the_bridge_tank, auteur sur The Bridge Tank

Challenges and Options for the Economic & Ecological Transition of India

Posted on 20 January 20217 April 2021 by the_bridge_tank

Joel Ruet exchanged with Dr. Anita Gupta from the Government of India and Dr Joumard form OECD during the conference organised by Avrist on Innovation in India.

He raised the following points:

•Ecological and Energy transitions are at least as bottom-up, actors driven, as they are top-down and state pushed.•Innovation cycles, including adoption and massificationplay a determining yet under-analysed, role in these.

•Transitions imply the long term creation of a whole ecosystem, to which several countries (China, Brazil, the EU or US…) show that upstream scientific programs and continuity are a determinig factor… India featuring midway.

•“Options” may be regained on this, though:

e-market, e-health, moving the ladder on renewable energies, from frugal innovation to lesser inputs, circular economy, localised agriculture, joint financing of startups, joint financing of research and… AI on languages – not just R&D centres for the value chain, but innovation for India

Exchange with Minister Brune Poirson on EU’s Economic package, energy and ecological transitions in China and Europe

Posted on 15 January 202128 May 2021 by the_bridge_tank

Brune Poirson, a Vice-President of the United Nations Environment Assembly and former Secretary of State to the French Minister of Ecological Transition and Solidarity of Emmanuel Macron, came to bring her expertise in a conversation with the Bridge Tank.

She highlighted the importance of dynamics such as the 2015 Paris Agreement, the Chinese government’s commitment to become carbon neutral by 2060, as well as the European Commission’s Green Deal and the Belt and Road Initiative. She argued that these initiatives would help develop global governance that include more trade with and between developing countries.

China: a natural ally for Europe for climate

She supported the importance of engaging with China and said that she “never misses an opportunity to engage in dialogue and mutual understanding with China.” She stressed the importance of respecting the Paris Agreement. She also referred to the withdrawal of the United States from the Paris Agreement, a delicate situation for France and Europe, which had to adapt and find other allies. China met the requirements of the emergency and “proved to be a natural ally on these issues. “Brune Poirson drew attention to the “very strong symbolic act” of China’s commitment, which does not have the same way of building and implementing public policies as the EU.

Moreover, these strong trends were accentuated during the COVID-19 pandemic and highlighted US protectionism. This has allowed Europe to accelerate its vision, on environment being a tool of power and might for the European Union. In particular with the Green Deal, which was then transformed into a recovery plan. The Green Deal responds to a vision of the world including trade with other areas, clear territorial missions existing on both sides, and it responds to a common vision of the EU and China. The European Commission’s Green Deal is financed by the recovery plans (with the support of the EIB), while China uses the Belt & Road Initiative, financed by government-to-government loans, export banks (China Development Bank), or multilateral banks (AIIB).

The European Heads of State will have to respond to these ambition tests at the next European Council and will then have to prove their commitment by raising the CO2 reduction targets. The People’s Republic of China, organizer of the COP15-Biodiversity, will have to show its capacity to engage third parties in international cooperation (in particular ASEAN on forestry issues).

A strategic panorama that hides massive and common challenges of energy transition

Also present at the Forum were the following personalities: Ding Yifan, researcher at the Institute of Global Development of the Development Research Centre of the State Council of the People’s Republic of China, and Thomas Melonio, Executive Director of Innovation, Research and Knowledge at the French Development Agency. They spoke in the session “Restart, energy and ecological transitions in China and Europe”, moderated by Raphaël Schoentgen, former CTO and member of the executive committee of ENGIE and former president of Hydrogen Europe.

In addition to Brune Poirson’s remarks, Ding Yifan argued that decarbonisation of Chinese energy production was a key element in reducing greenhouse gas emissions, but that it also required the transformation of the economy in several Chinese regions. Significant Chinese investment is being made to encourage the transition to hydrogen, and this is an area where cooperation between the EU and China could be beneficial to both sides. Thomas Melonio argued that it was crucial that Africa be included in the new cooperation agreements, especially as the Chinese and European development banks have the same objectives regarding Africa.

Brune Poirson, Ding Yigan and Thomas Melonio spoke at the Forum on China-Europe Relations and the Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic. This forum took place at the Palais Brongniart on 15 October 2020.

Intervention of François Loos, former Minister of Industry and Foreign Trade, at the Bridge Tank about the shared visions of future between the EU and China

Posted on 5 January 202128 May 2021 by the_bridge_tank

As an experienced practitioner in the world of industry and international trade, François Loos argues for the necessary restructuring of EU-China relations, by submitting the idea that the Chinese resilience shows the way for a recovery in global activity

An alumni of Ecole Polytechnique, a high civil servant from Ecole des Mines by training, François Loos is also a committed politician, who was a Member of Parliament for Bas-Rhin, regional councilor for Alsace and Minister of Industry and Foreign Trade in the Villepin and Raffarin governments under the Chirac presidency.

