Public Interventions Europe's uncertain energy future

Maria da Graça Carvalho was speaker in the high level European Policy Summit "Europe's uncertain energy future", organized by Friends of Europe.

Ms. Carvalho participated in the session II "The Golden age of Gas-Opportunities and risks": Both the shale gas revolution in North America and the booming LNG trade are stimulating interest in Europe and around the world, with global demand for natural gas forecast to surge by up to 44% between 2008 and 2035. Will new developments in gas decrease Europe's dependence on Russia, and could it also be that the coming gas revolution will delay investment in renewable forms of energy? If EU governments cut support for renewables, could the 'Golden Age of Gas' mark a backward step in the struggle against climate change? How will forecasts of cheaper gas affect the planned Caspian pipelines to Europe? Will Europe ever see substantial production of shale gas, and what are the environmental pros and cons of a future gas revolution? (see intervention here).