivnost bivše Jugoslavije, diplomirajući na Ekonomskoj ekonomiji na Univerzitetu u Beogradu. Glavni je autor analize energije i siromaštva 'Zaglavljena u prošlosti' (UNDP, 2004.), koautor istraživanja o energetskoj politici zapadnog Balkana (IEA / UNDP, 2008.) i Javnih izdataka i institucionalnog pregleda (PEIR) za Srbija i Crna Gora (Svjetska banka, 2003.), te autor niza radova, predavanja i medijskih priloga. Više od 20 godina pružao je strateške savjete, složena rješenja za energetsku učinkovitost i pomoć u izvanrednim situacijama za velike institucionalne, financijske i privatne klijente, uključujući pomoć UN OCHA-i za koordinaciju brze obnove srpske energetske infrastrukture nakon rata na Kosovu. Bio je povezan s PlanEcon-om prije 1992. godine, voditelj projekata za Tagarnrog-ov razvojni projekt u Rusiji (1992.-8.) I suradnik panela za Crno more i središnju Aziju na Institutu Harriman, Sveučilište Columbia. Aleksandar je član Savjetodavnog odbora Ruske konferencije o energetici od 2002. godine, te grupe stručnjaka UNECE-a za održivu energiju, kao i redoviti savjetnik Svjetske banke i suradnik u ekonomiji i pravu nafte i plina ( OGEL) mreža.

Ariel Cohen

Ariel Cohen je politolog koji se bavi političkim rizikom, međunarodnom sigurnosnom i energetskom politikom i vladavinom zakona. Cohen trenutno radi kao direktor programa energetike, rasta i sigurnosti (EGS) pri Međunarodnom poreznom i investicijskom centru (ITIC). Međunarodni porezni i investicijski centar (ITIC) neovisna je, neprofitna istraživačka i obrazovna organizacija osnovana 1993. radi promicanja porezne reforme i javno-privatnih inicijativa za poboljšanje investicijske klime u tranziciji i razvoju gospodarstava. Također je nerezidentni stariji kolega Atlantskog vijeća u sklopu njihova Euroazijskog centra. Do srpnja 2014., dr. Cohen je bio viši istraživač u Heritage Foundation u Washingtonu, specijaliziran za Rusiju / Euroaziju, Istočnu Europu i Bliski Istok.

Claude Turmes

Claude Turmes imenovan je 2018. državnim tajnikom za održivi razvoj i infrastrukturu unutar koalicijske vlade koju su formirale Demokratska stranka (DP), luksemburška socijalistička radnička stranka (LSAP) i zelena stranka, zamijenivši Camille Gira koji je preminuo 16. svibnja 2018. godine. Nakon zakonodavnih izbora 14. listopada 2018., Claude Turmes imenovan je ministrom energetike i ministrom za prostorno planiranje 5. prosinca 2018. u koalicijskoj vladi koju su formirali DP, LSAP i déi gréng. Claude Turmes bio je zastupnik u Europskom parlamentu od lipnja 1999. do lipnja 2018. Bio je potpredsjednik parlamentarne skupine Zelene stranke u Europskom parlamentu i bio je član Odbora za okoliš, zdravlje i zaštitu potrošača kao i članica Odbora za industriju, energetiku, telekomunikacije i istraživanje. Bio je izvjestitelj velikog broja europskih direktiva, posebno o obnovljivim izvorima energije, energetskoj učinkovitosti, tržištu električne energije i klimatskim planovima, kao i o registru europskog lobija. Od 2004. do 2018. bio je predsjedatelj EUFORES-a (Europskog foruma za obnovljive izvore energije),međuparlamentarnog udruženja za promicanje obnovljivih izvora energije u Europi.

Prof. Eicke R. Weber

Prof. Eicke R. Weber bio je aktivan u istraživanju solarne energije dugi niz godina. Stekao je kvalifikaciju profesora fizike 1983. na Sveučilištu u Kölnu, dvadeset godina predavao na Sveučilištu Kalifornija u Berkeleyu. Na polju znanosti o materijalima, Weber je stekao ime širom svijeta svojim radom na defektima silicijuma i III-V poluvodičima, kao što su galijev arsenid i galijev nitrid. Posebno ga je zanimalo kako se metalurški silicij s određenom količinom nečistoće može upotrijebiti za proizvodnju solarnih ćelija visoke učinkovitosti. Godine 2006. vratio se u Njemačku da preuzme mjesto direktora Instituta Fraunhofer ISE, sve do umirovljenja 2016. Za vrijeme dok je bio direktor Fraunhofer ISE, Weber je bio i profesor fizike / solarne energije na Fakultetu za matematiku i fiziku kao Tehnički fakultet Sveučilišta u Freiburgu.

Julian Popov

Julian Popov je predsjednik Upravnog odbora BPIE. Član je Europske zaklade za klimu i trenutno vodi Grid Initiative za jugoistočnu Europu koja katalizira suradnju na visokoj razini u energetskoj politici među zemljama šire jugoistočne Europe, uključujući Tursku i zapadni Balkan. Julian je bivši ministar okoliša Bugarske, a trenutno savjetuje predsjednika Bugarske u pitanjima energetske sigurnosti. On je glavni izvršni direktor i trenutno član upravnog odbora Novog bugarskog sveučilišta, bivši predsjednik i trenutno član upravnog odbora Bugarske škole politike i suosnivač Tunizijske škole politike. Član je Savjetodavnog odbora GridTech-a, član Savjetodavnog odbora projekta BETTER, osnivač Upravnog odbora Sofijske platforme, član Upravnog odbora Istočnog foruma Grantmakers, te počasni blagajnik i direktor britanska dobrotvorna organizacija Friends of Bulgaria. Julian je autor dviju knjiga i redovito piše o aktualnim poslovima, klimatskoj i energetskoj politici.

A Word by the Founder of the INTERENEF

The focus of the 5th International Energy Forum is the energy policy of the European Union.

Under the influence of the crisis, countries reacted differently in the field of energy policy. On the eve of the Covid-19 pandemic, energy policy actors pursued their interests and goals. The European Commission has announced a new development policy and a European green plan. Russia and Ukraine have signed a long-awaited agreement on gas transit under new conditions. The United States has imposed sanctions on companies operating in North Stream 2. The Turkish Stream has been put into operation.

What all this means for EU countries and citizens is the topic of the Fifth International Energy Forum (INTERENEF).