EEI Hosts 6th Annual Global Electrification Forum
EEI Hosts 6th Annual Global Electrification Forum
EEI’s sixth annual Global Electrification Forum (GEF)—held virtually April 25-29—attracted more than 1,000 attendees from around the world and highlighted how global electric companies are transitioning to a more sustainable world. The GEF explored the bridges, opportunities, barriers, and risks associated with this transition and examined key issues like cross-sector coordination, the geopolitics of energy, supply chains, investment, demographics, innovation, resilience, the psychology of change, and more.
In addition to the many U.S. and international electric company executives and leaders from the financial, transportation, and other sectors who participated in panels and fireside chats, the GEF included remarks from many distinguished speakers, including:
- Dr. Mohamed Shaker El-Markabi, Egyptian Minister of Electricity and Renewable Energy
- Philippe Aghion, author and professor, London School of Economics
- Ian Goldin, author and professor of globalization and development, University of Oxford
- Nikos Tsafos, James R. Schlesinger chair in energy and geopolitics, Center for Strategic and International Studies
During the GEF’s opening keynote session, EEI Vice Chairman Warner Baxter, Ameren Corporation Executive Chairman, spoke with the Honorable John Kerry, U.S. Special Presidential Envoy for Climate and former U.S. Secretary of State, about the clean energy transformation EEI’s member companies are leading.
“It’s an exciting transition,” Kerry said. “We’re going to have incredible capacity in the United States to develop these technologies, bring them to scale, and continue to lead the world in terms of technology and this transition. Thank you for the work your companies are doing to be in the vanguard.”
“There is a lot to be excited about,” agreed Baxter. “We’re leaning in, working with the Biden Administration and many others to ensure we’re doing this clean energy transition thoughtfully, on an accelerated basis that balances reliability and affordability…. We have been strongly supporting the clean energy tax incentives, because we know they can have that step-change that we’re looking for. We will continue to support more research and development and deployment dollars, and we’re so pleased that we can continue to work with you and so many of your colleagues to be successful in this clean energy transition.”