Reshaping Europe

Unprecedented crises are now reshaping our world. In Europe, governments are grappling with COVID-19’s aftermath as well as confronting climate change amidst escalating geopolitical tensions and a humanitarian crisis stemming from the war in Ukraine.

The Reshaping Europe series provides insights on Europe’s current challenges, bringing together stakeholders from across the globe to discuss how to build a greener, more digital, and more resilient post-pandemic Europe. Leaders will focus on reconciling EU priorities with the increased need for defense & security as well as the need for effective and united humanitarian approaches.

Webinar 2 | Climate & Energy transition

The next webinar of the Reshaping Europe initiative will bring together senior stakeholders from both the public and private sectors to reflect on avenues to accelerate the energy transition in Europe.

The Russia-Ukraine conflict has exposed the risks of Europe's reliance on fossil fuels and single energy suppliers. In response, the EU has prioritised the clean energy transition with the REPowerEU plan, transforming Europe’s energy systems on three main fronts: saving energy, accelerating the production of clean energy and diversifying energy supplies.

The geopolitical context has added complexity and urgency to making the green transition happen. This urgency is underscored by the inflationary pressures in commodities and energy prices, which are significantly impacting the cost of living as well as company operations, especially in energy-intensive sectors.

In addition, this past year has made it crystal clear that adapting to a warming world is an imperative. Extreme weather events—heatwaves, fires, droughts, floods—have become increasingly common the world over.

But action is not coming fast enough. According to the United Nations, cuts in global GHG emissions are well below what is needed to preserve a livable climate. And while a global fund for loss and damage was established at COP27, this step is insufficient to keep the planet under the 1.5-degree temperature limit. As UN Secretary-General António Guterres stressed at the event, “our planet is still in the emergency room.”

Some key actions that can be taken as part of the clean energy transition include decarbonisation of industries and supply chains, investments in energy infrastructure, clean energy sources and green technologies, more fit-for-purpose regulatory and legal instruments, new incentives and boosting climate financing.

To shed light on this complex topic, the second webinar of the Reshaping Europe initiative will focus on how to accelerate the Climate & Energy transition in Europe. The webinar will bring together senior stakeholders from both the public and private sectors to consider the challenges and opportunities presented by the efforts to revamp Europe’s energy systems.

Agenda

Keynote speaker
Kadri Simson, Commissioner for Energy, European Commission

Panelists
Kris Peeters, Vice-President, European Investment Bank
Joe Oliver, Government and Public Services Energy Sector Leader, Deloitte
Rafał Trzaskowski, Mayor of Warsaw
Simone Mori, Head of Europe, Enel S.p.A.

Moderator
Hilde Van de Velde, Global Leader for European Institutions, Deloitte

Hosts
Lídia Pereira, Member of the European Parliament
Miguel Eiras Antunes, Public Sector Leader, Deloitte Central Europe

Please register here for the webinar

Reshaping Europe | Inaugural webinar: Stronger together to build a more sustainable future

The inaugural “Reshaping Europe” webinar aired live from the European Parliament in Brussels on 30 June 2022, focussing on the responses to the current humanitarian crisis. The webinar covered the challenges and actions at all levels of governance as they work to support Ukraine and its people.

Key takeaways:

• In order to address the full scale of this crisis—“One of the largest displacement crises in Europe, but also in the world, since World War II”—unprecedented and united responses and actions across all levels of governance are needed. As stressed by Shabia Mantoo, Global Spokesperson for UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, co-operation among the EU, national governments, local governments, international humanitarian organisations, corporates and civil society is critical to helping the more than 5 million refugees from Ukraine.
• At the EU level, Roberta Metsola, President of the European Parliament, asserted that in response to this act of aggression, “Europe spoke with one voice when it mattered the most.” EU support to Ukraine has been unprecedented, from supplying military weapons and providing humanitarian aid to launching six packages of economic sanctions against Russia. Priorities for the EU now include building a Defense Union, reducing energy dependency on Russia by achieving a green transition and ensuring food security.
• For the Ukrainian government, receiving the EU’s political support with its assignment of Ukraine as an EU Candidate was more than symbolic: it was recognition of the country’s efforts to implement the EU-Ukraine Association Agreement of 2014 to build new economic and political ties between both parties. Natalie Forsuyk, General Director of the Government Office for Coordination of European and Euro-Atlantic Integration, emphasised the importance of the EU-supported reconstruction platform as critical infrastructure will need to be rebuilt. This platform, said Forsuyk, will “manage in a sustainable and transparent manner the help that will come not only from the EU and member states but also from international financial institutions and other countries in the globe.”
• Local governments in Ukraine are under immense pressure to respond with the limited resources they have to evolving needs on the ground. “We, as councillors and active people, every day from early morning to late night, are trying to find a way to help soldiers on the frontline,” explained Dinara Habibullaieva, Member of the Kyiv City Council. This includes supplying equipment as well as such simple items as power banks, medicine and tourniquets while at the same time drawing on support at the international level to help displaced citizens. Concerned about “war fatigue,” Habibullaieva urged the audience to remember that “Kyiv is not fighting for just Ukraine, but for all Europeans and for freedom.”
• Communities and networks of young people have been important to the quick mobilisation of support for Ukraine. Ievgeniia Bodnya, from the core team of Support Ukraine Now, a World Economic Forum Global Shapers initiative, said the Global Shapers network was instrumental in amplifying the platform, which assembes “all information resources together” to help people navigate their support for Ukraine, including how to host refugees.
• International organisations have been paramount in providing humanitarian assistance to refugees. As a level 3 event, the highest in a humanitarian emergency, UNHCR activated financial resources and dispatched material relief such as shelter items, cash assistance for refugees and counselling on issues like gender-based violence. The protection of the women and children that account for 90 percent of all those fleeing from Ukraine also needs special consideration. UNHCR’s Mantoo made a strong plea to “ensure that there is the same support and solidarity for others that are affected by conflict and war, because the Ukraine situation has illustrated what it really means to be a refugee.”
• Businesses are important partners in the global response to address this humanitarian crisis but also to address the climate crisis. There is increasingly the expectation that leading organisations across the globe step up and do their part. “The business of business is not just business; we certainly need to turn a profit, but we must do it with purpose,” stressed Punit Renjen, Deloitte Global CEO. Governments alone, he pointed out, cannot make the transition to a sustainable economy.

Agenda

Keynote speaker
Roberta Metsola, President, European Parliament

Address from the Ukrainian Government
Natalie Forsyuk, General Director of the Government Office for Coordination of European and Euro-Atlantic Integration

Panelists
Punit Renjen, Deloitte Global CEO
Shabia Mantoo, Global Spokesperson for UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency
Ievgeniia Bodnya, Core team of the Support Ukraine Now, a Global Shapers initiative
Dinara Habibullaieva, Member of Kyiv City Council

Moderator
Bernhard Lorentz, Deloitte’s Consulting Sustainability & Climate Strategy, Global Leader

Hosts
Lídia Pereira, Member of the European Parliament
Miguel Eiras Antunes, Public Sector, Central Europe Leader