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<h1>Energiewende: German Angst or Bold Step Ahead?</h1>
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<h1>Joschka Fischer</h1>
<h3><i>Principal, Joschka Fischer and Company<br />
Foreign Minister and Vice Chancellor<br />
of Germany, 1998-2005</i></h3>
<h3>Tuesday, November 29</h3>
<h3>5:30 PM </h3>
<h3><a href="http://whereis.mit.edu/?go=66"> Room 66-110 </a></h3></td>
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<p><strong>Abstract</strong></p>
<p>The imperative to decouple growth from emissions must be shared by the developing and developed world alike if we are to avoid the worst consequences of climate change. This will require the installation of a new economic model across the globe. To this end, energy efficiency, sustainability, greenhouse gas emissions reduction, and energy security will be the keys to avoid a global crisis for the world climate.</p>
<p>Germany is a highly industrialized country and with its recent decision to eliminate nuclear energy, it has the potential to become a model for how a carbon-free economy without nuclear power can prosper. However, the political environment in Germany means it has passed a "point of no return" - nuclear energy will be completely phased out in 2022 while Germany vows to continue to honor its greenhouse gas emissions reductions commitment. For Germany, there is no way back to the energy sources of the 20th Century.</p>
<p>Today, the country faces uncertainty regarding how exactly it will meet its energy needs while facing self-imposed nuclear and emissions constraints. But by creating a "sink or swim" situation, Germany will be forced to innovate and lead. In doing so, Germany seeks to create a huge opportunity for companies and technologies that will help it to master this ambitious energy transformation, or "Energiewende". A regulatory environment that favours cleaner energy sources, advanced storage solutions, better grid structure and management, and improved energy efficiency has the potential to develop into a uniquely innovative marketplace for companies around the world that lead in cutting edge green and clean technologies. A new chapter in German-American cooperation may unlock potential for developing the products of tomorrow and help demonstrate how growth can be uncoupled from emissions without relying on nuclear energy.</p>
<p><strong>About the speaker</strong></p>
<p>Joschka Fischer was foreign minister and vice chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany from 1998 to 2005. He is principal of Joschka Fischer and Company, a global strategy firm based in Berlin. Fischer serves on the Board of Trustees of the International Crisis Group and as Co-Chair of the Executive Board of the European Council on Foreign Relations. He is the author of several books and his political commentaries are syndicated internationally.</p>
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