18. August 2022Building socio-economic resilience in at-risk regions

This event happened online on 20 September 2022. To read the post-event blog entry on “Building socio-economic reslience in at-risk regions” click here.

Date: 20 September 2022, 11:00 – 12:00 (CEST)

Registration: Please register here

Speakers: 

• Zoi Vrontisi (Project coordinator / Senior Researcher Climate policy)
• Olga Knez (Project Manager, Katapult Business Accelerator)
• Piotr Masłowski (Deputy Mayor of Rybnik, Poland)
• Karel Tichý (Economic And Social Council Of The Ústí Region)

Session Description: 

Which are the European Regions at risk of suffering from socio-economic impacts in light of the (just) energy transition? Coal⁺ regions across Europe and beyond have been for decades the drivers of their countries’ economies, though at times still falling behind their neighbours. With the clear decision of the European Commission to decarbonise economies highly dependent on fossil fuels, these regions are at risk of lagging (if not already) greatly behind their national economies. Since a key principle of the Just Transition is to leave no one behind, change-makers are developing solutions and innovative business models to diversify their economies in order to alleviate the negative effects of such rapid change. This webinar brings together practitioners’ and researchers’ voices from several European coal⁺ regions to identify the challenges and potential pathways toward economic diversification and resilience.

This is the third event of our CINTRAN webinar series, a capacity-building programme aimed at practitioners and everyone interested in learning more about the just energy transition in coal⁺ regions across Europe. Within this interactive webinar, you will get an overview of the 15 European regions at socio-economic risk, their challenges, and the key areas where they should focus to prepare for a successful just transition. Furthermore, participants will have the opportunity to interact with practitioners from different regions and their efforts to alleviate the consequences of a rapid decarbonisation.

 

Speakers: 

Zoi Vrontisi (Project coordinator / Senior Researcher Climate policy)

Zoi Vrontisi has more than 15 years of professional and academic experience in energy and climate policy assessment. She is the director of the Economic Impact Assessments team in E3Modelling and contributes as a senior researcher and project coordinator for several EU-funded research projects focusing on the interlinkages between sustainable development and climate policy, just transition challenges and the socioeconomic assessment of climate risks. She has strong know-how in quantitative assessments with the application of sophisticated modelling tools, such as the large-scale CGE GEM-E3 model. She has previously worked in the European Commission (JRC), the Greek Ministry of Development, the National Technical University of Athens and the private sector. She was a member of the BoD of the Independent Power Transmission Operator of Greece and the Chairwoman of the National Center for the Environment and Sustainable Development of Greece. Zoi holds an Electrical and Computer Engineering 5-year degree from NTUA and an M.Sc. from Imperial College. She regularly publishes her research in high-impact journals.

Olga Knez (Project Manager, Katapult Business Accelerator)

Olga Knez joined Katapult in 2020 as a project manager for the various government and EU-funded programs supporting emerging entrepreneurs and startups. She has a good insight into the needs of startups in terms of infrastructure, mentoring, networking, and funding. One of her smaller tasks, which she really enjoys, is presenting the incubator and the companies located there to elementary and high school students. Her background is in aviation and human factors.

Piotr Masłowski (Deputy Mayor of Rybnik, Poland)

Piotr Masłowski – born on August 1, 1977, in Rydułtowy. A graduate of the Institute of Political Science at the University of Silesia in Katowice and postgraduate studies in human resource management at the University of Silesia Management School in Chorzów. Former president of the Center for the Development of Social Initiatives (CRIS). NGO activist, and co-founder of the Rybnik Citizens’ Forum. In 2011, he was appointed to the advisory team at the office of the President of the Republic of Poland, Bronisław Komorowski, for Financial and Legal Solutions in the field of Social and Civic Activity. He is currently the Deputy Mayor of Rybnik responsible for the city's social policy, sports events, contacts with non-governmental organizations, and the acquisition of external sources of finance.

Karel Tichý (Economic And Social Council Of The Ústí Region)

Karel Tichý is a professional consultant with broad experience in the several fields such as regional development (coal regions, just transition, restructuring activities, business development and innovation), public administration and preparation, realization and evaluation of projects of European funds. Between 2016 and 2020 he has been part of the national team preparing and implementing the Strategy of Economic Restructuring of Usti, Moravian-Silesian and Karlovy Vary Regions. Through its current position of Project Manager of the Economic and Social Council of the Ústí Region he is actively participating in the processes related to the preparation and implementation of the Just Transition Mechanism in Czech Republic and throughout supporting the activities of intensifying the cooperation of coal regions in the middle Europe in diverse fields. He is also active as a Developer of Strategic Projects in the field of hydrogen in Ústí Region.

Registration: Please register here

 

This event is also part of the European Sustainable Energy Week (EUSEW) 2022.