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Ines Gendre

After graduating in 2016 with a master’s degree in marketing, Ines began her career in project management. However she soon decided to turn towards writing, to bring her core competencies to the service of societal changes. First working as a freelance copywriter, she joined Greenly in early 2022 to help fight global warming.

Matthieu Vegreville

Matthieu is a 28 year-old graduate engineer from Ecole Polytechnique and Télecom Paris, with a background in data science at Withings. While there, he worked on watch activity detection algorithms, and developed a health study activity so that connected objects could be used to better monitor certain pathologies. He has long been involved in data science projects with his brother, who has the same training. Faced with the urgency of the climate crisis, he decided to put his know-how at the service of the environment. 

After seeking opportunities to put her various creative passions to good use, she joined Greenly in mid 2022 as SEO copywriter for the U.S. blog to provide her American perspective on the climate change issues we face today.

Stephanie Safdie - Greenly

Stephanie completed a bachelor's degree in English & Multimedia in 2020 at the University of Maryland College Park. She previously worked as a social media content video creator and freelance copywriter. After seeking opportunities to put her various creative passions to good use, she joined Greenly in mid 2022 as SEO copywriter for the U.S. blog to provide her American perspective on the climate change issues we face today. 

Kara joined the team at Greenly in 2023 as SEO copywriter for the UK market.

Kara Anderson - Greenly

Kara studied her bachelors of law at the University of Glasgow and her masters in international law at the University of Aberdeen, before looking for a more creative career path. She found this in advertising, working as a content manager in London. After a move to Paris in 2019 she decided to switch to freelance copywriting in order to scratch her creative itch. Kara joined the team at Greenly in 2023 as SEO copywriter for the UK market.  

Arnaud Delubac

Arnaud, 26 years old, trained as a designer and in digital communication at INSEEC before joining the Master Entrepreunariat at ESSEC-CentraleSupélec. Passionate about social media since his teenage years, he has created some of the biggest Twitter communities in France before joining the digital communication team of the Prime Minister’s office in Matignon. It was at the Secretaries of State for Digital, Mounir Mahjoubi and Cédric O, where Arnaud directly managed the team, that he developed a strong conviction for the need to use technology to bring awareness to the greatest causes of our time.

Alexis Normand

Alexis is a 37 year-old graduate of HEC and Sciences-Po. After his studies, he spent 2 years working in public policy consulting. He then spent 6 years at Withings, a leading company in connected objects. While there, he continued the companies operations in Boston, USA, and created the company’s health department. After the company was bought by Nokia, he joined the startup Embleema by working through Techstars, one of the best startup incubators in the United States, where he developed a taste for entrepreneurship. His return to France was an opportunity to put all his experience at the service of the environment, during a crucial moment in the climate crisis.

Justine Dumont

Justine a toujours été passionnée de lecture et d’écriture. En 2019, elle parvient justement à faire de sa passion son métier, en devenant rédactrice web indépendante. Motivée par ses engagements écologiques, elle rejoint l’équipe de Greenly en 2022 afin de mettre ses compétences au service de la cause environnementale. 

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What is the North Seas Energy Cooperation (NSEC)?

What is the North Seas Energy Cooperation, otherwise known as NSEC – and how does it help European countries and the United Kingdom source renewable energy?

