2021 Transatlantic Climate Bridge Conference

The opening session gave an overview of the prospects for transatlantic cooperation in climate policy. There were welcoming remarks by former German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas and by Marc Garneau, former Foreign Minister of Canada.

The welcoming remarks were followed by a moderated discussion. Topics reached from a foreign policy focus to a broader perspective including the business sector, sub-national cooperation and civil society.

Panellists:

• Ambassador Emily Haber, German Embassy in Washington DC
• Lieutenant Governor Mandela Barnes, State of Wisconsin
• Julie Cerqueira, Executive Director U.S. Climate Alliance

Moderator:

• Justin Worland (Time Magazine)

“Towards a Transatlantic Green Deal?” on 22 June 2021, co-convened with the Stiftung 2 Grad, the We Mean Business Coalition, and Ceres, aimed at launching a discussion about what industry on both sides of the Atlantic now needs for the transition to climate neutrality: How will the EU Green Deal and the US Green Deal become a success story for innovation, competitiveness and jobs, for a just and sustainable tomorrow?

Ideas generated during the debate will form the basis for future transatlantic activities to be supported by the German government in its ambition to foster transatlantic climate cooperation.

Representatives from companies, business networks and associations, entrepreneurs as well as policy makers presented their ideas for a stronger transatlantic cooperation for supporting companies on the transition to climate neutrality.

The objective of the discussion is to address the following subjects and questions:

• What do industry leaders now need from policymakers for making them frontrunners in the global transition to climate neutrality?
• What are promising examples and entry points for sectoral transformation and what are specific industry contributions to ambitious 2030 climate change targets?
• What are the coalitions we need to build and who are the partners and networks to support an ambitious and meaningful business dialogue on the transition to climate neutral industries?

Welcoming remarks:

• Sabine Nallinger, Managing Director, Stiftung 2 °
• Maria Mendiluce, Chief Executive Officer, We Mean Business

Panellists:

• Marc Vanheukelen, EU Climate Diplomacy Ambassador
• Tim Scharwath, Board Member, DHL 
• Jon Morrish, Board Member, Heidelberg Cement
• Ralph Izzo, Chairman, President & CEO, Public Service Enterprise Group Incorporated (PSEG)
• Judith Judson, Head of U.S. Strategy, National Grid
• Cynthia Williams, Global Director, Sustainability, Homologation and Compliance, Ford Motor Company

Moderator:

• Justin Worland (Time Magazine)

The “Transatlantic City Lab” on 23 June 2021 will work to launch a discussion on local climate efforts that can contribute to a green economic recovery. The U.S., Germany, and Canada have all recently announced heightened climate ambitions, all with the goal of ensuring a green economic recovery from the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. Cities and towns on both sides of the Atlantic will be key to ensuring investments made create jobs, meet ambitious climate goals, and accelerate the recovery from COVID-19.

The "Transatlantic City Lab" session focused on specific strategies in the transportation and buildings sector that have the potential to capture the enormous social, economic, and health benefits of a green recovery. Specific environmental justice policies or programs in each of these sectors that can contribute to ensuring a just and green recovery were highlighted.

The objective of the discussion was to address the following subjects and questions:

• How can local climate efforts contribute to a green economic recovery from the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic?
• What are promising strategies in the transportation and building sector to capture the benefits of a green recovery? 
• How to design policies and programs to ensure a just and green recovery?

Panellists:

• Vera Rodenhoff, Head of Division, International Cooperation on Environment, Energy and Cities, Cooperation with OECD, German Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, and Nuclear Safety 
• Lia Cairone, Deputy Director for North America, C40
• Alysson Blackwelder, Project Manager, Advocacy and Policy U.S. Green Building Council
• Nadine Melcher, Department Manager, Canadian-German Chamber of Commerce and Industry
• Alexandra Hunger, Project Manager, Cities Program, Alfred Herrhausen Gesellschaft

Moderator:

• Sarah Duffy, Government Affairs U.S. and Canada at the Climate Group

The “Next Generation Futurists Forum” on 24 June 2021, co-convened with the Heinrich Böll Foundation's North America Office, aimed at launching a discussion about new approaches to transatlantic youth and exchange networks, which enable young future agents to jointly develop visions for a just transition and sustainable tomorrow.

Ideas generated during the debate will form the basis for future transatlantic activities to be supported by the German government in its ambition to foster transatlantic climate cooperation.

Representatives from cultural organisations, foundations, scholarship programmes, social movements and youth networks presented their ideas for a stronger transatlantic youth cooperation.

The objective of the discussion was to address the following subjects and questions:

• How do next generation futurists conceptualize climate policy?
• How could these ideas be promoted with regard to transatlantic youth cooperation?
• What are the coalitions we need to build and who are the partners and networks to support the “next generation of futurists”?

Panellists:

• Meredith Adler, Executive Director, Student Energy
• Ana F. González Guerrero, Co-Founder & Managing Director, Youth Climate Lab
• Hadeel Hamoud, Student, President of Juhood Magazine, Duke University
• Andrea Flores, Advocacy Organizer, MOVE Texas
• Nora Loehle, Program Director, Heinrich Böll Foundation, Washington, DC office

Comments by:

• Katrin Lammers, Fellow, Heinrich Böll Foundation
• Christian Hauenstein, Fellow, Heinrich Böll Foundation

Moderator:

• Alexander Carius, adelphi (Germany)

The closing session gave an overview of the highlights from the three thematic panels and look into practicable possibilities to realise ideas for transatlantic cooperation in climate policy. It aims at discussing implementation potentials on a transatlantic level for all three sectors: industrial, sub-national and civil society.

Facilitator:

• Hinrich Thölken, Commissioner for Energy and Climate Foreign Policy and Digital Transformation, German Federal Foreign Office

Welcoming remark & reflections by:

• Jochen Flasbarth, State Secretary, Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety

Presentations of observations from the thematic panels by:

• Observer Business Dialog: Sophie Punte, We Mean Business
• Observer Cities Lab: Sarah Duffy, Climate Group
• Observer Next Generation Futurists: Alexander Carius, adelphi

Challengers:

• Nigel Purvis, Founding President and CEO, Climate Advisers
• Aaron Cosbey, Senior Associate, International Institute for Sustainable Development, IISD