Europe: At a Crossroads in Climate and Energy Policy

#Europe is at a unique crossroads in climate and energy policy: long at the leading edge of taking action, it is now deliberating the next steps in policy and action to realize its bold climate change and economic development goals for 2030 and beyond. Last week, I had the honor of joining discussions in #Washington, #Brussels, and at the International Energy Agency (IEA) Headquarters in #Paris, where three themes became apparent:

1. The #EnergyTransition in Europe is increasingly focused on competitiveness and economic development. Mario Draghi’s recent EU competitiveness report emphasized that growth and industrialization must be core to the continent’s green goals. The EU’s annual state of energy report last week provided both progress but also recognized lags toward its GHG reduction goals.?We agree with Minister #Draghi that adopting a competitiveness mindset advancing economic development, jobs, and innovation and technology for the near and long term is the right path toward both climate change and economic development goals.
2. All discussions put the electric #grid in sharper focus. This is long overdue. Europe, which is maturing in its #renewable energy deployment, is now confronting capacity issues due to grid bottlenecks, threatening both projects and goals. It was reassuring to hear the increased focus and the commitment to modernize the grid, both with physical infrastructure and digital tools.? Again, we agree that the grid presents one of the strongest near-term opportunities to realize these goals.
3. It was positive to see a shift toward #transatlantic collaboration.?Policy debates across the Atlantic have been sometimes mixed the last few years as the US and Europe advanced differing climate change policies that were perceived by some to be competitive, but we always viewed as complementary.?Last week, there was a clear return to a spirit of cooperation and collaboration—necessary for both continents to be competitive with technology and innovation, promote economic development, and realize their climate change goals.

Many of these themes were on the stage at the Atlantic Council Global Energy Center ’s Central and Eastern European Energy Security Conference , where I was privileged to present with public and private sector leaders. Beyond the themes above, I shared my view that central and eastern European countries, through policies promoted by the Three Seas Initiative and the #TPECC, are demonstrating leadership on the global stage for pragmatic policies that balance economic growth and energy and climate goals.

GE Vernova is proud to engage and support our stakeholders on both sides of the pond.? Our #Power, #Wind, and #Electrification solutions, coupled with our relentless focus on #innovation, offer a dynamic cross-sector partnership platform to advance the #EnergyTransition.

You can watch the replay of our discussion below. Thanks again to the Atlantic Council , Landon Derentz and Olga Khakova for the invitation and to Fatih Birol for his engagement with the private sector at the #IEA.