MSLGROUP's latest edition of ON Energy Report looks at the evolving European Energy landscape in the context of the forthcoming jamboree that is COP21. With carbon reduction at the top of the agenda, we take a look at some of the challenges and opportunities that we face, and some of the communications needs that the industry has to grapple with. For future updates, please contact Nick Bastin, Partner, CNC and Head of MSLGROUP’s EMEA Energy Practice at nick.bastin@cnc-communications.com. Do share your queries/feedback with our team at @CNC_comms or reach out to us on twitter @msl_group.

1. 1 ENERGY REPORT
November 2015
Issue 7 | November 2015
INSIDE THIS ISSUE
Germany
How NIMBYism will almost
double the cost of Germany’s
grid expansion
PAGE
6
Italy
“Supergiant” gas field in Egypt
PAGE
7
Netherlands
The Dutch civic energy revolution
PAGE
9
Poland
In the wake of the prosumer
revolution
PAGE
5
ENERGY
REPORT

2. 2 ENERGY REPORT
November 2015
Contents
Contents
Introduction 3
From Brussels to Paris and beyond 4
In the wake of the prosumer revolution in Poland 5
How NIMBYism will almost double the cost of Germany’s
grid expansion – and the ongoing communications
challenge for politicy-makers and industry. 6
“Supergiant” gas field in Egypt: how will it alter international
geopolitics? 7
Low energy prices – the greatest threat to a lower carbon world? 8
The Dutch civic energy revolution 9
France Pushes ‘Green Growth’ - and Drastic
Energy Cuts - as a Cop 21 Model 11
MSLGROUP can make the difference 12
2

3. 3 ENERGY REPORT
November 2015
Welcome to our latest edition of On. In this edition we take a look at the
evolving European Energy landscape in the context of the forthcoming
jamboree that is COP21. With carbon reduction at the top of the agenda,
my colleagues from around Europe have looked at some of the challenges
and opportunities that we face, and some of the communications needs that
the industry has to grapple with.
What is clear from even a cursory review of this edition’s content, is that
there is a diverse range of issues and no consistent thread that unites
all markets. There are often some striking inconsistencies, such as the
renewable explosion in Germany which has been combined with resurgent
coal, or the UK’s constant tinkering on the regulatory environment. Other
markets, such as Italy, are putting their faith in the huge new gas field
discovered by ENI off Egypt, to not only provide access to close-at-hand
supply, but also to diminish over-reliance on Russian gas.
Europe’s policymakers have been largely absent from the debate so far,
instead working away on a common energy policy – something the Union
is crying out for. It is a shame that it won’t be in place for COP21 as I am
sure that the alignment of interests that it would represent would be very
helpful in the debate.
Nonetheless, all eyes will be turned to Paris in December, to see what the
world’s leaders can do to halt the seemingly inexorable increase in carbon
emissions while meeting the need for heat, light and power from the world.
What a great Christmas present for the world if a meaningful agreement
can be reached which rewards performance and progress, while putting an
appropriate price on the polluters.
Nick Bastin
Partner, CNC, Head of MSLGROUP EMEA Energy Practice
Introduction
3