Global warming is taking the world by storm – and not in a figurative sense. As Europe and <a href="https://www.greenly.earth/blog-en/heatwave-uk-what-should-your-company-do" id="">the U.K. face record-breaking heat waves</a> and skyrocketed electricity prices, it’s clear that the continent is ready to take bigger actions to decrease dependency on fossil fuels and improve the quality of life for residents of the continent.&nbsp;Both Europe and the United Kingdom have great leaps to implementing sustainability, such as the <a href="https://www.greenly.earth/blog-en/what-is-the-corporate-sustainability-reporting-directive-csrd" id="">CSRD</a>, European Sustainable Development Week, <a href="https://www.greenly.earth/blog-en/what-is-the-uk-environment-act-of-2021" id="">U.K. Environment Act</a>, <a href="https://www.greenly.earth/blog-en/what-is-the-uk-hydrogen-strategy" id="">U.K. Hydrogen Strategy</a>, and the <a href="https://www.greenly.earth/blog-en/what-is-the-ten-point-plan-of-the-united-kingdom" id="">Ten Point Plan</a> respectively. Prior to Brexit, nine countries in Europe developed the North Seas Energy Cooperation – otherwise known as the NSEC.<blockquote id="">👉 What is the NSEC, and how will it help countries in Europe propel themselves towards the clean energy economy many are seeking?</blockquote>‍<figure id="" class="w-richtext-figure-type-image w-richtext-align-center" data-rt-type="image" data-rt-align="center"><div id=""><img src="https://uploads-ssl.webflow.com/6232f79b68d15d3d9b69c096/632db92b3c3ca7778c29971f_jGtndpkNYHDJT-xaWwh9Gsm5Q20WPsQiWNpQXvbU61MzUC7wVzfmgWaT0CiX4sq_kpPB4Ca6nm_EBbm-9u-DDHqbwIC1D6GYsBf4d9gIXRaWuqYN66Ibv1f4oxCweY0PXrpGKmskzvV41SwEUsyeo1rH6W3WtJgMRsByggGkhXjd1wbZXVHq7MbH.jpeg" id="" width="auto" height="auto" loading="auto"></div></figure>‍‍<h2 id="">What is the NSEC?</h2><blockquote id="">👉 The NSEC is an offshore grid that connects nine countries in Europe: including Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Ireland, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, and Sweden. These European countries aim to increase the use of <a href="https://www.greenly.earth/blog-en/what-is-renewable-energy-and-why-is-it-beneficial" id="">renewable energy</a> and simultaneously promote economic growth.&nbsp;</blockquote>Renewable energy is any energy that is derived from an infinite, natural source as opposed to finite sources of energy that <a href="https://www.greenly.earth/blog-en/what-are-ozone-depleting-substances-ods" id="">pollute the atmosphere and provoke further global warming.</a> The main difference between renewable energy and nonrenewable energy, is that renewable energy is replenishable – as it is derived from abundant natural resources: like wind or the sun, more commonly known as wind or solar energy respectively.&nbsp;The North Seas Energy Cooperation, NSEC for short, helps to support and encourage the creation of offshore grids given the large potential to source massive amounts of renewable energy in the North Seas region. Therefore, the NSEC is a viable opportunity for countries in the EU seeking to <a href="https://www.greenly.earth/blog-en/how-to-become-a-net-zero-company" id="">achieve net-zero</a> emissions and reduce their nation’s overall carbon footprint.&nbsp;Many European countries place immense importance on the transition to the use of clean energy, and many programmes have already been implemented to ensure the European Union’s environmental progress. For instance, the European Green Deal and the REPowerEU Plan have pontificated the value of renewable energy derived from offshores like the North Seas region – and have conveyed the importance of regional collaboration to ensure future success. Basically, Europe believes that teamwork will get the job done – and they aren’t wrong.&nbsp;Following a NSEC meeting on 4 December 2019, all countries a part of the NSEC including the European Commission confirmed a new, 3-year work programme to further implement the use of renewable energy from the offshore winds of the North Seas region. <blockquote id="">👉 The new work programme scheduled for 2020-2023 emphasises on the creation of offshore wind and grid projects between borders – otherwise known as hybrid projects. </blockquote>For instance, if there is an area that could provide an abundant amount of renewable energy, but rests between France and Belgium – the project will move forward despite the fact that cooperation from both countries could be necessary. This new measure can also potentially help to reduce the costs and space required to create these offshore projects, while also ultimately sourcing more renewable energy in the end.