Past events

Climate policy debates tend to focus on reducing greenhouse gas emissions, the primary cause of climate change. However, climate change is expected to continue even under the most optimistic emission scenarios, inflicting severe damage. Across Europe, increasingly frequent and more severe flooding is causing significant physical damage, while rising temperatures and droughts are leading to severe economic losses for farmers in Europe and around the world. Climate change also threatens the livelihoods of communities in many developing countries, where resilience is already low. Therefore, it is crucial to develop comprehensive adaptation strategies to minimize economic costs, enhance public safety, and address health threats associated with the escalating climate crisis. Yet, adaptation to climate change poses many challenges for policymakers, businesses, and households, due to uncertainty about the extent of climate change, a lack of information on effective adaptation measures, high implementation costs, and long time frames that are difficult to navigate.

Maintaining technological sovereignty and securing critical value chains is increasingly a pressing matter of security for Europe. The continent’s critical infrastructure, communication networks, health care systems, and ultimately its capacity to respond effectively in the event of crisis or outright war, rely on essential technologies, particularly on semiconductors. Yet, Europe continues to depend heavily on foreign fabrication facilities and foreign expertise, leaving the continent exposed to significant supply chain vulnerabilities. International trade and division of labor are key drivers of prosperity, but their advantages need to be balanced with the vulnerabilities they create. Geopolitical tensions and trade conflicts constitute an ever-growing threat to Europe’s ability to defend itself for as long as it is not able to procure or develop critical technologies independently or with reliable partners.
 

The new EU legislature is haunted by resurgent worries — with Trump rebooted and heightened geopolitical risks and trade tensions. Talk has shifted in the EU — from outsourcing security to the US to a focus on “strategic autonomy”, from outsourcing export-led growth to China to a strategy of “de-risking”, and from outsourcing energy needs to Russia to anywhere but. And then there is climate change and the war next door. How can Europe secure its competitiveness and prosperity in this new environment? Join us at the EconPol Europe 2024 Annual Conference as we unpack the key issues and chart a course to navigate the potentially thorny years to come. 

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine was a wake-up call for Europe regarding its levels of dependence on the energy and metals fronts, and the associated threats this posed to its competitiveness. Meanwhile, the need to decarbonize the economy has become ever more pressing. What is needed now, is the look ahead on the road towards a decarbonized energy system in a competitive Europe. We would like to discuss with you main challenges and chances and the role that individual members states and the EU should play on this road.