Jeremy Rifkin helps to shape the future of energy on a global scale. An advisor to the European Union for the past decade, Rifkin has worked with French President Nicolas Sarkozy, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Portuguese Prime Minister Jose Socrates and presidents of the European Union.

Rifkin will share his vision in a talk titled The Third Industrial Revolution: How Lateral Power is Transforming Energy at 7 p.m. Monday, Oct. 7, in the Prairie Room at the Bone Student Center. The event, which is part of the Speaker Series at Illinois State University, is free and open to the public.

The principal architect of the European Union’s long-term economic sustainability plan, Rifkin helps guide world leaders to address the triple challenge of the global economic crisis, energy security and climate change.

cover of Jeremy Rifkin bookThe author of The Third Industrial Revolution, Rifkin describes how the last industrial revolution is sending the world toward another collapse of the global economy. He explores how Internet technology and renewable energy are merging to create a powerful “Third Industrial Revolution,” with hundreds of millions of people producing their own green energy in their homes, offices and factories.

Rifkin is the founder and chairperson of the Third Industrial Revolution Global CEO Business Roundtable, an economic development team comprised of 100 of the world’s leading renewable energy companies, construction companies, architectural firms, real estate companies, IT companies, power and utility companies, and transport and logistics companies. He continues to work with cities, regions and national governments to develop master plans to transition their economies into post-carbon infrastructures.

The president of the Foundation on Economic Trends, Rifkin is the bestselling author of 19 books on the impact of scientific and technological changes on the economy, the workforce, society and the environment. His other recent books include The Empathic Civilization, The Hydrogen Economy, The European Dream, The End of Work, The Age of Access, and The Biotech Century.

The talk is sponsored by the Illinois State’s Office of Sustainability, Katie School of Insurance, Center for Renewable Energy and Student Sustainability Committee, as well as the Ecology Action Center and the McLean County Economic Development Council. For additional information, contact the Office of Sustainability at 438-7357.

One thought on “EU advisor on green energy to speak