Source: EBS

The 2010 European Business Summit kicked off in Brussels on Thursday, 30 June and the Comment:Visions team was there to catch all the action.

The first day’s proceedings included the Presidents’ Debate which focused on Europe’s economic crisis and possible plans of action. It was panelled by Herman Van Rompuy, President, European Council; José Manuel Barroso, President of the European Commission; Jürgen R. Thumann, President, BUSINESSEUROPE; and Thomas Leysen, President, Federation of Enterprises in Belgium / Member, ERT. The debate culminated with a message of hope from President Barroso that the next G20 summit will be a bountiful platform for “concrete results” within economic reform.

The next day, the summit opened with the Energy for Europe: Fueling Growth panel which included Alexander Medvedev, Deputy Chairman of the Management Committee, Gazprom; Günther Oettinger, European Commissioner for Energy; Peter Voser, CEO, Royal Dutch Shell; Tom R. Walters, President, ExxonMobil Gas & Power Marketing ; and Vagit Alekperov, President, Lukoil. Coal fired power plants could have the capacity to be made CO2 neutral, Voser said. The energy demand that we are facing presently is expected to double by the year 2050, making the need for alternate renewable energy sources even more prevalent. “Gas is emerging as the energy source that allows the reduction of CO2 in the atmosphere” Perov said. Natural gas was determined to be the most viable, cost effective and abundant of the renewable sources. Shale gas was also said to be an important component of the energy mix, but the problem was with European public acceptance. Energy Commissioner Gunther Oettinger reminded the panel that “Solar energy [is] equally as important”.

Source: Comment:Visions

During the summit’s gala dinner, Comment:Visions hosted a table for a few of our online contributors, including: Dr. Jeffrey Seisler, CEO of Clean Fuels Consulting; Jacques de Selliers Chairman of the Association for Electric Vehicles in Europe;  Marco Sorgetti, Director General of CLECAT; Brianna Sapp, Project Manager of PANGEA; Remi Gruet, Climate Change Advisor for EWEA; and

 Greg Arrowsmith, Policy Officer from EUREC Agency.

– Heather Nelson