**This episode of 'The Sound of Economics' features Bruegel research fellow Simone Tagliapietra in conversation with Sir Philip Lowe and Alberto Pototschnig about the progress of the European energy transition as we prepare to enter the third decade of the 21st century. **

In this episode of Backstage, Bruegel's Simone Tagliapietra welcomes Sir Philip Lowe, former director general at the European Commission, DG ENER, and Alberto Pototschnig, director at the European Agency for the Cooperation of Energy Regulators (ACER).

Together, they elaborate on the main trends driving the European energy transition towards greater sustainability, energy security and economic competitiveness. They also assess whether the EU has the necessary institutions to ensure a smooth process for a rapidly growing and more integrated energy market. Among the key challenges is the effective management of an increasingly democratised energy sector, which requires – among many things – innovative solutions in energy storage and use of renewables.

The discussants also touch upon the subject of distributional effect of climate policies, as the recent unrest in France shows that this issue will sit high on the agenda as new strategies are implemented over the coming years.

For further reading, we recommend a [Policy Contribution](http://bruegel.org/2018/12/is-the-european-automotive-industry-ready-for-the-global-electric-vehicle-revolution/) co-authored by Simone Tagliapietra on European automotive industry's place in the global electric vehicle revolution, as well as a [Blueprint](http://bruegel.org/2018/11/distributional-effects-of-climate-policies/) by Grégory Claeys, Gustav Fredriksson and Georg Zachmann on distributional effects of climate policies.

This podcast episode was recorded during an event [The European Energy Transition: A year ahead of the Twenties](http://bruegel.org/events/the-european-energy-transition-a-year-ahead-of-the-twenties/) on February 19th, 2019.