13 May 2011

GPPi holds international conference on shale gas and European energy security

On 12-13 May 2011 in Budapest, Hungary, the Global Public Policy Institute held a conference on the potential for shale gas to transform European energy security. The conference – which was titled Shale Gas: A Game Changer for European Energy Security? – was the ninth in a series of Transatlantic Energy Governance Dialogues meant to promote transatlantic dialogue on energy security and governance issues. The conference took place at Central European University and was organized with support from the Central European University, the European Commission and the Dräger Foundation.

Major changes in gas markets in recent years have led several observers to call shale gas a “sea change” in European energy security. The conference explored the transatlantic dimension of this shale gas “sea change” and the governance challenges that have emerged on a variety of fronts. To promote constructive debate on these issues, it brought together professionals from all relevant sectors – governments, NGOs, business, the media, think tanks and universities.

Speakers included (among others): Nick Butler, chair of the King’s Policy Institute at King’s College and former group vice-president for strategy and policy development at BP; Paul Stevens, senior research fellow at the Chatham House in London and emeritus professor at the University of Dundee; László Varró, head of the gas, coal and power markets division at the International Energy Agency; Cho Kong, chief political analyst at Shell; Anita Orbán, ambassador-at-large for energy security at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Hungary; Pál Kovács, deputy state secretary for energy affairs in Hungary’s Ministry for National Development; and Geir Westgaard, vice president for EU Affairs in the Statoil Brussels office.

This conference and the other dialogue sessions are designed to complement GPPi’s research program on global energy governance. Conducted together with the Brookings Institution, the program is called Common Goals – Different Approaches? Strengthening Transatlantic Cooperation on Global Energy Issues.

To see the conference flyer for the public portion of the event, please click here.

For more information, please contact Wade Hoxtell or visit the conference event-page.

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