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New Energy World
New Energy World embraces the whole energy industry as it connects and converges to address the decarbonisation challenge. It covers progress being made across the industry, from the dynamics under way to reduce emissions in oil and gas, through improvements to the efficiency of energy conversion and use, to cutting-edge initiatives in renewable and low carbon technologies.
Industry approaches to the global energy transition
9/3/2022
6 min read
The global energy sector is undergoing seismic shifts as it begins its attempts to decarbonise. But these changes will need to grow in magnitude and momentum over the coming decades to achieve a just transition. What form this transformation will take in order to meet the 2050 net zero target was central to many International Energy Week 2022* discussions. Charlie Bush reports.
How can technology help us to decarbonise? What is a just transition to you? How do you encourage governments to abate emissions? These were some of the questions pitched to the panellists during the morning talks of 24 February.
Representing a broad spectrum of the energy sector, from oil majors to tech start-ups to financiers, the speakers had a range of opinions and predictions about what shape the transformation of the world of energy should take. Nevertheless, there was consensus around certain themes, most notably the importance of scalable technology, the need for governments to create enabling regulatory environments, and the requirement for greater collaboration between stakeholders.
Technology the great transformer
Several speakers demonstrated optimism that this metamorphism can be achieved through the application of technology. Phil Spring, Senior Partner of Sustainability and Electrification at IBM emphasised that technology is key since: ‘The thoughtful application of technology will support us with new business models.’ This sentiment was echoed by Greg Jackson, Founder and CEO of Octopus Energy, who referred to the storage capacity of electric vehicle (EV) charging and the automation of home heating systems as solutions to the issue of intermittent energy sources.