Last week CSEI hosted a workshop on the theme of From Dependency to Resilience: The Future of Energy Security. The workshop brought together policymakers, researchers, and industry experts to explore how energy security, geopolitical risk, and the transition to climate neutrality are becoming increasingly intertwined.
Robert Habeck opened the workshop with a keynote on geopolitical risks, energy security responses, and climate policy. He highlighted how electrification and domestic renewable energy have moved to the centre of Europe’s response to both security-of-supply challenges and long-term decarbonisation goals.
The first thematic session, led by Catharina Sikow Magny, focused on geopolitical dependencies in energy supply. Drawing lessons from recent crises, the discussion emphasised the need for diversification, coordinated European approaches, and caution against replacing old dependencies with new structural vulnerabilities.
Katarina Kertysova (NATO) addressed the resilience of energy infrastructure, underlining how protection of critical infrastructure, grid resilience, and secure supply chains are now core elements of Europe’s broader security agenda.
In an interactive session, participants worked with a future-driven perspective: What would Europe’s energy system look like if energy independence and resilience were successfully realised—while remaining aligned with the energy transition? The discussions were focused and constructive, touching on key themes such as:
- Strengthening Europe’s industrial base and critical supply chains
- Investing in networks and cross-border energy infrastructure
- Improving EU-level coordination and regulatory stability
- Communicating the societal benefits of a secure and just energy transition
- Recognising that energy security is about reducing excessive dependencies, not achieving complete self-sufficiency
Across sessions, a shared message emerged: short-term security measures must reinforce—not delay—Europe’s long-term decarbonisation pathway.
We are currently working through the insights from the workshop and look forward to sharing key takeaways in an upcoming publication.
CSEI would like to thank our speakers and panelists—Hanne Storm Edlefsen, Luke O’Callaghan White, Yana Popkostova, Caspar Hobhouse, Albéric Mongrenier, and Natanael Cartaxo—as well as all participants for contributing to an open and constructive exchange.
A warm thank you also to our partners for making the workshop possible: RTE, TenneT, Energinet, Statnett, Gascade, and TransnetBW.