International Researchers Discuss Energy and Climate Change Online
Conferences
18.06.2021
Mannheim Conference on Energy and the Environment
On 20 and 21 May 2021, around 140 energy and environmental economists from Germany and abroad participated online in the ninth Mannheim Conference on Energy and the Environment. International researchers and experts discussed various topics of the energy industry for two days. This year, the conference organised by ZEW Mannheim focused on energy efficiency, electricity markets, mobility and carbon pricing.
Professor Sebastian Rausch, head of the ZEW Research Department “Environmental and Resource Economics, Environmental Management”, opened the conference, which once again featured a number of renowned international environmental economists as keynote speakers: Professor Kenneth Gillingham from Yale University and the US National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER), Professor Ashley Langer from the University of Arizona and NBER, Professor Christiane Baumeister from the University of Notre Dame, USA, and Professor Erik Verhoef from the Free University of Amsterdam, the Netherlands. Their presentations addressed issues such as the economics of e-mobility and developments in energy markets during the COVID-19 pandemic. They also looked at the uncertainties associated with oil prices and how variations in option prices can be used to estimate the priced-in probability of events. The use of tradable mobility certificates to relieve commuter traffic at peak times was also discussed.
Mannheim Conference on Energy and the Environment 2021: bigger and more international
In addition to four keynote lectures, the scientific programme of the online conference consisted of 49 contributions selected from over 100 submissions. The presentations were divided into six blocks with three parallel sessions each. Thanks to the digital format, it was possible to include more contributions in the programme. Also, more international guests were able to participate: 40 per cent of the presenters came from other European countries, about half came from Germany and about 15 per cent of the participants came from US universities. Just like in the previous years, the ninth edition of the conference again saw a high quality of contributions, underlining the fact that it has established itself as one of the most important and renowned international conferences for energy and environmental economists. The Mannheim Conference on Energy and the Environment will take place again next year, hopefully as a face-to-face event in Mannheim.
