Keywan Riahi at the OeAW-EASAC Joint Academy Day

The EASAC, established in 2001, is a network of national science academies of member states of the European Union, as well as Norway, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom. The network prepares statements, reports, and popular science writings on current socially relevant topics in the fields of energy, the environment, and health, in particular for the institutions of the EU. With the location of the EASAC Office at the Austrian Academy of Sciences from 2024 (at least until 2026), the OeAW will strengthen the critical voice of European scientists in supporting evidence-informed policymaking. The Joint Academy Day thus also serves as an unofficial kick-off to this new collaboration.

The event is dedicated to the subject of Sustainable Energy Solutions and will open with a keynote lecture by the President of EASAC, Wim van Saarloos, titled, Science for policy advice by academies - teaming up through EASAC at the European level.

Energy, Climate, and Environment Program Director Keywan Riahi, will participate in a panel discussion on Energy Transition: Realistic Ambitions and Ambitious Perspectives. Riahi will be joined by the following panelists:

• Georg Brasseur, Professor Emeritus of Electrical Measurement and Sensor Systems at the Graz University of Technology and Scientific Director of netER – new energy transition Europe Research-Association. Former President of the Division of Mathematics and Natural Sciences of the OeAW;
• Neven Duić, Professor of Power Engineering and Energy Management at the University of Zagreb and Vice President of the Croatian Academy of Engineering. Co-chair of the EASAC Energy Steering panel and the “Future of Gas” working group;
• William Gillett, Director of the EASAC Energy Program and former Head of Unit for Renewable Energy of the European Commission’s executive agency;
• Anne Neumann, Professor of Managerial Economics at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology and Director of Research of the Norwegian University of Science and Technology Energy Transition Initiative. Co-lead-author of the EASAC-report “Future of Gas”; and
• Hanna-Leena Pesonen, Dean of the Jyväskylä University School of Business and Economics and Professor of Corporate Environmental Management. Co-chair of the EASAC Energy Steering panel.

The Joint Academy Day will be moderated by Heinz Faßmann, President of the OeAW.

If you would like to attend this event, please register by 1 November 2023.