International forum to discuss EU energy developments

The Energy reForum 2016 event is being hosted jointly with SC Klaipedos Nafta (the operator of Klaipeda liquefied natural gas terminal), the WTI-based NCCR Trade Regulation research project and the Energy Reforms association.

The forum will bring together leading government representatives, scholars and practitioners from the United Kingdom, Switzerland, Finland, Germany, Italy, Belgium, Ukraine and Lithuania to discuss the recent developments in the EU energy markets as well as challenges related to implementation of infrastructure projects.

Participants include WTI former Managing Director Prof. Thomas Cottier, a WTO dispute chairman/panellist, Minister of Energy of Lithuania Rokas Masiulis and Prof. Angus Johnston of the University of Oxford.

The Forum will host several side events, among them:

• HEKLA LNG workshop on the implementation of infrastructure projects for the development of liquefied natural gas markets in the Baltic Sea region;
• NCCR Trade Regulation panel on Energy and Environment discussing the energy markets after adoption of the 2015 Paris Climate Change Agreement;
• A session for young energy experts organised by the World Trade Institute and Cambridge Center for Energy, Environment and Natural Resources Governance to enable researchers to present their work in the field of energy.

The first event of its kind in Lithuania, the forum lays foundations for academic and business cooperation. Its objective is to provide a platform for discussion related to further development of the energy markets, as well as to encourage innovation and make policy recommendations of relevance to the Baltic states and the EU. It will involve young experts to promote young people’s interest in energy.

The forum will discuss developments in the LNG, gas, biofuel and electricity markets. It will overview the most recent developments in energy law and policy in the Baltic States and at the EU level.

Lithuania was chosen to host the event as a sign of its most recent achievements in the energy sector. The country has recently undergone a number of energy sector reforms that enabled the Baltic nation to secure its energy independence and move from ‘energy politics’ to the development of ‘energy markets’.

Among its flagship achievements is the Klaipeda LNG terminal that has brought competition to the gas markets. In the less than three years since the project was implemented, Lithuania has managed to diversify its gas supply and significantly reduce its energy dependence on third states.

For more information about the event please visit the website – www.energyreforum2016.lt