4. 4 ENERGY REPORT
November 2015
Cutting CO2
emissions and making energy systems
more resilient are the twin goals of the EU Energy strate-
gy outlined by the Commission earlier this year, whitch
is now in the early stages of implementation. If the ulti-
mate goals are not new, what is new is the way EU, policy
makers are putting consumers at the center stage of their
energy strategy, backed by a much greater sense of ur-
gency for concerted action, never before seen in energy.
External geo-political factors, but also a greater internal
consciousness, show that nobody among the EU mem-
ber states will gain in the longer term by a pan-European
agenda that continues to deliver too little, too late in this
area. A thoughtful House of Lords report unambiguously
indicated in 2013 that “No country is an energy island1
.
There are therefore clear benefits to be derived from work-
ing within the EU on the energy challenge”.
Clear focus and direction are now set around the five pil-
lars of the EU strategy, namely supply security, energy
efficiency, emissions reduction, integrated internal en-
ergy market and innovation in low-carbon technologies.
Joint engagement may also be at reach on the way to
Paris for the UN COP 21 conference later this year. The
alignment and target being defined jointly by the EU
and its Member States towards a reinforced agreement
on climate change in Paris is a good signal. Although
the last negotiating session before Paris took place in
Bonn, in 19-23 October, the extraordinary meeting of
the Environment Council in September set out the EU’s
position for the new global climate agreement. The EU
Council is pressing for a “global, fair, ambitious and le-
gally binding international treaty” that will prevent global
warming from reaching dangerous levels. The increase
in the global average temperature is aimed to be kept
below 2°C above the pre-industrial level. The EU Coun-
cil’s conclusions support a balanced Paris Agreement
including strong action to cut greenhouse gas emis-
sions and adapt to the impacts of climate change, as
well as adequate support for financing climate action.
On the more operational front, a new initiative has been
taken recently by the European Commission with a view
to facilitate the transfer and trade of energy across na-
tional markets. The European Commission adopted new
rules governing its electricity market and enabling the
so called ‘market coupling’ across Member States’ elec-
From Brussels to Paris and beyond
Leonardo Sforza
MSLGROUP, Brussels
leonardo.sforza@mslgroup.com
tricity markets. The new regulation will allow cross-bor-
der cooperation between national power exchanges and
bring them together as a more integrated market where
bids and offers for services from providers can be made
across borders with greater ease.
Meanwhile, the Commission has just concluded an impor-
tant stakeholder consultation on the issues that may need
to be addressed for a new European electricity market
design. These issues include: (i) improvements to market
functioning and investment signals; (ii) market integration
of renewables; (iii) linking retail and wholesale markets
(iv); reinforcing regional coordination of policy making, be-
tween system operators and infrastructure investments; (v)
the governance of the internal electricity market; and, (vi) a
European dimension to security of supply.
The Commission considers that consumers need to be-
come just as well-informed and empowered as buyers
and sellers on wholesale markets through clearer billing
and advertising rules, trustworthy price comparison tools
and by leveraging their bargaining power through collec-
tive schemes (such as collective switching and energy
cooperatives). Consumers should also be free to generate
and consume their own energy under fair conditions in
order to save money, help the environment, and ensure
security of supply.
Finally, recognising that citizens must be at the core of the
Energy Union, the Commission has outlined its views on
how the EU could deliver a new deal for energy consum-
ers, based on a three-pillar strategy. These are: a) helping
consumers save money and energy through better in-
formation; b) giving consumers a wider choice of action
when choosing their participation in energy markets, and
c) maintaining the highest level of consumer protection.
1
“No Country is an Energy island: Securing Investment for the EU’s Future”, HOUSE OF LORDS, European Union Committee, 02.05.2013

5. 5 ENERGY REPORT
November 2015
The EU Climate & Energy Package has always been a
sensitive issue in Poland, whose energy mix is over 80%
coal and crude oil (after all, Poland has one of the big-
gest coal reserves in Europe). While the country might
be perceived as a “climate contrarian” among EU mem-
ber States, such a perception is not completely justified.
Poland does not intend to fight tightening climate policy
and defend the status quo at all costs. The Government
is fully aware of the inevitable global transition from fos-
sil fuels to renewable sources of power. However, deci-
sion-makers want this transition to be gradual so it does
not jeopardise Polish energy security and the competi-
tiveness of its economy. Moreover, there are clear signs
that better times are coming for renewable energy sourc-
es and low emission technologies in Poland.
In January 2016, the new Renewable Energy Act comes
into force, which implements the EU Renewable Energy
Directive into domestic legislation. The document is the
first act of law, that comprehensively regulates Poland’s
renewable energy sector. It was finally signed by the Pol-
ish President on 11 March 2015 after almost 4 years of
work and a number of published drafts. In addition to
provisions which apply to large-scale renewable power
generation technologies, such as wind, hydro, biomass
or ground mounted PV, the act also includes a so called
“prosumer amendment”, which grants support for re-
newable power generation in prosumer micro-installa-
tions. Owners of the smallest RES installations, up to
10kW, will benefit from fixed feed-in-tariffs. In turn, own-
ers of larger photovoltaic systems from 10kW up to 40kW
will be able to resell energy at wholesale prices from the
previous quarter. Prosumer provisions also include a net
metering solution.
The Polish Ministry of Economy estimates that due to
the favorable RES law there might be 37,500 micro-instal-
lations mounted in 2016, with a cap of 200,000. RWE’s
study “Technology Scenarios for the Polish Energy Mar-
ket through 2050” shows that in 2050 prosumers may ac-
count for up to 25 TWh of electricity production, which is
nearly half of the electricity produced by dispersed gen-
eration.
According to the data collected by the Energy Regulatory
Office, in the first half of 2015 prosumer micro-installa-
tions of up to 40 kW produced nearly 10,600 MWh of
electricity, which is almost nine times more than in all
of 2014. This resulted from a significant increase in the
number of mounted micro-installations in the first half
of 2015. At the end of June, there were 1,954 of them
compared with 875 at the end of 2014 and 41 at the end
of 2013.
Although there are not even 2,000 prosumers yet in the
Polish energy sector, there is a strong reason to believe
that the market will grow in the next few years. Big Polish
energy companies co-owned by the State treasury, which
were once reluctant towards micro generation no longer
deny it and now include photovoltaic products in their
commercial offers directed at big companies, SMEs, local
governments and, more often, households.
In the wake of the prosumer revolution in Poland
Marcin Obersztyn
Poland
marcin.obersztyn@mslgroup.com
5 ENERGY REPORT
November 2015

