February 23, 2012
Transatlantic Climate and Energy Policies Post-Durban
On Monday, January 30, 2012 the Transatlantic Academy hosted a workshop, in cooperation with the Munk School of Global Affairs at the University of Toronto, examining transatlantic climate and energy policies following the recent UN climate change convention in Durban, South Africa. This event featured leading Canadian, U.S., and European experts on the negotiations and a lunchtime discussion on the Keystone XL Pipeline, with comments from University of Alberta Associate Professor Andrew Leach and Washington Post correspondent Steven Mufson.
The first panel focused on U.S. and Canadian climate and energy policies, which are increasingly similar in nature. While both countries have been reluctant to move forward with binding international commitments, they have also seen local communities, from California to Quebec, play a major role in setting emissions goals. The second panel looked at Europe, which has been a global leader in climate policy. However, as several panelists pointed out, the European policy of seeking to lead by example has often fallen short as few countries have enacted reciprocal commitments. The workshop concluded with a lively lunch discussion on the Keystone XL Pipeline. In this Professor Andrew Leach and Steven Mufson presented Canadian and U.S. perspectives on the political and economic factors behind the recent U.S. rejection of the proposed pipeline. It was the general consensus in the presentations and discussion that there was a strong business case for building a pipeline from the tar sands of Alberta to the U.S. Gulf Coast, though any such project would likely not have as significant an impact in terms of creating U.S. jobs as has repeatedly been claimed by some American politicians.
AGENDA
10:00-10:15 am Welcome and Opening Remarks
Stephen Szabo, Executive Director
10:15-11:15 am The United States and Canada: Going in Many Directions at Different Levels
Moderator: Corey Johnson, Transatlantic Academy
Matthew Hoffmann, University of Toronto
Stacy VanDeveer, Transatlantic Academy
Geoffrey Kemp, Transatlantic Academy
11:15-11:30 am Coffee Break
11:30-12:30 pm Europe: Moving Forward Against All Odds
Moderator: Philip Andrews-Speed, Transatlantic Academy
Raimund Bleischwitz, Transatlantic Academy
Tim Boersma, Transatlantic Academy
Nigel Purvis, German Marshall Fund
12:30-2:00 pm Lunch Discussion: The Keystone XL – Politics and Pipelines
Moderator: Janice Gross Stein, Munk School, University of Toronto
Andrew Leach, University of Alberta
Steven Mufson, Washington Post
