Energy Policy and Economic Growth - Conflict or Convergence?

Hosted by Konrad Adenauer Stiftung

Over the long term, sustainable economic growth needs a sustainable energy supply. Good economic governance incorporating energy policy is likewise obliged to maintain prosperity and environmental welfare. High energy prices that weigh heavily on household income and fossil fuels that damage the climate are two burdens on society. An intelligent economic model must counteract these lines of conflict and provide room for the many interdependencies between economic factors, environmental needs and a secure energy supply.

The ways energy is now produced show the impact of energy policy on economic performance. Given the world's growing energy demand, especially in emerging economies, some countries are traveling the renewables route to create an environmentally sustainable supply and ensure resource-friendly growth. Others are investing heavily in new technologies to tap into previously hard-to-access reserves, such as shale gas, to secure their domestic energy supply and preserve dynamic growth. The ecological effects of such policy take a backseat, although their costs to the environment and the economy can run quite high.

These different paths of energy policy could implicitly lead to different economic models. The one focuses on combining economic and environment considerations now to transform economic activity. The other is set on using the fossil resources now available to preserve economic structures. That's what the majority of nations are doing in pursuit of a quick fix. They don't see renewables as an economically attractive option. A global green economy, it would appear, is merely Utopian.

What are the effects of interaction between a country's energy policy and its economic strategy? How can economic and environmental needs be reconciled? And what does the nature of national energy policy say about a country's economic values? This workshop will provide a forum for panelists and audience members to discuss these and related questions.

Moderation:

Grunwald, Maria
Journalist and TV Presenter, Deutsche Welle, Berlin, Germany

Speakers:

aus dem Moore, Nils
Head of the Communication Department at RWI

Fischer, Severin
Climate and Energy Policy Expert and Author, Berlin, Germany

Ike, Prof. Obiora
Roman Catholic Prelate of the Catholic Diocese of Enugu, Nigeria

Soni, Anmol
Research Associate at the Centre for Research on Energy Security, TERI, New Delhi, India

Complete Workshop on soundcloud:
WS07 - Energy Policy and Economic Growth - Conflict or Convergence?