DAVID DISCUSSES NUCLEAR ENERGY WITH EUROPEAN LEADERS

David Gargaro spoke to representatives of the European Union about the

global future of nuclear energy.

November 1, 2018

GSPM student David Gargaro spoke to representatives of the European Union about

the global future of nuclear energy at an October conference in Brussels. (William

Atkins/GW Today)

By Tatyana Hopkins

David Gargaro enjoyed a successful international career as an orchestra conductor

for more than a decade, until 2016 when he unexpectedly found himself drawn to the

world of global politics and diplomacy.

That summer, while serving as an Ansbacher Conducting Fellow for the Vienna

Philharmonic, he was invited to speak to audiences that included representatives of

the Austrian government, officials of the United Nations and other world leaders about

the parallels of artistic leadership and the world’s shifting politics.

“We were going through a really interesting political time,” Mr. Gargaro said.

At the time, both Austria and the United States were in the throes of national elections,

and he said he was able to make a connection between his job as a conductor and

the world’s shifting politics.

“My job was to listen, and when there were problems, fix them, make people come

together and make something better than it was before,” he said.

But he said his final push into politics, came with the 2016 presidential elections.

Having immigrated to the United States from Great Britain 13 years ago, Mr. Gargaro’s

immigration status left him unable to vote in the election.

“I was hit pretty hard with Brexit, and then Donald Trump was elected, and that is what

pushed me into politics,” he said. "That was enough for me to leave my career.”

Now pursuing a master’s degree at the Graduate School of Political Management in

international politics, Mr. Gargaro finds himself deeper in world politics—most recently

at the Konrad Adenauer Stiftung's annual European Union’s Leadership in Global

Climate Change conference.

In October, he presented a paper on expanding the use of nuclear energy globally

through the model of public-private partnerships to leaders of the European Union and

other global stakeholders at the conference in Brussels.

Representing the Rainey Center, a post-partisan think tank, as an energy fellow, Mr.

Gargaro attended the one-day conference, which sought to explore opportunities for

international cooperation in climate change action in advance of the 24th annual

session of the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention

(UNFCCC) on Climate Change, informally known as COP24.

COP24 will take place in December in Katowice, Poland, where global leaders will

decide what actions are necessary to ensure effective implementation of the

UNFCCC’s climate change regulations.

“Europe is uneasy with the Trump administration’s withdrawal from the Paris Accord

but are fully aware that private industry is engaged in the work of mitigating climate

change,” he said.

In June 2017, President Donald Trump announced his decision to withdraw the United

States from its role in the 2015 Paris Agreement on climate change mitigation. To date,

the move has left the United States as the only country to reject the voluntary pact,

which is aimed at curbing global temperature rise to under 2 degrees Celsius for the

next 100 years.

In the paper he presented, “The Global Future of Nuclear Energy,” Mr. Gargaro

describes how more than 3,500 organizations, corporations and jurisdictions have

undertaken projects aimed at meeting or surpassing previously established emissionrelated

goals for the United States set out in the Paris Accord—moves made in

response to Mr. Trump’s withdrawal from the deal. He noted that these governments

and private institutions represent an $11.4 trillion economic footprint, enough to

constitute the world’s third largest economy.

“We have this really interesting dichotomy,” he said. “The administration is not doing

much [in the area of climate change], but we have all of this going on.”

He argues that expanding nuclear energy is the only way global leaders can

realistically meet the goals set forth in the Paris Agreement. In a previous paper, Mr.

Gargaro explored public perception of nuclear energy in the United States and found

there was a general mistrust of the use of nuclear energy.

“While the U.S. has solar and wind power, at the bottom of this huge issue is this public

perception issue of nuclear energy,” he said, “and that is what is stunting growth of

that part of the market in energy.”

Mr. Gargaro said he was pleased to have the opportunity to travel to Brussels and

share insights regarding nuclear energy such as bourgeoning technology that he says

will make the energy source cheaper, safer and more effective, though he noted that

there “will still be an uphill battle” on the matter as Europe “seems to be more

interested in developing renewable energy sources.”

Sarah Hunt, M.P.S. ’17 a co-founder of the Rainey Center and GSPM graduate, said

she was excited to have the opportunity to send Mr. Gargaro to the conference as an

energy fellow.

She said the Rainey Center serves as a public policy research organization in the

areas of energy, national security and innovation and technology as well as an

incubator for diverse, non-traditional emerging policy leaders.

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“What we want to do is increase democratic legitimacy of our institutions by supporting

emerging policy leaders who are women, minorities, people of color and people with

cross-cutting political identities in their growth as leaders in their field,” Ms. Hunt said.

“We help people like David, who are forging new careers in policy through mentorship

and publication opportunities.”

GSPM Director Lara Brown said she is impressed that Mr. Gargaro had the opportunity

to address the European Parliament in Brussels. “We are proud that he has sought to

put his passion into practice and make a difference in politics,” Dr. Brown said.

She said Mr. Gargaro’s journey through GSPM serves as an example of what the

school is now offering to better train students about global politics. She cited the

school’s Global Residencies Program, which offers short-term study abroad courses

in international cities on the forefront of global politics and business. The program will

offer residencies in Canada, China, South Africa and Washington, D.C., this academic

year.

Mr. Gargaro, who will graduate in the spring, has participated in the trips to South

Africa and Brazil and will be going on visits to China and Canada.

Though he said energy policy may not be his last stop in politics, the issue has created

an avenue for him to explore a global issue.

“I really want to focus on global solutions to problems,” he said. “I'm making the most

out of being able to travel to other countries to see how their governments function.”

https://www.cps.gwu.edu/gspm-student-discusses-nuclear-energy-european-leaders