6. 6 ENERGY REPORT
November 2015
Not long ago, energy supply in Germany was a compara-
tively straightforward affair. Electricity was predominantly
generated where it was consumed. This led to numerous
coal-fired power plants being erected around the Ruhr,
and nuclear power plants being constructed in the south
to supply the major population centres there. In an effort
to combat climate change, and following the Fukushima
nuclear disaster, Germany embarked on a major ener-
gy reform. As a result, the share of CO2
-emitting power
plants in electricity generation is to be slashed, and all
nuclear power stations will be shut down by 2022.
New grids seen as crucial for switch to
renewables
The shutting-down of nuclear and coal-fired plants will
lead to a shortage of energy sources in close proximity to
the major consumption centres in the south and west of
the country. This shortfall is supposed to be compensated
for with renewable energy sources from the north of Ger-
many, such as wind (especially offshore), solar power and
biomass. In order to collect all this renewable energy and
transport it south and west, an unprecedented expansion
of Germany’s grid capacity is underway. But much more is
needed, and popular resistance is on the rise.
Public resistance delays expansion and
creates uncertainty for industry
The planned construction of several major “energy mo-
torways” running from the north to the south has turned
into a major communications challenge, affecting local
communities, regional and national politics, industry,
and the country as a whole. Since the Federal Network
Agency (Bundesnetzagentur) presented its grid expan-
sion plan, protest groups have been springing up all
across the country. Residents worry that transmission
lines will destroy the countryside, devalue property and
bring unknown health risks. The situation escalated
when the Prime Minister of the south-eastern state of Ba-
varia snapped. Horst Seehofer, who is also the leader of
the Christian Social Union (CSU), sister party of Angela
Merkel’s CDU, bowed to public concern and revoked his
support for the grid expansion plans which had previous-
ly been agreed upon by all 16 federal states. The resist-
ance is developing into a major headache for Chancellor
Merkel. It is dividing her coalition, undermining her most
ambitious domestic policy and creating considerable un-
certainty for grid operators, their suppliers and a whole
industry sector.
A new compromise, a huge bill, and an
unresolved dilemma
In July, a new compromise was hammered out by coali-
tion leaders. Grid expansion is to continue more or less
as planned (with a few minor route changes) but under-
ground cables will be given priority over transmission
lines on new routes. At first glance, it may seem like a
reasonable compromise. But it could turn out to be little
more than a very expensive short-term fix. While under-
ground cables might indeed be the better alternative in
the long run, their deployment will be four to ten times
more expensive than fitting above-ground transmission
lines. Moreover, the compromise merely shifts problems
to other places and on to other issues, rather than resolv-
ing them. Protests will continue in the affected areas, new
ones are likely to spring up in the areas newly affected,
underground cables may not be the silver bullet in terms
of potential health risks, and the uncertainty for grid op-
erators and affiliated industries remains. Politicians and
industry continue to face an unresolved communications
challenge which could lead to still more delays and drive
up costs even further.
Florian Wastl
Germany
florian.wastl@mslgroup.com
How NIMBYism will almost double the cost of Ger-
many’s grid expansion – and the ongoing communi-
cations challenge for policymakers and industry.
6 ENERGY REPORT
November 2015

