GPPi holds Transatlantic Energy Governance Dialogues conference on governing “energy for all”

The Global Public Policy Institute, together with the Brookings Institution, held the 10^th Transatlantic Energy Governance Dialogues conference from 31 January to 1 February 2013 in Washington, DC. The conference was titled ​“Governing ​‘Energy for All’: Challenges for Solving the Energy, Climate and Security Equation”. It is part of GPPi’s ongoing research and dialogue project ​“Transatlantic Responses to Critical Issues in European Security”, which is supported by the European Commission.

It is access to modern energy that discriminates between social development and stagnation, between economic opportunities in rural areas and migration pressure, and between local stability and vulnerability. Since the Sustainable Energy for All initiative and the Rio+20 UN conference, energy access is increasingly acknowledged as a key ingredient for achieving the Millennium Development Goals, fostering regional stability and mitigating climate change. The energy poverty paradigm, however, is complex and involves multifaceted aspects at the local, national and global levels. The unique challenge is to harmonize interests and to orchestrate initiatives by closing the governance gaps that prevent the realization of tangible results on a larger scale. 

This high-level conference provided a platform for addressing a number of crucial issues in the debate on energy access, following three key ​“red threads” from a global public policy and transatlantic standpoint:

• The development obstacles preventing effective rural electrification.
• The sectoral opportunities of renewable energy industries and financial instruments required to mobilize the private sector.
• The overall public policy needs to reduce vulnerability of developing countries and enhance regional stability.

The conference explored these issues by addressing the following key questions:

• Which approaches have proven successful in assisting developing countries in the creation of frameworks and governance mechanisms for ensuring energy access, particularly to rural households?
• How can global public policy, financial industries and climate finance mobilize private sector investments in clean energy supply in developing countries?
• What can be done to increase resilience of energy systems in developing countries while mitigating the impacts of volatile energy markets?

The first panel session took a closer look at energy poverty and its linkage to climate change and stability. Working group sessions provided the opportunity for participants to break into smaller groups and dig deeper into the specific issues. A final panel session discussed the potential for EU-US cooperation. More information can be found in the participants’ booklet.

Participants included, among others, Richenda Van Leeuwen (United Nations Foundation), Robert Ichord (US Department of State), Ernesto Macías (Alliance for Rural Electrification), Frank Fass-Metz (German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development), Günter Hoermandinger (EU Delegation to the United States) and Charles Ebinger (Brookings Institution).

The TEGD conferences bring together participants from all relevant sectors (including government, NGOs, business, the media, think tanks and universities) in order to promote a strategic community for building bridges between the US and Europe; between the sub-communities dealing with sustainability, security of supply and economic efficiency; and between policymakers from different parts of government, civil society, business and the media. Such a strategic community is vital for developing innovative approaches to tackle the political, economic and environmental challenges of energy policy in the 21^st century.