The scientific evening Sustainable Energy: Challenges and Opportunities will take place at the Rīga Technical University (RTU) Faculty of Architecture and online on 31 October at 17.30. The evening will include a guest lecture, "After the 'Zeitenwende': Secure, Clean and Affordable Energy Supply for Climate Neutrality" by Prof. Dr. Andreas Löschel, and a presentation, "Energy Trilemma in the Public Discourse of Latvia and Germany: Towards a Methodology for a Comparative Index" by Vineta Kleinberga and Judith Kärn.

The European Union (EU) is committed to achieve climate neutrality by the middle of the century. The guest lecture will look at the path to achieving climate neutrality in difficult times from an economic perspective, and Prof. Löschel highlights that 'it is clear that a readjustment of the energy policy triangle of affordability, environmental compatibility, and security of supply is required', and that 'the resilience of the energy system will be of outstanding importance'. Emphasising the importance of the energy trilemma, Kleinberga and Kärn will present a project aimed at developing a methodology that allows determining how energy issues are reflected and discussed in the public space. The researchers indicate that 'knowledge about this is important in order to identify common ground for cooperation, as well as to reveal discrepancies, which hinder smooth, fair and sustainable energy transition'.

Prof. Löschel is a member of the German National Academy of Science and Engineering and received the German Economics Prize of the Joachim Herz Foundation 2022 for outstanding research in economics. In the economist ranking of the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung he was several times among the 50 most influential economists in Germany.

Vineta Kleinberga is a PhD student and a researcher at the Faculty of European Studies at Rīga Stradiņš University (RSU). Her research focuses on the dynamics between policy formation, strategic communication, and societal perceptions. Judith Kärn is a junior researcher at the Interdisciplinary Centre for Baltic Sea Region Research of the University of Greifswald. Her research interests lie in the interface between social sciences and law.

This event is organised in cooperation with the Rotary Club Bochum/Rechen.