7. 7 ENERGY REPORT
November 2015
Field Zhor just
discovered in
Egypt by Eni
850
70
762
1,700
2,100
Others Egyptian fields
Italian con-
sumption
(per year) Cypriot
fields
Israeli
fields
“Supergiant” gas field in Egypt: how will it alter
international geopolitics?
The Italian oil company ENI has discovered the largest gas field in the Mediterrane-
an, and confirms its strategic importance for international politics.
Alessandro Chiarmasso,
Massimo Brugnone
Italy
alessandro.chiarmasso@mslgroup.com,
massimo.brugnone@mslgroup.com
30 August 2015, Sunday, the stock exchanges are closed.
ENI, the number one Italian oil company and one of the
major international ones, issues a statement destined to
make history: the largest underwater gas field in the Medi-
terranean has been discovered off Egypt. With a volume of
850 billion cubic metres and an area of about 100 square
kilometres, the discovery of gas in the “Zohr” exploratory
area is set to become one of the largest in the world. Drilled
to a depth of 4,131 metres, a column of about 630 metres
of hydrocarbons was found in the Zohr field.
First the wires, then the internet and finally TV and the
press. On 30 August, the importance of ENI is equiva-
lent to that of a state, and forces all the national and in-
ternational media to focus attention on it. A great event
that merges national and corporate interests. A company
made up of 25,000 employees at home and 85,000 around
the world, but - especially on 30 August – a company that
plays a key role potentially capable of shifting European
balance and moving the geopolitical weight of at least
two nations: Italy and Egypt.
Let’s start with Egypt. When production gets underway,
the African state will not only become independent in
terms of energy supply, but will also be able to release
additional gas for export to other countries. Spin-off ac-
tivities, trade and more. Egypt will become the point of
reference for transforming an area afflicted by continuous
tragedies into a new engine for collective development.
The opportunity for Italy is no less significant. Up until
now, it has been tied to energy supplies from Russia
and North Africa, both hampered by the civil wars in the
Ukraine and Libya, but now it will gain its own independ-
ent, viable alternative.
In this context of euphoria, a private company takes on
a leading role for institutional and political communica-
tion. The Italian Prime Minister, Matteo Renzi, was one of
the first to praise the work done by Eni: “Congratulations
on the extraordinary result of a research project that con-
tributes to the economic and strategic relations between
Italy, Egypt and the entire African continent”.
So how will this alter Italy’s geopolitical weight and what
future developments can we expect? Will Italy and Eu-
rope finally be able to free themselves from supplies from
Russia? Some experts are already talking about the pos-
sible construction of a network of underwater gas pipe-
lines connecting the gas fields in the Mediterranean not
only with Israel, Cyprus and Egypt, but also with Greece
and, through Italy, with the whole of Europe. A second
hypothesis, on the other hand, could involve piping the
gas from the eastern Mediterranean to ENI facilities in
Egypt, and liquefying the natural gas there, to then trans-
port it by ship to Italy.
According to ENI’s latest updates, under the field that
has been discovered, it seems that there might even be
another.
What will be the end result? Only time and the specific ex-
ploitation plans will tell, but one thing has already sparked
our interest: ENI’s communication path will be accompa-
nied and supported by political institutions, and national
and private interests will continue going hand-in-hand with
a common objective on the international political scene.
The network of the future
The undersea gas pipeline
that could connect gas fields
of the eastern Mediterranean
with the Tap and Italy
DATA IN BILLIONS OF CUBIC METERS
GAS PIPELINE TAP

