A conference on the topic “Regaining Our Sovereignty Through a Robust Decarbonization Strategy” at the Eco Meetings

[Press Release] - Published on January 15, 2026 in Press Room

As part of the “Economics Talks” series, the Faculty of Economics at the University of Montpellier is hosting a conference on the topic: “Regaining Our Sovereignty Through a Robust Decarbonization Strategy” on Thursday, February 5, 2026, starting at 6:00 p.m., on the Richter Campus Richter Campus of the Faculty of Economics.

Why this conference?

Matthieu Auzanneau, Director of the Shift Project, explains why, in his view, we have not just one compelling reason to take our decarbonization goals (the climate) very seriously, but two. For the Shift Project, decarbonization is the necessary path that will enable the European Union to achieve strategic autonomy. But this path is difficult, due to the physical limits of our domestic low-carbon energy sources and the constraints weighing on the industrial systems that will depend on them. This path to sovereignty through decarbonization demands boldness and unity on par with that of the pioneers who built Europe on energy—coal and steel, nuclear power, and agricultural abundance—in the aftermath of World War II.

Speaker:

Matthieu Auzanneau has led The Shift Project, a leading think tank on energy transition, since 2016. Previously, Matthieu worked as a journalist, focusing on issues at the intersection of economics and ecology (Le Monde, Arte, France 2, etc.). In 2002, he produced the first French documentary for Envoyé Spécial, filmed in Alaska, that showed the concrete consequences of global warming. He created the first television program dedicated to investigative reporting and features on the environment, “Global Mag,” which aired on Arte starting in 2008.

Matthieu is a guest blogger for Le Monde, writing the blog “Oil Man: Chronicles of the Beginning of the End of Oil.” He is the author of *Black Gold: The Grand History of Oil* (2015, La Découverte), which was described as “remarkable” by *Nature* magazine and awarded a prize by the French Association of Energy Economists.