"Transatlantic Climate Bridge - Business Opportunities for German and American Companies"
On November 2nd, 2009, Consul General Dr. Freitag welcomed almost 130 participants from various branches of industry and business to "Focus: Renewable Energy - Transatlantic Climate Bridge – Business Opportunities for German and American Companies." Organized by the German Consulate General and the German-American Chamber of Commerce New York, the symposium introduced a wide array of speakers from government, finance and business for a dialogue on clean energy and its business opportunities between Germany and the United States. The event was part of the Transatlantic Climate Bridge initiative that fosters German and American cooperation on climate and energy policies.
With the aim to exchange know-how and to pay the way for joint solutions, Consul General Horst Freitag together with Dr. Benno Bunse, President & CEO of the German American Chamber of Commerce, opened the symposium that was moderated by Brian Sinderson, Founder & Partner of "Greener", an expert of green management, marketing and communications.
The event showed that companies in Germany and the United States have been cooperating closely in their efforts to promote renewable energies in order to achieve a reduction of greenhouse gas emissions. Alison Taylor, Vice President of Sustainability for the Americas and Michael Kruklinski, Vice President of Corporate Development and Strategy, presented Siemens’ strategy ("Siemens – Green before Green was Cool!") for dealing with the challenge of climate change. Dr. Krish Krishnamurthy, Energy Innovation Council Manager of Linde North America, informed about the company’s quest of finding ways to lower greenhouse gas emissions. Michael Allen, Vice President of the medium-size company 1st Light Energy proved that not only "global players," like Siemens and Linde, foster business cooperation between Germany and the United States.
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- Paula Durand, Claus Habermeier, Dr. Krish Krishnamurthy, Michael Allen, Chris Neidl and Alison Taylor during the panel discussion
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In the following panel discussion, the speakers and Claus Habermeier (Germany Trade and Invest), Chris Neidl (Solar One) and Paula Durand (New Jersey Economic Development Authority) discussed the different incentive programs aimed at promoting renewable energies. All agreed that, although there has been a substantial increase in the number of programs in the United States, there still is a lack of reliable long-term-support. The symposium was accompanied by an exhibition on renewable energies and the successful day concluded with a reception in the lobby of the German House, where the lively discussion on clean and green energy continued.