8. 8 ENERGY REPORT
November 2015
Ahead of this year’s United Nations Conference on Cli-
mate Change in Paris, where world leaders will gather
to debate how to balance the world’s energy needs with
controlling carbon emissions to slow global warming, the
elephant in the room is the dramatic decline in energy
prices and the effect that is having on global energy de-
mand. It is not just the oil price which is affecting the
market, but coal is now so cheap that it has had profound
impact on the European energy mix, making gas, which
should be an attractive bridge to a low carbon future, un-
attractive.
While the precipitous decline in global oil prices has
been a boon for many consumers, who have suffered
under high prices of previous years, it has also relieved
the pressure on politicians to keep up the pace of change.
This is particularly evident in the UK, where the newly
elected Conservative Government has largely unwound
the subsidies it was paying to support new renewable
energy projects. Presumably, the intention was to lower
energy prices for consumers by getting rid of all the
“green crap”, as David Cameron so eloquently put it. But
the irony is that due to the slow pace of legislation, and
the intervening election, it is only now that this is being
implemented, against a backdrop of already much lower
Low energy prices – the greatest threat to a lower
carbon world?
Nick Bastin
UK
nick.bastin@cnc-communications.com
global energy prices. It therefore seems disingenuous,
when energy prices are relatively low and falling, and
consumer’s disposable incomes are rising, to be taking
this step.
The feeling seems to be that renewables are just too finan-
cially attractive and no longer require subsidy. However,
in the context of global climate change, questions over
energy security, and the laughable attempts to modern-
ise the British nuclear fleet, now surely is not the time
to be pulling back from a more diversified and distribut-
ed energy mix? It also sends a very confused message
to the general public, and, with the backdrop of COP21,
does not position the UK favourably relative to peers.
In fact, the UK has recently fallen out of the top ten of
EY’s renewable energy country attractiveness index for
the first time in its 12 year history, sending a pretty unin-
spiring message to the world.
While the German Energiewende may be too radical, and
expensive, (a step for the UK to take), at the same time
there has never been a greater need for consistency and
continuity in the Government’s approach. Now that the
election is out of the way and the Conservatives in power
for the next 5 years, surely this is the time for the govern-
ment to be showing leadership in trying to address some
of these challenges head on.
While no-one would advocate throwing money away un-
necessarily through overly generous subsidy schemes,
the UK does need to maintain an attractive mechanism
for modernising power production in the context of de-
livering a lower carbon world. New nuclear is proving
almost impossible to deliver and so the burden will fall
on renewables and shale to fill the gap that coal will leave
behind.
8 ENERGY REPORT
November 2015

9. 9 ENERGY REPORT
November 2015
The Dutch civic energy revolution
How grassroots activism changed the public paradigm on energy and forced
significant policy changes
The Netherlands has experienced somewhat of an odd
path towards a sustainable energy transition. Where
Germany had its ‘Energiewende’ and Sweden also went
through a sustainable energy revolution, the Dutch
market can be characterised more by evolution than by
revolution. This has to do with the Dutch way of doing
politics, which by tradition is strongly focused towards
consensus. The most prominent example when it comes
to energy: the Energy Accord, which has no less than 200
strongly diverging signatory parties and which, unsur-
prisingly, self-destructed shortly after its entry into force
due to the lack of choices being made and subsequent
struggles between the stakeholders involved. This shaky
and unstable agreement is a strong reflection of the cur-
rent situation in the Netherlands, and Dutch politics. Al-
liances and coalitions are shifting, requiring makeshift
solutions and deals with a large number and range of
actors involved. And then…the crowd stepped in.
Power to the People, the term mostly used for the 60s of
the past century and not very common in the Nether-
lands, seems to have re-emerged in full force in this coun-
try. Citizens are more and more committed to exert direct
influence on civic society, NGOs, politicians and media
through a range of social & digital channels that are avail-
able to them. The establishment still seems unable to
cope with this development. They were reactive already,
but this now comes under even greater scrutiny. It might
seem easy or cliché to credit social & digital media as
the main reason, but we have seen some recent, striking
examples in the Netherlands.
Take the pending lawsuit by ‘green’ platform Urgenda
versus the Dutch State regarding the lack of progress on
Dutch CO2
emissions reduction policy. They won, with
the court judging that the Dutch State needs to make
amends in order to fulfill its promises. At this moment,
an appeal by the Dutch government is taking place. The
same goes for the Dutch moratorium on shale gas explo-
ration and extraction for the coming five years after active
campaigning against it by municipalities, NGOs and cit-
izen platforms. This also forced the Dutch government
to fundamentally reconsider its stance on shale and its
energy policy at large.
The most ground-breaking development, however, has
to do with the exploitation of the enormous Slochteren
gas field, located in the Northern Netherlands and long
considered vital to the Dutch economy and energy mix.
Drilling has been significantly decreased after grassroots
activism during the past year. And it did not stop there:
over the past few years, small earthquakes have occurred
in the Northern Netherlands as a result of drilling by a
company named NAM, which is a Shell-ExxonMobil
consortium. Many homes in the affected area are (slight-
ly) damaged, contributing to the public outrage among
citizens, housing associations and NGOs. In total, 12 of
these housing associations and 900 individuals collabo-
rated in a joint action platform which filed a claim in the
hundreds of millions of euros against NAM to compen-
sate for the decreased value of their homes. This sum-
mer, after a three-year battle, legal authorities judged that
an estimated 100,000 homes have decreased about a bil-
lion euros in worth altogether. By judicial ruling, NAM
must directly pay for any decline in the value of homes in
the affected earthquake zone.
Erik Martens
Netherlands
erik.martens@msl.nl
Timen van Haaster
Netherlands
timen.van.haaster@msl.nl
“Occupied! Claimed by and for the ‘Groningers’ (local
population’).”

