Past Event! Note: this event has already taken place.
Climate Change and Renewable Energy Policy in the EU and Canada Workshop
October 1, 2015 — October 2, 2015
| Location: | 2220 - 2228 Richcraft Hall |
| Cost: | Free |
| Audience: | Anyone |
| Key Contact: | Cathleen Schmidt |
| Contact Email: | cathleen.schmidt@carleton.ca |
| Contact Phone: | 613-520-2600, ext. 1087 |
The Centre for European Studies EU Centre of Excellence and theCanada-Europe Transatlantic Dialogue are pleased to present a policy workshop on climate change and renewable energy.
This international workshop and public forum will examine European and Canadian approaches to renewable energy production and climate change policy. A common theme will be how the inter-linkages between renewables and climate change are addressed in different types of institutional and political contexts. The workshop provides an opportunity to critically examine action and inertia in these areas in the European Union and its Member States, on the one hand, and in Canada and at the provincial/local level (with a focus on Ontario and Ottawa), on the other. The workshop will devote particular attention to ‘new’ renewables such as wind and solar technologies, including issues of public and social acceptance, drivers of innovation, sources of action and inertia in government promotion of these technologies, and policy options in implementing renewable energy options. The potential for lower-level jurisdictions (municipalities, provinces, or, in the EU, Member States) to serve as ‘leadership points’ will be explored, along with the way in which such initiatives are encouraged by the European Union.
Draft agenda as of September 15, 2015 – subject to change
Thursday, October 1, 2015
12:30PM Opening
12:45PM Keynote Panel: Sustainable Energy Transition: Role of Renewables in Europe and Canada
With the global picture in mind, the first panel will explore how, at the macro level, Europe and Canada are transitioning to a sustainable energy economy and adding renewables to their energy mixes. A focus will be on examining EU initiatives as part of the Union’s updated 2030 climate and energy policy. Reasons for Canada’s less ambitious greenhouse gas reduction targets will be explored, as well as details of the Canadian approach.
Speakers:
James Meadowcroft, Professor, School of Public Policy and Administration, Carleton University and Canadian Research Chair in Governance for Sustainable Development
“Comparing EU Climate Governance: 2008 and 2014,” by Christian Hey, Secretary General of the German Advisory Council for the Environment, Berlin
“The Politics of Decarbonization and the Shifting Context of Global Climate Governance,” by Matthew Hoffmann, Professor of Political Science and Co-Director, Environmental Governance Lab, University of Toronto
2:15PM Break
2:30PM Panel 2: Top Down or Bottom Up?: Institutional and political contexts for decision-making in the EU and Canada
The second panel will examine EU and Canadian renewable energy/climate change initiatives within their respective multilevel systems. A particular focus will be on interactions between the EU and the national level policy in Europe and the federal/provincial interface in Canada. In Canada, climate change initiatives are increasingly devolved to the provincial and local levels, whereas in Europe, EU policy has also served as a prod for national and local efforts. This panel explores how federal or multilevel systems may offer diverse opportunities for renewable energy and climate change leadership and innovation, with a particular focus on Ontario within the Canadian context.
Speakers:
Kathryn Harrison, Professor of Political Science, University of British Columbia
“How Europeanised are European Renewable Policies?,” by Francis McGowan, Senior Lecturer in Politics, University of Sussex, United Kingdom
“Ontario Renewable Energy and Climate Change Policy in the Canadian Intergovernmental and North American Contexts,”by Douglas Macdonald, Senior Lecturer, School of the Environment, University of Toronto
4:15PM Panel 3: Social acceptance and public attitudes toward renewable energy and climate change in Canada and Europe
Speakers:
“Popular Support and EU Climate Policy,” by Mats Braun, Senior Lecturer, Metropolitan University Prague, The Czech Republic
Stephen Hill, Associate Professor of Environmental and Resource Studies, Trent University
“Energy Transition and challenges for wind energy in Switzerland,”by Maya Jegen, Professor, Department of Political Science, Université du Québec à Montréal
Friday, October 2, 2015
9:00AM Panel 4: Cities, Energy, and Climate Change: Experiences from Europe and Canada
This panel will draw particular attention to efforts of municipal jurisdictions in Europe and Canada in addressing issues of climate change and renewable energy. In the European context, speakers will look at the European Commission’s support for the Covenant of Mayors’ efforts in this arena, placing this in a broader comparative perspective.
Speakers:
Lena Bendlin (by videolink), Research Associate, Environmental Policy Research Center, Freie Universität Berlin
“Cities and climate governance. From experimental initiatives to reshaping urban development,” by Matthew Paterson, Professor, School of Political Studies, University of Ottawa
“A lot of hot air? Exploring the climate change initiatives of Canadian cities,” by Elizabeth Schwartz, Doctoral Candidate, Department of Political Science, University of British Columbia
Anne Tews, Technical University Darmstadt
10:00AM Break
10:15AM City Perspectives: Practitioners’ Insights
David Chernushenko, Councillor for Capital Ward and Chair of Environment Committee, City of Ottawa
Janice Ashworth, Operations Manager, Ottawa Renewable Energy Co-op (OREC)
Detlef Gerdts, Department of environment and climate protection, Osnabrück
11:15AM Discussion of city issues and questions (whole panel)
12:00PM Lunch
1:15PM Panel 5: Policy Options for Renewable Energy Development in the EU
This panel will delve more deeply into particular issues affecting renewable energy/climate change policy in the EU, looking at selected issues and examples. Topics will include: Political commitment and policy instruments for solar energy development; Economic feasibility of renewables; and, EU impacts on policy choices at the Member State and local level.
Speakers:
“Different transition paths to low carbon power: Germany, UK, EU,”by Volkmar Lauber, Emeritus Professor of Comparative Politics, University of Salzburg
“Are the interactions between the EU’s renewable energy support and emissions trading system (ETS) really so negative?,” by Pablo del Río González, Research Associate, Institute of Public Goods and Policies, High Council for Scientific Research, Madrid, Spain
Stephan Schott, Associate Professor, School of Public Policy and Administration, Carleton University
2:45PM Break
3:00PM Panel 6: Policy Options for Renewable Energy Development in Ontario and Canada
This panel will delve more deeply into particular issues affecting renewable energy/climate change policy in Canada, and, in particular, Ontario, including: Political commitment and policy instruments for solar energy development; Economic feasibility of renewables; and, Incentives structures for policy choices at the provincial and local level.
Speakers:
“Lessons Learned from a Decade of Promoting Renewable Energy in Ontario,” by Nic Rivers, Assistant Professor, Graduate School of Public and International Affairs, University of Ottawa and Canada Research Chair in Climate and Energy Policy
Daniel Rosenbloom, Doctoral Candidate, School of Public Policy and Administration, Carleton University
“Vulnerable Households and Distributed Renewable Electricity in Ontario: Emerging Challenges and Opportunities,” by Ian Rowlands, Professor, Faculty of Environment, University of Waterloo
Leah C. Stokes, Assistant Professor, The University of California, Santa Barbara
5:00PM Concluding remarks