Topic:  Russia and the Global Energy Transition

Speaker:  David Edick Jr., Principal at Core Global Advisory

Presentation:  

Energy is central to our modern civilization. Energy propels human ideas and physical materials into motion. In recent years, there has been a rapid intensification of the drive to reduce the anthropogenic impact on the global climate system. Decarbonization of humanity's energy supply lies at the center of this effort. 

After China and the United States, Russia is the 3rd largest primary energy producer in the world. Russia is the largest supplier of internationally traded natural gas in the world and is the second largest supplier of internationally traded oil. Russia supplies over 35% of the natural gas used in the European Union and is the EU's primary source of imported oil. Given the deep energy interdependence between Europe and Russia, it is likely Russia will play a major role in the European Union's effort to decarbonize. Russia will also experience challenges presented by European policy choices.

Further, Russia's domestic economy of 142 million people is heavily depended on fossil fuel energy - primarily natural gas. Regardless of geopolitics, Russia will clearly play a central role in determining the timely success of decarbonizing humanity's energy footprint. The challenges should not be underestimated given Russia's vast geography, northern location, relatively dispersed population, and socioeconomic inertia. That said, opportunities provided through technology also exist.

In this presentation, David Edick Jr. will describe Russia's energy profile, it's population's perspective on global warming as a threat, and Russia's potential pathways and obstacles to decarbonization.

Speaker's bio: 

David Edick Jr. is Principal at Core Global Advisory, a consultancy focused on political risk, commodities, and market strategy. David has over 30 years' experience in trade, investment banking, and NGO relations in Russia. He has worked abroad in Russia in the food trade and investment banking, and in Mexico in the seafood export development business. 

David also serves as a member of the Energy Committee for the Western Regional Partnership, a collaborative between the Department of Defense and representatives of Federal agencies and State and Tribal leadership in 6 states of the US southwest. He also serves on the Natural Resources Committee and the Tribal Engagement Working Group. 

Drawing on his global perspective and experience, David has lectured widely for more than 15 years on energy, finance and geopolitics.

Long active in San Diego's international civil society community, David is 3-term Past President of the San Diego World Affairs Council. He is also 6-term Past President of the San Diego International Sister Cities Association, and 7-term Past President of the San Diego - Vladivostok (Russia) Sister City Society. In 2015 he served as Chair of the Steering Committee which led the establishment of San Diego’s 16th sister city relationship (Panama City, Panama).  David is a longtime participant in the international collaborative Pacific Rim Park program founded by James Hubbell. 

David graduated from San Diego State University in 1985 with a custom-designed, cross-disciplinary degree in Global Political Economy. David and his family live in Rancho San Diego, California.