As the new President of the Energy Institute, I am determined to help the Institute achieve its mission of enabling an acceleration of a just energy transition – one of the world’s most pressing challenges.

I have been lucky to experience a broad career over 40 years in energy. I enjoyed a 35-year international career with Shell working in seven countries, and more recently I was CEO of Galp, the Portuguese energy company, where I focused on the transformation of the company to thrive through the energy transition. Last year I joined the Board of offshore wind developer Ørsted as a Non-Executive Director, serving for five months on an interim basis as its COO, and was elected Deputy Chair in 2024. So, in a way I have been through my own professional energy transition, but I feel I am in a privileged position to understand the perspectives of both the oil and gas and renewable players.

The Energy Institute has just published the Statistical Review of World Energy, which although noting a 13% increase in renewable electricity generation also highlighted new record levels of fossil fuel demand and CO₂ emissions in 2023. It is becoming increasingly clear that we will fail to meet the 2015 targets of COP21 in Paris unless we can increase the pace of the transition.

This is the principal reason why I joined the Energy Institute, and am now honoured to be the President, as I believe the Institute plays a significant role in bringing all parties together, as well as governments and the public, to enable energy solutions that meet all of our needs, including tackling climate change.

Ingredients of success
I have been impressed by how the Energy Institute has developed, utilising several approaches to stimulate change.

Firstly, it has a convening power at International Energy Week, building on the transparency of the data published in the Statistical Review of World Energy to stimulate real debate.

Secondly, it coordinates deep technical work bringing oil, gas and renewables companies together to address common problems and provide guidance on implementation of new low-carbon solutions, with a new good practice guidance issued at the rate of one per week.

Thirdly, through professional membership and accreditation, as well as the EI Academy, it enhances the capability of energy professionals across the world.

I believe this trilogy of global transparency, technical insight and skills development are key ingredients of success.

The Energy Institute plays a significant role in bringing all parties together, as well as governments and the public, to enable energy solutions that meet all of our needs, including tackling climate change.
 

As I take on the role of President of the Energy Institute, how do I observe the world around me and what do we need to address to be successful to deliver clean, sustainable and affordable energy to all?

There are three areas I want to highlight, where I am concerned about recent developments.

Firstly, in renewable energy generation, it is exciting how fast solar and wind capacity has grown in the last few years, and in COP28 an ambition to triple renewable generation capacity to 11 TW was set. So how do we keep the pace of renewable investments increase at the rate we require?

I am concerned by diminishing shareholder pressure on companies to decarbonise. Oil and gas companies, in particular, have relaxed their 2030 targets and have been rewarded in the stock markets for staying focused on their oil and gas projects, which generally have yielded higher returns than the renewable projects they had been investing in. Whilst I do believe oil and gas companies have a legitimate role to play in delivering the fossil fuels consumed by the infrastructure and assets that make up our world today, they also have strong financial and human capabilities that should increasingly be deployed to deliver renewable solutions.

At the same time as the oil and gas companies’ valuations have increased, renewable energy company valuations have declined, particularly as higher interest rates have eroded margins. As renewable energy penetration increases, the renewable industry also faces increasing challenges due to intermittency, low electricity spot prices and curtailment.

In a world that has a pressing need to decarbonise to avoid the worst impacts of climate change, this appears to be the wrong economic signal to achieve net zero.

Secondly, whilst the electricity system surely needs to decarbonise quickly, as electricity only covers around 20% of total energy consumption, we also need to address the challenge of electrifying as much as possible as fast as possible in transport, the built environment and industry. This is going too slowly with a slower pace of electric vehicle (EV) and heat pump adoption than previously planned. Investing in the infrastructure to increase the share of electricity in the energy mix is essential. Simultaneously, we also need to improve levels of efficiency across our energy system, including through demand-side measures.

Thirdly, we have seen far less projects being launched to address the hard-to-abate sectors and to develop renewable fuels, like hydrogen, than were envisioned just a few years ago. These projects have often failed as the actual costs of developing these complex process projects have often proved to be more expensive than originally expected, and the subsidies and premiums that governments and companies are willing to pay has been insufficient. Solar and wind received considerable subsidy over several decades to take their place today as the cornerstone of electricity generation growth. We must set regulations and subsidies to achieve the same in other renewable fuels.

These are challenging, yet exciting times, to be in the energy world, and a time when we will need to stimulate leadership to drive the change. As President of the Energy Institute, I hope we can play our role over the coming years in charting the way forward and building the technical and human capabilities needed for success.

• Further reading: ‘EI Presidential debate: passing the baton’. On 11 July, the day of his appointment as the Energy Institute’s new President, Andy Brown OBE FEI, Ørsted Non-Executive Director, spoke informally with Past President of the Energy Institute and founder of Good Energy Juliet Davenport OBE Hon FEI. They discussed their respective professional careers, appreciating energy engineering and the role of the Energy Institute in the energy transition.
• With more than 30 sessions on energy scenarios, energy finance, making a just transition, technological innovation and electrification, International Energy Week 2024 covered lots of ground. One session in particular encompassed the widest possible scope, addressing the global energy situation and outlook.