In support of a united Europe

During his speech on post-covid globalization, François Loos explained that the EU-China relationship is hampered by bilateral relations instead of responding to a community approach. EU countries need to be coordinated and consistent with China. Indeed, the lack of EU unity is a dangerous handicap, as illustrated by the example of photovoltaic production in Europe threatened by Chinese imports. He highlighted the flaws in the European mode of governance, based on the will of consumer countries and on a majority decision-making system incapable of combating dumping or of speaking with one voice in the WTO.

Between the search for independence and strategic cooperation

COVID has demonstrated to everyone the need to aspire to independence, or non-dependence, from one’s neighbors. For François Loos, this autonomy can only be acquired for the EU on condition that it also has national champions in strategic sectors, in particular in the industry.

However, independence does not exclude cooperation. Far from having been mitigated by the crisis, the weight of China in the world economy has increased and makes the issue of Sino-European cooperation all the more central, as evidenced by the new Sino-European agreements’ negotiations.

This search for national independence is not always strategic according to the former minister : he mentioned the case of “good relocations”, those where the establishment of a company in a foreign country serves the local market. It remains to be seen whether China will accelerate the implementation of the measures planned to encourage Europeans to set up in China on an equal footing with local businesses.

Towards a shared vision of the future

The former minister insisted on the need to combine Chinese and European visions of the future. For that, it is necessary to define the strategic subjects to orient the Sino-European cooperation. Like the EU which was initiated in 1952 by a collaboration on coal and steel, he called for cooperation based on issues of common interest that would found a new type of relationship at the global scale and with China. The subject of raw materials, agricultural and mineral, for example, is a central fulcrum of this cooperation, strategic on both sides in terms of energy and food since China depends on its imports to feed its population.

Likewise, the environment is another necessary subject of cooperation with China, on condition that the issue is not only approached from the perspective of large companies, but rather associated with it, at the local level, the world of small and medium-sized enterprises, cities, communities, which are closer to reality and concrete solutions.

At the EU-China Cooperation Forum held on January 21, 2021, the former minister clarified that these collective visions could not exist without common standards and regulations. It is indeed essential that questions of the environment, energy, raw materials and food have a horizon that can be understood and shared by European countries, the United States and China.

To achieve a precise and open dialogue with China, François Loos recommended organizing international working groups to define these visions of the future, generate a state of trust and move forward together in these specific sectors.

François Loos closely follows the works of the Bridge Tank, notably on the EU-China Cooperation. These views were expressed during the Forum for EU-China post-covid cooperation, organized by the Bridge Tank on October 15, 2020.

Pranjal Sharma speaks during the Reboot Work Festival on the panel “AI, Automation & Future of work”

Posted on 18 December 20202 April 2021 by the_bridge_tank

Pranjal Sharma, advisor at the Davos World Economic Forum and member of the Bridge Tank’s board, was one of the keynote panellists of the Reboot Work Festival on the 17th of December 2020. He intervened in the panel entitled “AI, Automation & Future of work”, alongside with Rajesh Kumar, Regional Head of Marketing at UiPath. He argued that a new “normal” would come along the Fourth Industrial Revolution, with new digital trends to help businesses to readapt and build resiliency.

5 years after the Paris Agreement: companies and levers for climate action in a world in crisis

Posted on 16 December 20201 August 2023 by the_bridge_tank

The Society for Encouraging National Industry, founded in 1801 with the official support of Napoleon, organised a webinar entitled “5 years after the Paris Agreement: companies and levers for climate action in a world in crisis”. This event took place on the 16th of December 2020, for the COP21’s fifth anniversary.

During the plenary session, introduction speeches were made by Olivier Mousson, president of the Society for Encouraging National Industry, Sylvianne Villaudière, vice-president of the Society Jean-Pierre Cordier, president of the Society’s International Commission, and Joël Ruet.

During his introduction of the “Finance and Climate, which leverage” panel, Joël Ruet argued that key factors in the success of the COP21 summit was the Moroccan commitment to convince African countries and the United Nations’ Group of 77 to sign the Paris Agreement. He highlighted the role of the support of Southern countries for this agreement, especially as it was supposed to support them in their ecological transition. Most of the investments that lead to global growth will soon mostly be directed at Southern countries, and we must ensure that these investments are sustainable and support agriculture, social measures and innovation (notably through technological know-how transfers). Financial products should be developed for middle-sized projects, as they already exist for small and large projects. Europe needs to follow and to be followed by the rest of the world if it wants to achieve its goal efficiently. It is also key that the European Union plays a role in the norms of the analysis of raw data. Southern countries must have access to the same kind of negative interest rates as the ones in the North to be able to develop fairly.

Among the other keynote speakers were Bertrand Badré, former Managing Director and Chief Financial Officer of the World Bank, Emmanuel Mourey, President of the Banque Postale Asset Management’s board, Christian Brodhag, Lecturer at Les Mines School (Saint-Etienne) and former inter-ministerial delegate for Sustainable Development, Anne Girault, Professor of the ABC Association, and Monica de Virgiliis, president of Chapter Zero France.

