IIEA Talks

In December 2021, the ‘Whole of Government Circular Economy Strategy’, Ireland’s first national circular economy strategy, was published. It is clear that we are at a turning point in this transition however, with Ireland consistently underperforming in circularity material use rate, and there is significant progress yet to be made. In his address to the IIEA, Mr Iain Gulland outlines the circular economy model, discusses how the circular economy model can be made to work in practice, and offers insights into the work of Zero Waste Scotland. About the Speaker: Iain Gulland is Zero Waste Scotland’s founding Chief Executive and was the Programme Director of the predecessor programme, WRAP Scotland. Prior to this, Mr Gulland worked with initiating recycling systems in the public, private and third sectors and led the Community Recycling Network, Scotland until 2008. Mr Gulland has recently been appointed President of the Association of Cities and Regions for Resource Management (ACR+) and is a member of several Scottish Government Programme Boards including those covering low carbon and manufacturing activities. Mr Gulland was named the ‘most influential person in the UK waste and resource efficiency sector’ by Resource Magazine (2014) and was granted a fellowship of the Chartered Institution of Waste Management in 2016.

In the latest podcast episode of IIEA Insights, IIEA Chief Economist Dan O'Brien, sits down with Alicia García-Herrero, Hong Kong-based Chief Economist for Asia Pacific at Natixis Bank and Brad Sester, Senior Fellow at the Council of Foreign Relations and former US Treasury Economist, to discuss the range of factors driving a global trend towards greater government intervention in economies, particularly in the strategically significant industry of manufacturing.

The Swedish Presidency of the Council of the European Union comes at a pivotal time for the future of the Union, especially in the context of seismic upheavals like the war in Ukraine and global challenges to the competitiveness of the single market from China and the United States. State Secretary Danielsson discusses the Swedish presidency of the Council of the EU, their experience to date and issues such as competitiveness. He also discusses other priority areas such as security, energy and democratic values. About the Speaker: Christian Danielsson is State Secretary to Swedish Minister for EU Affairs Jessika Roswall, with responsibility for EU affairs and Nordic affairs. Mr Danielsson has previously served as Deputy Secretary-General of the European Commission, Director-General of European Commission Directorate-General for Neighbourhood and Enlargement Negotiations and Head of the European Commission Representation in Sweden.

Kate Raworth, an ecological economist, and co-founder of Doughnut Economics Action Lab delivers a keynote address. This event is part of the Environmental Resilience Series, supported by the EPA. Kate Raworth is an ecological economist and creator of the Doughnut-a concept that aims to meet the needs of all people within the means of the living planet-and co-founder of Doughnut Economics Action Lab. Her internationally best-selling book Doughnut Economics: seven ways to think like a 21st century economist has been translated into over 20 languages and has been widely influential with diverse audiences, from the UN General Assembly and Pope Francis to Extinction Rebellion. Ms Raworth is a Senior Associate at Oxford University’s Environmental Change Institute, where she teaches on the Masters in Environmental Change and Management. She is also Professor of Practice at Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences. Over the past 25 years, Kate’s career has taken her from working with micro-entrepreneurs in the villages of Zanzibar to co-authoring the Human Development Report for UNDP in New York, followed by a decade as Senior Researcher at Oxfam.

'The European economy in 2023: resilience or recession?' In this latest podcast episode of IIEA Insights, Dan O’Brien, Chief Economist at the IIEA sits down with Stefan Gerlach, Chief Economist at EFG Bank Zurich, to discuss trends in Europe’s economy, slowing inflation, labour market trends in Ireland and on the continent. They delve into the bigger questions about the future of Europe’s economy, market interactions and what’s on the mind of the shapers and makers behind European monetary policy including ECB President Christine Lagarde.

In his address, Dr Tsuruoka argues that Russia's invasion of Ukraine has effectively ended the post-Cold War order in Europe. However, the war’s impact is not only limited to Europe. Japan has imposed severe sanctions on Russia, aligning itself with the EU, the US and other G7 partners. Tokyo is experiencing its own Zeitenwende, as demonstrated by its new National Security Strategy, adopted in December 2022. As Japan faces challenges from China, North Korea and Russia simultaneously, Dr Tsuruoka asks how these two regions - Europe and Asia – are linked and how best they could address the challenges to the rules-based international order together? About the Speaker Dr Michito Tsuruoka is an Associate Professor at Keio University. Prior to joining Keio in 2017, he was a Senior Research Fellow at the National Institute for Defense Studies from 2009. He is concurrently a Senior Fellow at The Tokyo Foundation for Policy Research and a Senior Fellow at the Centre for Security, Diplomacy and Strategy, Brussels School of Governance, VUB. During his tenure at NIDS, Dr Tsuruoka was seconded to the Ministry of Defense as a Deputy Director of the International Policy Division, Bureau of Defense Policy (2012-2013), where he was in charge of multilateral security and defence cooperation in the Asia-Pacific region and spent one year as a Visiting Fellow at Royal United Services Institute for Defence and Security Studies (2013-2014). Prior to joining NIDS, he was a Resident Fellow of the German Marshall Fund of the United States in Brussels (2009) and served as an Adviser for NATO at the Embassy of Japan in Belgium (2005-2008)