10. 10 ENERGY REPORT
November 2015
Considering all these examples, we can confidently state
that agenda-setting by ‘ordinary people’, green collectives
& platforms, NGOs and green academics has become an
integral part of Dutch decision making when it comes
to energy policy. This also has to do with the inability
and reactivity of the traditional actors in this sector such
as politicians, the government and companies when it
comes to communication and stakeholder engagement.
For too long they assumed they could tackle any issue
with traditional communication and public engagement
(“We’ll tell you what’s right and what’s not”), but this
approach has now clearly backfired because civic stake-
holders increasingly felt ignored or marginalized.
On the other hand, the rise of civic activism might actu-
ally be a quite necessary development: when we take a
look at Dutch progress in the energy transition, we can
characterize it as a European laggard. The share of re-
newable energy in the total mix is on average 15% in the
European Union, however it is only 5% in the Nether-
lands. There is an obvious reason for this lag. The Neth-
erlands has long relied on and has been dependent onits
gas reserves, whereas many other European countries
had a clear urgency to diversify their energy mix. Activ-
ism has brought an end to the status quo and heralds a
new reality in which the traditional actors have to take
into account the new civic stakeholders.
These developments in the Netherlands more or less
reflect on a small scale the ones that are also relevant
for the upcoming COP 21 climate conference in Paris
later this year. Citizens and civic society are not satis-
fied with vague promises by governments, and expect
more of companies as well. In the Netherlands, there is
the example Urgenda again which calls upon everyone to
join their chairwoman Minnesma’s march to Paris, The
Climate Miles, in the run-up to the climate conference.
This pressure from below, the grassroots activism, puts
additional pressure on the participating parties (esp. from
the Western world) to speak out and commit themselves
wholeheartedly to a sustainable energy transition. In
such a way, even the consensus model in the Nether-
lands is wavering.

11. 11 ENERGY REPORT
November 2015
On a hot day in July, the French parliament approved
a ‘Green Growth’ energy transition law that the govern-
ment will propose as a model to the 190 nations coming
to Paris in the cold days in December when the country
hosts COP-21.
It wants to prod the laggards and the non-committed to
stop the acceleration in global warming caused by burn-
ing fossil fuels in order to avoid passing the point where
global warming becomes impossible to stop, with cata-
strophic impact on the planet.
That point is said to be two degrees C above pre-indus-
trial levels, while the current predictions indicate that the
rise could go as high as five degrees C.
The French energy transition law includes no less than a
quadrupling of tax on carbon-based fuels between 2016
and 2030; the government says that it will avoid a poten-
tially damaging hit on economic actors by reducing other
taxes.
The other related carbon energy reduction objectives are
just as impressive:
• A 40 per cent reduction in greenhouse gases by
2030, compared to the level of 1990, and reducing
them to a fourth by 2050;
• A 50 per cent reduction in energy consumption by
2050, with an intermediary objective of a 20 per cent
reduction by 2030;
• A decrease of 30 per cent of fossil fuels use by 2050;
• A reduction of nuclear energy to 50 per cent of
France’s power needs by 2025, compared to 75 per
cent today.
Those objectives are said to be reachable because of the
‘Green Growth’ stimulus also present in the law.
Some of that growth – including an objective of creating
100,000 new jobs – is said to be possible through the en-
couragement of renewable energy. The aim is for renew-
able energy to account for just under a third of French
energy consumption by 2050.
Other ‘Green Growth’ provisions include incentives for
investment in energy efficient and less-polluting homes
and automobiles, an energy subsidy for low-income
households, and the installation of energy consumption
meters in homes by 2025.
The law is also environment-friendly in other ways, in-
cluding a phase-out of single-use plastic bags.
Will Paris succeed in obtaining similar ambitious and
firm constraints on major polluting countries where other
Kyoto-round follow-up meetings have failed?
The biggest polluters have made some commitments. In
fact, France‘s promise to cut carbon emissions by 40 per
cent compared to 1990 levels by 2030 is also an engage-
ment announced by the EU. The US will cut its emis-
sions by 26 per cent to 28 per cent, compared to 2005
levels, by 2025. China says it will pledge to cap its emis-
sions by 2030.
However, there are major countries that have missed
March deadlines to come up with targets. India is one
of them. And a real problem continues to be developing
countries demands for industrial countries to help fi-
nance their energy and economic transition.
The pressure will be on for a successful end-year con-
clave as current commitments on greenhouse gas emis-
sions run out in 2020. So what happens in Paris will be
important for the next decade which could very well de-
termine if planet Earth has the intelligent life it claims.
France Pushes ‘Green Growth’ - and Drastic
Energy Cuts - as a Cop 21 Model
Seth Goldschlager
France
seth.goldschlager@mslgroup.com
Seth Goldschlager is a director of Publicis Consultants, the
agency appointed by the French government to support
COP-21 communications.
11

