Leaders Gather in Chicago to Discuss Future of U.S.-Canada Energy Relations
October 16, 2014 CHICAGO - The Chicago Council on Global Affairs is convening a summit on the future of U.S.-Canada energy relations today and tomorrow in Chicago. With tightly integrated pipelines and electricity grids, the U.S.-Canada energy relationship is the largest between any two countries in the world.
Leading U.S. and Canadian business leaders, policymakers and energy experts will discuss bilateral issues critical to North American cooperation on energy issues with a view to advancing international competitiveness and environmental stewardship. Participants will focus on changing energy resources at home and the lure of new energy markets abroad, particularly in Asia. Summit sessions will address how the two countries can leverage their assets, protect the environment and better align policy efforts.
The summit will be webcast at thechicagocouncil.org/energy, starting at 5:30 p.m. CDT (full agenda). Follow @ChicagoCouncil for updates and use #USCAEnergy to join the conversation.
"To get the full benefits of our new found North American sources of energy, the United States and Canada have to work together on energy and environmental policy as well as on the infrastructure necessary to move energy to where it is needed" said event co-chair David Jacobson, vice chairman of BMO Financial Group and former U.S. Ambassador to Canada. “This event is designed to provide an important step in charting a new path.”
“North America is at the heart of the global revolution in energy, and it is crucial that we focus on how the United States and Canada can cooperate to take maximum geostrategic advantage of this new reality,” said Ambassador Ivo H. Daalder, president of The Chicago Council on Global Affairs.
Canada’s Minister of Natural Resources Greg Rickford will deliver the opening keynote address this evening. Adam Sieminski, administrator of the U.S. Energy Information Administration, will deliver the opening keynote tomorrow morning; Dennis Blair, former U.S. director of national intelligence and former commander of U.S. Pacific Command, will deliver the luncheon keynote; and Daniel Poneman, former U.S. deputy secretary of energy, will deliver the afternoon keynote.
Other participants include William J. Fehrman, president and CEO of MidAmerican Energy Company and president of MidAmerican Renewables, LLC; Lana Pollack, chair of the US Section of the International Joint Commission; and Soma Somasundaram, president and CEO of Dover Energy. Jean Charest, former premier of Québec, Canada, serves as a co-chair of the summit with Jacobson.
“The Chicago Council is the right place to focus on U.S.-Canada energy trade and policy. The two countries share the world’s most integrated energy market, and much of that flows through Chicago” said Rachel Bronson, senior fellow for global energy at The Chicago Council on Global Affairs.
Generous support for the summit has been provided by lead sponsors BMO Financial Group and Dover Corporation; and supporting sponsors the government of Alberta, Dentons, Exelon, Ivanhoe Energy, Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung, Suncor, TransCanada. Summit partners include the government of Canada, CEO Roundtable-Chicago, the Illinois Chamber of Commerce and the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars. The summit builds on a growing body of work that The Chicago Council has undertaken on U.S.-Canada energy relations, including its 2011 report (PDF) on the U.S.-Canada energy trade.
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About The Chicago Council on Global Affairs
The Chicago Council on Global Affairs, founded in 1922, is an independent, non-partisan organization committed to educating the public — and influencing the public discourse — on global issues of the day. The Council provides a forum in Chicago for world leaders, policymakers and other experts to speak to its members and the public on these issues. Long known for its public opinion surveys of American views on foreign policy, The Chicago Council also brings together stakeholders to examine issues and offer policy insight into areas such as global agriculture, the global economy, global energy, global cities, global security and global immigration. Learn more at thechicagocouncil.org and follow @ChicagoCouncil for updates.
CONTACT: Kim Heys
312.821.6864 Direct | kheys@thechicagocouncil.org
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