Lucas Noura Guimaraes, Second President Néstor Kirchner Fellow 2012-2013, successfully completed an enriching academic exchange at The New School

March 7th, 2013 · The New School · New York

Lucas Noura Guimaraes, PNK Fellow2012-2013, successfully completed his Fellowship at The New School. During his two-weeks in New York, he worked tirelessly to improve his research and to develop new concepts, ideas, and critiques of his work. He wisely used the opportunity to improve upon his research plan, and met with many individuals that assisted him in clarifying his ideas, creating new ones, and discussing realities of the renewable energy sector.

Lucas’ research focuses on development of the renewable energy sector in relation to regional integration in Latin America. He is looking at ways in which to improve energy security, defined in human terms, by integrating resources across international borders, and supporting renewable energy development to overcome limitations of finite energy resources such as oil or gas. Currently, Lucas is working towards his PhD in Law, focusing on these issues, at the Freie Universität in Berlin, Germany. Previously, he served as a legal advisor to the Federal Attorney in the National Electric Energy Agency (ANEEL) of Brazil. He also holds a Masters in Law and Public Policy from the University Center of Brasilia – UniCEUB.

Seminars with the The New School Community

During his two weeks at The New School, Lucas presented his work during two closed-door seminars with 20 invited New School faculty members and students. Lucas began his Fellowship experience on February 25th with a seminar presentation for the following audience: Terra Lawson Remer; Lopamudra Banarjee, John Clinton; Chris London; Barry Herman; Everita Silina, Visiting Fulbright Scholar Luis Colon; Michael Cohen; and Margarita Gutman. Also in attendance were OLA staff members Amanda Entrikin and Lucila Pugni Reta. This multidisciplinary group was able to provide Lucas with feedback from the fields of law, environmental affairs, urban studies, economics, finance, and governance.

In this first seminar, Lucas presented his paper and the three central concepts he planned on focusing on. He received critical feedback regarding his use of conceptual frameworks, use of theories, and questions regarding his central argument. The session was extremely constructive.

The following week, on March 4th, Lucas presented a second seminar to New School Faculty and Students. In his second seminar, Lucas incorporated the constructive feedback that he had received from the preceding seminar, as well as new ideas and improvements that had been suggested to him by The New School faculty, and the outside experts he had met with during the week. During this seminar, attending New School Faculty included Charles Allison, Robert Buckley, Carlos Teixeira, Nadia Elrohksy, Visiting Fulbright Scholar Luis Colon, Michael Cohen, and Margarita Gutman, plus OLA staff members Amanda Entrikin and Lucila Pugni Reta. This group of faculty were able to give insights from the fields of developmental finance, urban studies, economics, green energy, green building, and the US’s energy grid. Lucas received constructive feedback regarding financing realities in the energy sector, the role of government, the attractiveness of renewables, pricing strategies and the challenges facing change in the energy sector.

Interviews and Visits in New York

From February 25th to March 8th, Lucas met with a wide range of experts from the field of governance, law, energy, climate change, environmental policy, philosophy, and activism. He met with, P. Timon McPhearson (Environmental Studies, The New School), Willi Semmler (The New School for Social Research), Michael Gerrard (Columbia Law School), Ellen Morris (SIPA, Columbia), Dale Jamieson (Environmental Studies Program, NYU), AJ Goudling (SIPA, Columbia), Greg Hale and Doug Simms (National Resources Defense Council), Scott Sklar (The Stella Group, Ltd), Albert Fishlow (SIPA, Columbia), Robert Bryce (Author, Public Speaker), Allison Clement (National Resource Defense Council), Terra Lawson Remer (GPIA, The New School), and, Salo Coslovsky (Wagner, NYU).

Lucas also met with the Deputy Permanent Representative of Brazil to the United Nations, Ambassador Regina Dunlop. He discussed his ongoing work related to the President Nestor Kirchner Fellowship and his PhD, and learned about the current work of the Permanent Representatives of Brazil to the UN in relation to energy and development.

Public Lecture

Lucas completed his Fellowship with a final presentation of his paper during the Public Lecture on March 7th, 2013. His colleague, PNK Fellow Roland Álvarez Chavez shared the stage, and also presented his work related to the PNK Fellowship. The full audience included a wide array of guests, including Faculty from various universities in New York, students from The New School and beyond, and visiting guests from the New York City community.

Margarita Gutman began the evening by welcoming everyone and describing the President Néstor Kirchner Fellowship, and New School President David E. Van Zandt, a juror in the PNKF selection process, spoke about the intense selection process and commended the jury for choosing such accomplished Fellows.

Ambassador Regina Dunlop, Brazil, introduced Lucas to the audience. She complemented Lucas’ work and noted the relevance of his research: “Tackling these two things – poverty eradication and sustainable development – requires sustainable energy access, particularly renewable energy”. She also noted that Brazil’s current Science Without Borders program is a testament to the importance of this cross-disciplinary, cross-regional dialogue, which is exemplified in the PNK Fellowship.

Lucas gave a detailed and comprehensive review of his ongoing research. He spoke to the depth of knowledge he had developed based on his experience as a President Nestor Kirchner Fellow, and elucidated on concepts of international governance, energy integration, the benefits of renewable energy, and the challenges that will face Latin America’s development in the renewable energy sector. He used examples from Brazil and Argentina to portray the need for a more comprehensive integration strategy and legal framework in the energy sector in Latin America, and made a call for greater awareness of the limitations of relying on finite energy resources.

Lucas received complements on the importance of his research for the region, and responded to questions from the audience on technical challenges in the renewables industry, and the human/corporate question in the development of renewables.

+ What is it like to be a President Néstor Kirchner Fellow?, by Lucas Noura Guimaraes

+ Public Lecture by Lucas Noura Guimaraes and Roland Álvarez, 2012-2013 PNK Fellows

+ Watch the video of his Public Lecture

+ Read Lucas Noura´s Working Paper