Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine three years ago was a shock to the European security order, including the continent’s energy security and ambitious decarbonization efforts. A sharp fall in European imports of Russian fossil fuels, particularly natural gas, followed, though the Europe-Russia gas divorce remains incomplete and Europe’s energy supply challenges vary across the continent’s nations and regions. Meanwhile, market and political uncertainties abound for the energy transition in Europe and globally, from China’s lead in new energy products to the United States’ energy policies and recast global role under the second Trump administration.
On April 28, 2025, the Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs at the Harvard Kennedy School and the Center on the United States and Europe and the Energy Security and Climate Initiative at Brookings hosted an analytical discussion on these topics at the Kennedy School and livestream on the Brookings website. This event is part of “Europe’s energy transition: Balancing the trilemma,” a Brookings project in partnership with the Fundação Francisco Manuel dos Santos, which examines the balance between the security, environmental sustainability, and affordability of Europe’s energy supply amidst decarbonization efforts and geopolitical storms.
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Meghan L. O’SullivanDirector, Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs and Jeane Kirkpatrick Professor of the Practice of International Affairs - Harvard Kennedy School
Gonçalo Saraiva MatiasChairman of the Board of Directors and of the Executive Committee - Fundação Francisco Manuel dos Santos
Meghan L. O’SullivanDirector, Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs and Jeane Kirkpatrick Professor of the Practice of International Affairs - Harvard Kennedy School
Meghan L. O’Sullivan Director, Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs and Jeane Kirkpatrick Professor of the Practice of International Affairs - Harvard Kennedy School
Gonçalo Saraiva Matias Chairman of the Board of Directors and of the Executive Committee - Fundação Francisco Manuel dos Santos
Constanze Stelzenmüller Director - Center on the United States and Europe, Senior Fellow - Foreign Policy, Center on the United States and Europe, Fritz Stern Chair on Germany and Transatlantic Relations @ConStelz
Meghan L. O’Sullivan Director, Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs and Jeane Kirkpatrick Professor of the Practice of International Affairs - Harvard Kennedy School
