In the wake of the financial and economic crises of 2008, the role of public policy in promoting a shift towards low-carbon technologies, energy efficiency and renewable energies is reassessed.  On 29 October 2008, the Friedrich Ebert Foundation, Sustainable Prosperity, and the International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD) hosted a Canadian-German Dialogue in Ottawa, Ontario, on "Business, Environment, and Energy" and invited Hans-Joachim Ziesing of Ecologic to address the question "Government Policy: Helping or Hindering Sustainable Growth in the New Energy Economy?"

A two-page summary of the Canadian-German dialogue is available from the website of the Friedrich Ebert Foundation, Washington DC.