This meeting focused on Europe’s increasingly troubled energy relationship with Russia, with particular emphasis on Northern Europe. Against the backdrop of the Ukrainian gas crisis and renewed pledges on the Nord Stream gas pipeline project, participants assessed Russia's influence in European energy markets and the critical interplay between Russia's economic downturn and energy export policies, as well as the attendant implications for the transatlantic relationship. Participants included Pekka Sutela, Head of the Bank of Finland's Institute for Economies in Transition; Anders Åslund, Senior Fellow, Peterson Institute for International Economics; Jaroslav Kurfürst, Deputy Chief of Mission, Embassy of the Czech Republic; Dr. Phyllis Yoshida, Deputy Assistant Secretary for International Energy Cooperation, U.S. Department of Energy; Tomas Gulbinas, Deputy Chief of Mission, Embassy of the Republic of Lithuania and J. Robinson West, Chairman, Founder and CEO, PFC Energy. Ambassador C. Boyden Gray, former U.S. Special Envoy for European Union Affairs and Special Envoy for Eurasian Energy presented keynote luncheon remarks.

Organized under the auspices of the Slovenian Presidency of the European Council, this meeting assessed the challenges and opportunities facing Europe and the United States in developing effective adaptation policies that will ensure global security and help prevent humanitarian disasters on a catastrophic scale. Rear Admiral Torben Ørting Joergensen, Assistant Chief of Staff for Capabilities, NATO Allied Command Transformation and Sherri Goodman, General Counsel, The CNA Corporation offered their perspectives on the security implications of climate change and the strategic adaptations they will require. Rafe Pomerance, President, Climate Policy Center gave his assessment of what adaptation policies are most necessary and what opportunities they present for greater transatlantic cooperation. Miriam Mozgan, Deputy Chief of Mission, Embassy of Slovenia presented the Slovenian Presidency’s priorities regarding this issue.

The Hon. Stavros Dimas, Commissioner for the Environment of the European Commission highlighted the new public awareness of climate change that includes a sustainable policy toward reducing global warming. He stated that there has been significant progress in moving towards this policy not only in government but also in business. Commissioner Dimas stressed that the United States and European Union have the important role of leading the rest of the world to act fast on limiting the impacts, like nature disasters, of carbon dioxide emissions. A discussion followed on the future solutions to energy and climate issues. The meeting was chaired by The Hon. William Nitze, Chairman of GridPoint, Inc. and the Climate Institute, who added that there is no time to waste in engaging developing countries such as China and India into energy and climate policies. Participants also raised the issue of how the auto industry could be part of finding solutions to climate change, suggesting that the commercial development of biofuels was one answer. The dialogue addressed the need for a transatlantic approach to climate change and energy policy.

Despite continuing basic differences about how to combat climate change, Europe and the United States are now taking the same road on one important initiative: imposing cuts on CO2 emissions from passenger cars.

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H.E. Wegger Chr. Strommen, Ambassador of Norway to the U.S.; Rafe Pomerance, President of the Climate Policy Center; George Newton, former Chairman of the U.S. Arctic Research Commission, and Amb. David Balton, Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Oceans and Fisheries, discussed key issues related to the Arctic, such as climate change, territorial claims, and energy. Mark Gaspar, Director of Coast Guard Systems for Lockheed Martin Washington Operations outlined the private sector’s technical developments that would allow the Arctic states and others to deal with these issues.