‍<figure id="" class="w-richtext-figure-type-image w-richtext-align-center" data-rt-type="image" data-rt-align="center"><div id=""><img src="https://uploads-ssl.webflow.com/6232f79b68d15d3d9b69c096/63494dfef387002ddd0e7267_SpIZ1dzr0VKu4TfxLzM7QPR--S1S297kB_nxGTyJhUGuMkhkU64_XkWm1yQnXbL0bV2_gAr4pZJhd6HTDIhXiiVqIQaKNEbJNiYbvkPzNJIxkhXokoypSaQX1Iz5IWZELER9CuSAwuQUkUx9G2RtmL2l3sSio7MQk9Uph5XopViihwggg6tuIFnzlg.jpeg" id="" width="auto" height="auto" loading="auto"></div></figure>‍<h2 id="">Why Choose the North Seas region for harvesting offshore wind energy?</h2>You may be wondering what is so special about the North Seas region optimal for harvesting wind energy – that’s because of its consistent wind patterns that make it one of the world’s most valuable offshore wind sources.&nbsp;<blockquote id="">👉 The North Sea, which borders mostly the United Kingdom, Norway, Denmark, the Netherlands, Belgium, and small parts of Germany, France, and Sweden – has exceptionally consistent, high wind speeds and shallow water, which allows for easy construction and installation of wind turbines and various offshore wind projects. </blockquote>The North sea has already been providing Europe with oil and gas, which helped the continent to decrease their dependency on imported oil – ultimately creating new jobs that helped stimulate economic growth for the European Union. However, the North Sea can do even more, by providing Europe with an abundant source of <a href="https://www.greenly.earth/blog-en/what-is-renewable-energy-and-why-is-it-beneficial" id="">clean energy</a> – enough to power up to 80% of Europe’s demand for electricity. Therefore, the use of offshore wind energy from the North Sea could calm future electricity shortages like the one the U.K. and the rest of Europe are facing now.&nbsp;The North Sea can not only continue to create new jobs, but help reduce the need to use fossil fuels and drastically reduce greenhouse gas emissions – ultimately helping the European Union accomplish their environmental goals.&nbsp;How can the NSEC utilize the North Sea to accomplish their goals?‍<figure id="" class="w-richtext-figure-type-image w-richtext-align-center" data-rt-type="image" data-rt-align="center"><div id=""><img src="https://uploads-ssl.webflow.com/6232f79b68d15d3d9b69c096/63494dfea75ed2782b88f4aa_OdnivneiWaNIomkRiuMzsSCWaVg2KXcBGmuNDnFdvLpwzYqBSQIdubJPuEnOWkJyxJMGNdVEVEwI8j-2Cn6vOsCYzvFdJ86eNd6KNquBVwiWeXBH5OcYRGeDK3QOmGmnGXrhIosPoJYHlLoSyyAoUxONeDwoazGwgviyyp8jTsOM0Xes7dsLCt5B.jpeg" id="" width="auto" height="auto" loading="auto"></div></figure>‍<h2 id="">What are the goals of the NSEC?</h2>The NSEC has set many goals so that all of the European countries involved in the North Seas Energy Cooperation can work towards their various environmental goals. Given hybrid offshore wind projects are a new goal to be implemented by the NSEC, a new framework has been required in order to adhere to all European countries involved in the NSEC.&nbsp;Some crucial points for establishing hybrid offshore wind projects whilst keeping an E.U. frameworks in mind include determining how to administer the costs for funding the offshore grids and various renewable energy projects, how to divide the potential benefits between all participating European countries, and how to reward individual nations for their contributions to the European Union’s overall emissions targets with collaborative projects.&nbsp;<blockquote id="">👉 Also, the NSEC must determine how funding can help encourage hybrid renewable energy projects, and strive to design a new electricity market for the E.U. so that these hybrid offshore and wind projects to harvest <a href="https://www.greenly.earth/blog-en/what-is-renewable-energy-and-why-is-it-beneficial" id="">renewable energy</a> can prove useful.