Russia’s continued weaponization of energy supplies has firmly placed energy security at the forefront of international politics. Yet, as Europe grapples with these unprecedented energy woes, the international climate crisis still looms. Energy Futures Initiative (EFI) Principal Melanie Kenderdine has been working with the Center for the Study of Democracy on energy security issues in Europe, post-Russian invasion of Ukraine.
At a Center for the Study of Democracy event on October 6, 2022, Kenderdine praised the center’s new Energy and Climate Security Risk Index, which she said is very timely in today’s world. The index assesses energy and climate vulnerabilities of the European Union as a whole and of selected member states and provides guidance on possible pathways for energy and climate security policy.
The index is presented in the Center for the Study of Democracy’s new report, The Great Energy and Climate Security Divide: Accelerated Green Transition vs. the Kremlin Playbook in Europe. The report was featured in the event and calls for a revamped European energy and climate security strategy.
EFI recognizes that energy issues operate within broader geopolitical contexts. The Center for the Study of Democracy’s index aligns with EFI’s focus on local climate and energy solutions that address country- and region-specific needs and opportunities.
Kenderdine has worked with the Center for the Study of Democracy even before EFI began. While at the U.S. Department of Energy in 2016, her office supported the Center for the Study of Democracy’s work on Russia’s interference in Western democratic elections. Following the Russian invasion of Ukraine, and its cascading effects on energy security, Kenderdine has worked with the Center for the Study of Democracy as part of EFI.
Kenderdine said she looks forward to continuing to collaborate with the Center for the Study of Democracy to refine and expand the index, as well as to find other opportunities to work together on critical energy and climate issues that affect the United States, Bulgaria, and other U.S. allies and trading partners.
— Jaycee Scanlon, Communications Fellow
(Share this post with others.)
