The German ‘Energiewende’ after Nord Stream: Geopolitical lessons

This half-day conference assembles senior academics, practitioners, and other experts to tackle Germany’s Energiewende. This national energy transition project has seen the country embrace a renewables revolution while phasing out nuclear power, facilitated by the building of a so-called gas ‘bridge’ to Russia in the form of the Nord Stream 1 and 2 pipelines. That strategy has since collapsed in the wake of the Kremlin’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine. The ensuing energy crisis plunged Germany and many other countries into turmoil, leading to a fundamental reappraisal across government and society regarding energy transition and security questions, so integral to the future well-being of modern-day economies.

Over the course of multiple panels featuring leading experts and actors in the field, this conference will delve into the development of the Energiewende, analyse how it was in turn affected, reevaluated, and then evolved in the immediate aftermath of Putin’s assault on Ukraine, and finally chart its trajectory since this tumultuous period – alongside the longer-term implications of this reshaped policy for both Germany, the wider region, and Europe more broadly in the years and decades to come.

Programme:

14:00-14:15 - Welcome & Introduction
14:15-15:45 - Panel 1: The Development of the Energiewende
Break
16:00-17:30 - Panel 2: From Energiewende to Zeitenwende
17:30-18:45 - Panel 3: The Future of the Energiewende and regional/European implications