Coop Break 'Energy transition, opportunity for cooperative energy-production'

"It’s not the strongest of the species that survive, nor the most intelligent, but the one most adaptable to change." (Darwin) All over Europe hundreds of thousands Europeans show their adaptability by uniting themselves in REScoops (Renewable Energy Sources Cooperatives). In that way these citizens give an answer to the need for a transition from fossil and nuclear fuels to renewable energy and energy efficiency. Citizens invest in their own production (by using sun, water, wind, biomass, …), distribution and/or supply of renewable energy. In this Coop Break, Dirk Vansintjan, President REScoop.eu, guides us through the main insights of the straight off report of a collaboration of twelve partners from eight countries that worked together in the framework of the European Union’s Intelligent Energy Europe program. Let this lunch break enlighten you about how energy-production can be organized at a local level in a sustainable and cooperative way in order to give "power" to the people, metaphorically and literally, and to successfully make the transition of resources. Marie Donnelly, Director of DG Energy, will guide us through the present plans of the EU concerning energy production. Franky Depickere, Chairman of the International Raiffeisen Union and CEO of the Cera-Group, and Klaus Niederländer, Director of Cooperatives Europe, will focus on the contribution their organizations make to the democratization of economy by sustainable cooperative development.