Transatlantic Energy Strategies and Resource Nationalism: Expert Workshop

On October 22, 2010, with the support of the European Union Delegation in Washington and the cooperation of the Embassy of the Czech Republic and Portugal’s Fundação Luso-Americana, the Center on the United States and Europe and the Energy Security Initiative at the Brookings Institution together with the Berlin-based Global Public Policy Institute (GPPi) convened an off-the-record workshop to discuss the challenges facing European energy security and to make recommendations for improving U.S.-EU coordination on more effective energy governance mechanisms, with particular emphasis on gas markets. The workshop sessions brought together policymakers and top-level civil servants from both sides of the Atlantic, representatives of the private sector as well as journalists, academics and distinguished members of the DC area think tank community. The discussions focused on how shale gas, liquefied natural gas (LNG), and other developments are reshaping transatlantic energy security; how Russian “pipeline politics” have affected the European energy landscape; how environmental considerations and climate change are factored into energy security; and if new frontiers for nuclear power and electricity are opening up in both the United States and Europe.

This private event was preceded by a public panel discussion on “Transatlantic Energy Strategies and Resource Nationalism: The New European Energy Landscape” on October 21. The conference focused on the new European energy landscape and its ramifications for the transatlantic alliance. Energy experts and officials from both sides of the Atlantic addressed critical issues, including security of supply, resource nationalism, shale gas and oil production, alternative and renewable technologies, and the impact of the financial crisis.