April 14, 2021

The French-American Foundation hosted a Transatlantic Forum on Wednesday, April 14 at 1:00 pm ET to discuss climate change and energy policy in the EU. The event featured guest speaker Stephen Gross, Director of the Center for European and Mediterranean Studies at New York University (NYU), and moderator Bhama Ramkhelawon (Young Leader ’19), Assistant Professor in the Department of Surgery and Cell Biology and the Director of the Vascular Research Program at New York University Langone Medical Center.

The discussion examined Europe’s response to climate change. When Ursula von der Leyen became President of the European Commission in 2019, she announced a major set of initiatives to have the EU go carbon neutral in 2050 by expanding its Green energy infrastructure. This webinar explored the policies behind this transition to renewable power, along with the challenges it faces in phasing out fossil fuels and the implications of this shift for transatlantic relations.

Stephen G. Gross is jointly appointed in the Department of History and the Center for European and Mediterranean Studies at NYU. After working for several years as an economist at the Bureau of Economic Analysis in Washington DC, he completed his PhD at UC Berkeley where he subsequently lectured with the International and Area Studies Program. In his research and teaching Dr. Gross is interested in 20th century Germany, European unification, European and international political economy, energy policy, and international relations. His first book, Export Empire, was published by Cambridge University Press in December 2015. He has also published on a variety of economic themes in German and European history in Central European History, Contemporary European History, German Politics and Society, and Eastern European Politics and Society, as well as in various book chapters. Read more.

Bhama Ramkhelawon is an assistant professor in the department of surgery and cell biology and the director of the vascular research program at New York University Langon Her research integrates the study of how imbalances in the immune response of the aortic wall can promote cardiovascular diseases. In particular, her work aims to identify the signals that dysregulate the immune system of the vasculature and to determine their role in promoting vascular diseases.e Medical Center. She has held this position since 2016 and heads a team of scientists focused at understanding the physiopathology of complex life-threatening cardiovascular diseases. Read more.