12. 12 ENERGY REPORT
November 2015
personer
MSLGROUP can make the difference
MSLGROUP is Publicis Groupe’s strategic communications and engage-
ment group, advisors in all aspects of communication strategy: from con-
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MSLGROUP is also the largest PR network in Europe, fast-growing China
and India. The group offers strategic planning and counsel, insight-guided
thinking and big, compelling ideas – followed by thorough execution.
MSLGROUP’s EMEA Energy Practice is a leader in advising companies
from Europe and around the world on communications issues in the energy
sector. Across 15 countries and 27 offices, our European network supports
clients that range from large publicly listed Fortune 500 organisations, to
small, privately held companies. We currently advise a third of the energy
companies in the Eurotop 100.
From attracting the best talent, to communications with investors; from cri-
sis preparedness, to corporate reputation management; and from nuclear
to renewables: we understand the key communications issues that keep
energy companies awake at night.
With both breadth and depth of energy communications expertise across
Europe’s key markets, we know that effective, best practice communications
can deliver value to stakeholders across the energy value chain.
In January 2015, Capital MSL merged with CNC, our sister company within
MSLGROUP. CNC is one of the largest strategic financial communications
agencies in Europe and this merger brings significantly enhanced scale and
reach, with 150 specialist colleagues in 11 offices in 8 countries, all under
the umbrella of MSLGROUP.
Have a look at our new website to find out more - www.cnc-communica-
tions.com.
If you want to find out more about the work we do, or enquire as to how we
might be able to help, don’t hesitate to contact our team member in your mar-
ket – or contact Nick Bastin at nick.bastin@cnc-communications.com.
Anders Kempe
Regional president MSL-
GROUP EMEA
anders.kempe@mslgroup.com
Nick Bastin
Head of Energy
MSLGROUP EMEA
nick.bastin@cnc-communica-
tions.com
Per Ola Bosson
Sweden
per.ola.bosson@jklgroup.com
Alessandro Chiarmasso
Italy
alessandro.chiarmasso@
mslgroup.com
Liam Clark
UK
liam.clark@cnc-communica-
tions.com
Seth Goldschlager
France
seth.goldschlager@
consultants.publicis.fr
Otto Fricke
Germany
otto.fricke@ cnc-communica-
tions.com
Peter Steere
Belgium/ Sweden
peter.steere@jklgroup.com
Marcin Obersztyn
Poland
marcin.obersztyn@mslgroup.
com
Erik Martens
Netherlands
erik.martens@msl.nl
Florian Wastl
Germany
florian.wastl@mslgroup.com
OUR TEAM
12
Leonardo Sforza
Brussels
leonardo.sforza@
mslgroup.com

13. 13 ENERGY REPORT
November 2015
www.mslgroup.com
To find out more about
MSLGROUP’s services,
please contact
Nick Bastin
+44 (0) 20 3219 8814
nick.bastin@cnc-communications.com
ENERGY
NEWSLETTER