How to Transform Europe Into a Low-Carbon Economy by 2050 - Experience from Europe, Implications for the US?

As part of Johns Hopkins University's monthly lecture series of its Energy Policy and Climate Program, Matthias Duwe of Ecologic Institute spoke about long-term energy and climate policy in Washington, DC. The presentation provided background on the EU and German policy experience as well as the state of discussions on the next emission reduction steps to be taken - with an eye to climate policy developments in the United States.

The lecture is available as a video file.

The European Union (EU) has set itself the ambitious goal of decarbonizing its economy over the next four decades. Germany has gone a step further by setting quantitative greenhouse gas, renewable, and energy efficiency targets for 2030, 2040 and 2050 while also phasing out nuclear power - how will Europe achieve these goals, and what is the role of the US?

Europe has experience with policy instruments to support clean energy and cut emissions, but the measures in place thus far are not enough to achieve the long-term transformation of the current energy system required to decarbonize Europe by mid-century.  A three-year research cooperation among leading European universities and modeling groups aims to shed light on this challenge, analyzing the region’s climate policy mix now and going forward. Ecologic Institute coordinates this effort, known as the CECILIA2050 project.

The presentation by Matthias Duwe took place in the context of the fifth anniversary of Ecologic Institute in Washington, DC (EIUS). On this occasion, EIUS and Ecologic Institute Berlin featured their transatlantic activities through workshops, presentations, and discussions.

The presentation files [pdf, 8,2 MB, English] are available for download.