George Mason University's "German Campus Weeks" program, sponsored by the German embassy, featured a presentation on climate and energy policy by Ecologic Institute's Elizabeth Zelljadt. She explained Germany's energy transition (Energiewende) and the country's role in the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) to about 40 undergraduates.
These topics were timely, given the differences on climate and energy policy among parties seeking to form a ruling German government coalition after the September federal election - and the fact that the UNFCCC's annual global climate change summit was being held in Bonn the following week. Students posed questions about European electricity supply and power markets, Germany's emissions reduction targets, and elements of the Energiewende that might be replicable in the US.