Rewatch the session (in French)

Meeting between Hakima El Haite, President of the Liberal International and Ivorian President Alassane Ouattara

Posted on 16 December 20202 April 2021 by the_bridge_tank

Hakima El Haite, President of Liberal International and member of the Bridge Tank’s board, had a private audience with Alassane Ouattara, the Ivorian President, on the 15th of December 2020. This event took place aside from Alassane Ouattara’s re-election and investiture as president, after his campaign as the candidate of the Rally of Republicans. He is also the leader of this party. They exchanged about the activities of the Liberal International, as well as about the development perspectives of Côte d’Ivoire.

Liberal International is the world federation of liberal and progressive democratic political parties. Recently, it notably called for democracy and human rights to be respected in the Ugandan elections and called on the United Nations’ Commission on the Status of Women to condemn violence against Egyptian women human rights defenders.

Philippe Coste gives his views on the EU for the Fondation Prospective & Innovation

Posted on 15 December 202019 May 2021 by the_bridge_tank

Philippe Coste, member of the Bridge Tank’s board, expressed his opinion on the European Council in an article for the Prospective and Innovation Foundation on the 14th of December 2020.

Brexit being one of the most important upcoming challenges for the European Union, it is in its interest to present a united Franco-German voice, representing the 25 other members. Brussels has also succeeded recently in calming down tensions that were rising from Poland and Hungary regarding the Union’s budget, through an interpretative declaration. Making sure these two members agreed to the budget was key as this pluriannual plan included a stimulus package of 750 billion euros to help the recovery from the current health crisis, as decided by the European Council on the 21st of July.

During its most recent session, the European Council decided that the cooperation between the member states had to be intensified following the evolution of the health crisis, to allow a return to normality when the time would come. It was also agreed that the Union had to aim for a reduction of greenhouse gas of at least 55% compared to the level emitted in 1990, a 15% increase compared to the decision taken in 2014. The European Parliament was even in favour of a 60% decrease, but the level that has been fixed will already require many efforts from and financing for the member states, notably Poland. The Council also encouraged the European Commission to complete its new programme to fight terrorism. It reaffirmed Europe’s complete availability to exchange with Biden’s United States on key current challenges, such as health, security, climate, economy, technology or trade. Eventually, the Council agreed that the Union was ready to develop a cooperative relation with Turkey, but also ready to condemn provocations and actions against member states.

According to Philippe Coste, this Council was yet another illustration of Europe’s continuous ability to gather 27 different opinions and sovereign interests and represent a unanimous decision.

2020 Global Teacher Prize Winner

Posted on 14 December 20201 April 2021 by the_bridge_tank

Irina Bokova, member of the Bridge Tank’s board, congratulated the winner of the Global Teacher Prize of 2020, Ranjitsinh Disale, on the 14th of December. She saluted the courage and sacrifice of teachers across the globe during these times of uncertainty, when education suffers from its largest disruption in the history of humanity. She also reminded the public that “nothing can replace a good teacher”, and that it was key that, after the crisis, people still show teachers support.

OMVS presents a check for 200 million CFA francs for the 9th World Water Forum

Posted on 12 December 20202 April 2021 by the_bridge_tank

Hamed Semega, member of the Bridge Tank’s board and High Commissioner to Sub-Regional Organisation for the Senegal River Basin Development Authority (Organisation de Mise en Valeur du Fleuve Senegal, OMVS), handed the organisers of the 9th World Water Forum (which will take place in 2022) a 200 million CFA francs check from the OMVS.

The official ceremony to welcome this financial support took place on the 11th of December 2020 in Dakar. During this event, an agreement of partnership was also signed between the OMVS and the forum’s executive secretariat to ensure cooperation between these two entities in 2021. In this agreement, the OMVS committed to support mobilisation of resources necessary to the organisation of workshops and other projects integrated to the Dakar 2021 initiative

A loan of 40 million euros has been announced for the development of the H2 Corridor project

Posted on 10 December 20202 April 2021 by the_bridge_tank

Raphaël Schoentgen, member of the Bridge Tank’s board and Founder and CEO of Hydrogen Advisors, took part in the advisory consortium gathering Seiya, Element Energy France, and Hydrogen Advisors that, in support to French Occitanie Region and AdOcc, its economic development agency, and AREC, developed the Corridor H2 Project for heavy road transportation, for which an loan of 40 million euros was announced during the Energaia Forum on the 9th of December 2020. An agreement on this was signed between Carole Delga, President of the French region Occitanie, and Ambroise Fayolle, Vice-President of the European Investment Bank.

The H2 Project is dedicated to the development of high-capacity hydrogen distribution stations on the European road between the North Sea and the Mediterranean Sea, as well as across Occitanie, and to the production of an important number of heavy vehicles to transport goods and passengers. It therefore aims at transforming transportation in these area into a completely carbon-free one, which vehicles and refrigerated trailers relying on hydrogen technology.