Energy Policy
The German Energy Transition – Issues and Perspectives
The term “Energiewende” has become a widely used and recognized way to describe the energy transformation currently underway within Germany. Following the disaster at Fukushima in 2011 that resulted from the destructive tsunami that hit Japan, many in Germany–especially those in power–began to worry about the use of nuclear power within the… Read more >
Germany and the United States at Rio +20
In planning last week’s United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development, Rio +20, organizers sought to bring together the public, private, and NGO sectors for a constructive dialogue on sustainability and development. The ploy worked for the German delegation, whose liveliness underscored a growing convergence of public and private interests regarding sustainability, but… Read more >
Beyond Domestic Politics: Energy Policy in the Transatlantic Relationship
On June 18, Philipp Rösler, Chairman of the FDP and German Minister of Economics and Technology, opened a visit to Washington, DC, with a speech on the three issues at the core of the future of the transatlantic relationship: the ongoing European debt crisis, trade policy, and, perhaps surprisingly, energy policy. While… Read more >
Energy Security Risk Assessment: A Transatlantic Comparison
The U.S. and West Germany once shared similar energy profiles and similar global energy challenges. Through the 1960s and in the beginning of the 1970s, with largely comparable energy mixes, they both saw themselves as vulnerable to oil shocks and in 1974, were both founding members of the International Energy Agency. At… Read more >
