Please join the Women in Energy initiative at the Center on Global Energy Policy at Columbia SIPA for a student roundtable lunch and discussion with Kadri Simson, who most recently served as European Commissioner for Energy. During this roundtable, Ms. Simson will discuss Europe’s energy future, hydrogen, and how to make European energy more secure and sustainable.

Biography

Kadri Simson most recently served as European Commissioner for Energy. In that role, she oversaw the European Union’s energy policies and worked to ensure that the bloc transitions to a more sustainable, secure, and competitive energy system.

Her priorities included the implementation of the European Green Deal, supporting the EU’s ambition to become the first climate-neutral continent by 2050, which includes boosting renewable energy and enhancing energy efficiency. Kadri was also responsible for Fit for 55, a legislative package designed to reduce EU emissions by at least 55 percent by 2030, compared to 1990 levels, through carbon pricing and cutting fossil fuel reliance. This included the first-ever hydrogen strategy—promoting the development of hydrogen as a clean energy carrier, particularly for sectors in which direct electrification may not be feasible.

Kadri worked to maintain EU energy security following Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine, to cut dependence on fossil fuels from Russia, and to strengthen energy diplomacy with trusted trading partners. She initiated the Ukraine Energy Support Fund, which helped repair and rebuild Ukraine’s energy sector and infrastructure damaged by Russian strikes.

Kadri previously served as the Estonian minister of economic affairs and infrastructure and was a member of the Riigikogu, the Estonian parliament. She holds a bachelor’s degree in history from the University of Tartu and a master’s degree in political science from University College London. Kadri Simson will simultaneously serve as a Carnegie Distinguished Fellow at SIPA’s Institute of Global Politics.

Registration is required. This roundtable is open only to currently enrolled Columbia University students. To register, you must sign in with your UNI.

This event will be hosted in-person and capacity is limited. We ask that you register only if you can attend this event in its entirety. 

For more information about the event, please contact energypolicyevents@columbia.edu.

Concerns about the impacts of climate change and the pace and scale of our efforts to reduce emissions have prompted a resurgence of interest and attention on how we can remove carbon from the environment, store it and use it for practical purposes using CCUS (carbon capture, use, and storage) technology. Policy shifts at the state and federal level have created new markets for this clean energy technology, inspiring the launch of new projects in both the industrial and power sectors, extending into new enterprises (like direct air capture or CarbonTech). Despite this interest, few non-experts are familiar with the technology, the market potential, or the political viability of CCUS deployment in the United States or abroad.  Join us on March 26 for the first public event of the Center’s Carbon Management Research Initiative. Come hear leading experts at the front lines of policy, technology, and governance discuss this critical path technology for a just and vibrant energy transition. This event is co-hosted by CGEP’s Women in Energy program.  The panel of experts will include: Erin Burns – Associate Director, Policy – Carbon180  Sarah Forbes – Scientist, Office of Fossil Energy – US Department of Energy Sallie Greenberg – Associate Director, Energy & Minerals – Illinois State Geological Survey Julio Friedmann – Senior Research Scholar at the Center on Global Energy Policy (Moderator) Guests unable to attend in person can view a livestream of the event at energypolicy.columbia.edu/livestream. This event is open to press. Media attending the event should register using the registration link below. Media inquiries or requests for interviews should be directed to Artealia Gilliard (ag4144@sipa.columbia.edu). For more information contact: energypolicy@columbia.edu.