&nbsp;</blockquote>The NSEC has already set new goals for specific hybrid offshore wind projects, as the German presidency has already advocated to move forward with several projects that involve the participation of two member states simultaneously. For example, a collaborative project called the “North Sea Wind Power Hub” is a project between Denmark, Germany, and the Netherlands. The NSEC will give projects like these further attention to ensure success and confirm that borders will not hinder the success of these hybrid projects. If borders are a foreseen issue, the project will be stopped to avoid wasting time, money, and resources.&nbsp;<blockquote id="">The overarching goal of the NSEC is to cultivate peaceful and successful collaboration between all European countries involved in order to harvest an abundant amount of renewable energy from offshore wind.&nbsp;💨 </blockquote>‍<h2 id="">What are the economic benefits of the NSEC?</h2>Harvesting wind energy from the North Sea isn’t just good for the environment, but could prove beneficial for Europe’s economy, too. Wind energy is known to be effective in improving socio-economic factors, as it can create new jobs and increase lucrative exports. <blockquote id="">👉 In fact, one of the members of NSEC already utilizes wind energy to stimulate their economy – Denmark.&nbsp;</blockquote>Denmark employed over 33,000 people through the wind industry, and created another 63,000 jobs in relevant industries as well. In fact, by 2020, 40% of offshore wind activities made up for wind companies’ turnover in Denmark. The best part is, the need and desire for wind energy is growing even more, and with Denmark conveniently located on the coast of the North Sea – it means that these socio-economic benefits will only continue to grow.&nbsp;If the Danish are doing so well with wind energy in regards to their economy, think of the benefits it could have for the rest of the European countries participating in the NSEC. In fact, the U.K. is already thinking ahead to how the use of clean energy can stimulate jobs for their economy – such as is delineated in their recent <a href="https://www.greenly.earth/blog-en/what-is-the-ten-point-plan-of-the-united-kingdom#toc-0" id="">Ten Point Plan</a>, where two of the points refer to the use of <a href="https://www.greenly.earth/blog-en/what-is-renewable-energy-and-why-is-it-beneficial" id="">renewable energy</a> by <a href="https://www.greenly.earth/blog-en/what-is-the-uk-hydrogen-strategy" id="">sourcing more low-carbon hydrogen</a> and <a href="https://www.greenly.earth/blog-en/is-nuclear-energy-clean-answers-and-explanations" id="">nuclear power</a> to decrease the need for fossil fuels and simultaneously create new jobs throughout the United Kingdom.&nbsp;<blockquote id="">👉 Through the NSEC, the potential benefits of harvesting wind energy through hybrid offshore wind projects could help the economies of all European countries involved by improving their own potential exports and creating new jobs.&nbsp;</blockquote>‍<h2 id="">Is the United Kingdom still participating in NSEC?</h2>Following Brexit, the United Kingdom withdrew from the NSEC. The remaining members of the NSEC include France, Denmark, Ireland, Luxembourg, Belgium, Germany, Norway, Sweden. The European Commission is also a member of the NSEC.Despite the U.K.’s departure from both the European Union and the North Seas Energy Cooperation – both the E.U. and the U.K. have agreed to allow the U.K. to establish a new collaboration with the NSEC. In other words, the U.K. will still be able to participate in the NSEC even though they are no longer a part of the European Union. <blockquote id="">⚠️ Given the severity of rising electricity prices and the need for the world to decrease their dependency on fossil fuels as soon as possible – The Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy is supportive of this new collaboration with the U.K. and is committed to make it work immediately.&nbsp;</blockquote>‍<figure id="" class="w-richtext-figure-type-image w-richtext-align-center" data-rt-type="image" data-rt-align="center"><div id=""><img src="https://uploads-ssl.webflow.com/6232f79b68d15d3d9b69c096/632db35cd110c5adf01d3222_2m1QAZhEDy2MsH7EggMxNqfnk1QP637ohcgmx4OiHC7WtrvkMCT3rC-BMeCye46jl68l0JKC3Bmr4wNxZxKvQ3THKvInuFLA8Y9x_BVXgN18HkNtxjX9lqmz2DrjdnpMmJews55GM18yKxvHYYW3om6TFVrxD1Oz0xEEG0Kcv2ekz_fCCZT8BYymrA.jpeg" id="" width="auto" height="auto" loading="auto"></div></figure>‍<h2 id="">How has the NSEC been successful so far?