In September 2022, following a tense but peaceful transition of power, William Ruto became president of Kenya. As part of his so-called ‘Hustler’ narrative, President Ruto committed to addressing rising inequality and poverty through the provision of cheap credit to the young voters who put in him in office. The new government also committed to increase funding for renewable energy, to education reforms, to end police brutality and to focus on the ‘common mwananchi’ or common person, otherwise known as ‘Hustler’, or mwananchi in Kiswahili. Yet, as Kenya’s leading opposition party increasingly challenge the legitimacy of the elections, questions remain about the stability of the Ruto Presidency. This presentation by Dr Njoki Wamai discusses the Kenyan presidential election outcome and the implications which it may have for the region, the European Union and Ireland. Njoki Wamai PhD is an Assistant Professor in the International Relations Department at the United States International University-Africa. She was a post-doctoral researcher at the Centre for Governance and Human Rights at the Politics and International Studies Department at the University of Cambridge, where she completed her PhD in politics and international studies as a Gates Cambridge Scholar in 2017. Previously, Dr Wamai was a Peace, Security and Development Scholar at the African Leadership Centre at King’s College London. She has published book chapters and articles with Oxford University Press, Routledge and Zed Books on international intervention, the International Criminal Court, mediation and violence using postcolonial and decolonial approaches.

According to DNV, electrification is growing and greening in all regions and sectors. Furthermore, the long-term influence of the war in Ukraine on the pace of the energy transition is low, compared with the main long-term drivers of change such as plunging renewables costs, electrification, and rising carbon prices. But which are the most promising technologies and how will the global, European, and UK energy mix develop? Get answers to these and many other questions by attending the IIEA’s and DNV’s Energy Transition Outlook event. About the Speakers: As an international accredited registrar and classification society, DNV is an organisation which specialises in independent expert in assurance and risk management. DNV provides a range of assurance and advisory services across the energy value change, with particular focus on the energy transition. Hari Vamadevan, Senior Vice President and Regional Director, UK & Ireland, Energy Systems at DNV He has 30 years’ experience in leadership positions and currently leads a 700-strong team helping customers make the transition to a decarbonised energy future. He is currently head of the Energy Systems operations in the UK and Ireland and is also chairperson of all DNV’s UK entities. He is an authority on the complex facets of the whole systems approach to the energy transition. Since joining DNV he has held senior management roles in the Maritime, Oil and Gas, and more recently, the combined Oil & Gas and Alternative Energy businesses. Frank Ketelaars is currently the Operations Manager for the DNV Energy Systems operations in the UK & Ireland. He oversees the operations across the full energy space, covering renewables, offshore and onshore oil & gas production and gas transmission and distribution systems. In his previous role he was the Director for Oil & Gas Operations for DNV in Region Americas, based in DNV Houston office, with responsibility for O&G operations in the United States, Canada, Mexico, Brazil and Trinidad & Tobago. These operations covered verification and advisory work for offshore and onshore operations, with a focus on safety and regulatory compliance, integrity management and performance improvement. Recorded on the 24th of January 2023

Following an election in October 2022, and under the shadow of the storming of the Presidential compound in Brasilia on 8 January 2023 by supporters of former president Jair Bolsonaro, Luis Inacio Lula da Silva (President Lula) took office as President of Brazil. In this address, Robert Muggah, co-Founder of the Igarape Institute, a leading Brazilian think tank, examines what the Lula Presidency might mean for Brazil and for the wider region and reflects on the challenges and opportunities that Brazil and President Lula may face in an increasingly polarised world. This event was organised in conjunction with the Embassy of Ireland in Brazil. About the Speaker: Robert Muggah specializes in security, cities, climate action and digital transformation. He co-founded the Igarapé Institute, a think and do tank focused on human, digital and climate security. He also co-founded the SecDev Group, a data science company committed to detecting and deterring cyber threats and building digital resilience. Robert is also a senior adviser to McKinsey, a fellow at Princeton, the Graduate Institute (Geneva), the Chicago Council on Global Affairs and is non-resident faculty at Singularity University. Robert also advises the World Economic Forum’s Council on the Future of Cities, its annual Global Risk Report and the Global Parliament of Mayors. He earned a DPhil at the University of Oxford.

In the twelfth and final episode of this series of IIEA Insights, IIEA Chief Economist and previous IIEA Director General David O’Sullivan sit down to discuss the key issues raised during the series, including but not limited to, the outlook of Russia’s ongoing war in Ukraine, the transatlantic economy, and potential headwinds on the horizon, as well as the future of the Northern Ireland Protocol