</h2>It has been clear from the beginning that the utilization of renewable offshore wind energy could help the European Union, alongside individual countries part of the NSEC, achieve their emission reduction goals and even help them reach climate-neutrality by 2050. While the NSEC is still relatively new, it has already made some progress in developing offshore wind projects – such as the project previously mentioned between Denmark, Germany, and the Netherlands called, “North Sea Wind Power Hub”.&nbsp;In fact, within months of establishing the NSEC, the Energy Ministers part of the North Seas Energy Cooperation announced new, ambitious goals to increase the amount of harvested renewable energy from these future offshore wind projects. The ministers of the NSEC agreed to create targets for these offshore renewable energy projects. <blockquote id="">👉 The nine European countries participating in the NSEC have confirmed their goal to accumulate a minimum of 260 gigawatts of energy from offshore wind projects by 2050 – ultimately representing a whopping 85% of the European Union’s overarching goal to acquire 300 gigawatts of energy by 2050.&nbsp;</blockquote>The NSEC is well aware of the diligence required on behalf of all participating countries to achieve this monumental goal. Is there anything the NSEC can do to make sure they meet their renewable energy goals?‍<h2 id="">What could the NSEC do to improve?</h2>There’s always room for improvement, but the truth is – the NSEC hasn’t shown any major potential flaws yet. While it could prove difficult to divide the benefits of the harvest wind energy amongst all of the European countries participating in NSEC, the North Seas Energy Cooperation strives for equal achievement throughout all hybrid offshore projects.&nbsp;If the NSEC continues down the path there on, they could prove how much time everyone else is wasting on fossil fuels that are polluting the planet. The NSEC could be the start of something big in <a href="https://www.greenly.earth/blog-en/what-is-renewable-energy-and-why-is-it-beneficial" id="">clean energy</a> and Europe, but for now – it’s safe to say that their accomplishments so far are worthy of our admiration.&nbsp;‍<figure id="" class="w-richtext-figure-type-image w-richtext-align-center" data-rt-type="image" data-rt-align="center"><div id=""><img src="https://uploads-ssl.webflow.com/6232f79b68d15d3d9b69c096/6336aa66f8878baf440998d5_PmPR9uz0-Z_ULKZj6hDYeLCbNGKbXpUDLSO4X3kXQ0DN4H3YteJrA1ua5K-WGmk4Z0o0bycao7c9VOUB1_OrshSIX5RwS1GgbIxrb3mrPxjedT73-1B4pz4rHknqeSrE0aEMpNK9GuQ2DM1G6ZSiK6Ll6sXUT52d8PSEmSaF2pYZ_D2qA6Xu8leDqg.jpeg" id="" width="auto" height="auto" loading="auto"></div></figure>‍<h2 id="">What about Greenly?&nbsp;</h2>If reading this article about the North Seas Energy Cooperation, otherwise known as NSEC, has made you interested in reducing your carbon emissions to further fight against climate change – Greenly can help you!Greenly can help you make an environmental change for the better, starting with a carbon footprint assessment to know how much carbon emissions your company produces.‍<a href="https://www.greenly.earth/en-us/blog" id="">Click here</a> to learn more about Greenly and how we can help you reduce your carbon footprint.‍‍🚀 If you enjoyed reading this article, here are a few more :<ul id=""><li id=""><a href="https://www.greenly.earth/blog-en/why-is-the-colorado-river-threatened-by-a-water-crisis" id="">Why is the Colorado River Threatened by a Water Crisis?</a></li><li id=""><a href="https://www.greenly.earth/blog-en/us-wildfires-destroy-carbon-offsets" id="">US Wildfires Destroy Carbon Offsets</a></li><li id=""><a href="https://www.greenly.earth/blog-en/reforestation-our-guide-to-sustainable-companies" id="">Reforestation: Our Guide to Sustainable Companies</a></li><li id=""><a href="https://www.greenly.earth/blog-en/how-to-implement-a-csr-approach-in-your-company" id="">How to implement a CSR approach in your company</a></li><li id=""><a href="https://www.greenly.earth/blog-en/all-you-need-to-know-about-fast-fashion" id="">All You Need to Know About Fast Fashion</a></li></ul>‍

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What is the North Seas Energy Cooperation (NSEC)?

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Kyoto Protocol: All You Need to Know

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