Global leaders and CEOs joined our President’s Award recipient, former US Secretary of State John Kerry HonFEI, alongside Professor Sir Jim Skea FEI (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, IPCC), Emma Pinchbeck FEI (the UK Climate Change Committee), Damilola Ogunbiyi HonFEI (UN Sustainability for All), Patrick Pouyanné (TotalEnergies), Mohamed Jameel Al Ramahi HonFEI (Masdar) and many others from all corners of the energy sector.

Whilst the journey to net zero may have faced headwinds in recent months, as some governments and companies have reversed or scaled back their net zero ambitions, I am more convinced than ever that not only we are on the right path, but that the energy transition will continue at pace.

The theme of International Energy Week 2025 was navigating the world’s energy transitions. The recognition that there are plural transitions, is, in my view, key to understanding what is happening in the world. Here I share four reasons why I remain optimistic.

1. The climate imperative is stronger than ever
IPCC Chair Professor Sir Jim Skea opened International Energy Week stating human activities have unequivocally caused global warming, reminding us of more intense storms and wildfires. He also pointed out that as warming exceeds 1.5 degrees, new risks emerge, such as its impact on crop yields and on biodiversity.

One of the tensions that has returned is the so-called ‘energy trilemma’, a reminder that alongside sustainability, we cannot forget about energy security and affordability. John Kerry highlighted that 48 sub-Saharan African states make up about just 0.5% of all the emissions of the world, despite being inhabited by more than one billion people, with Damilola Ogunbiyi noting: ‘Closing the energy access gap is critical to ensuring a just energy transition that enables everyone to lead a dignified life… We cannot allow the energy divide to deepen.’

Academics Professor Emily Shuckburgh OBE HonFEI and Dr Radhika Khosla FEI argued that we don’t need to build the same inefficient energy systems in the Global South as we have in the Global North. Better architecture and more efficient buildings are critical in reducing cooling needs in a world of increasing heat stress. Rachael Nutter, Director of Project Development at Climate Impact Partners, reiterated the importance of avoiding the emissions in the first place, rather than removing them after the fact.

Kerry and Shuckburgh also mentioned climate tipping points, those key thresholds which, when exceeded, cause irreparable damage to the environment. We don’t know exactly when they will happen but when they do we run the risk of climate change accelerating in ways science has yet to fully understand. It was clear from our expert speakers that climate change is no longer some future hypothetical but, as Skea said, is happening in the here and now. And for this reason, we cannot afford to slow down the energy transition. The good news is that action is still cheaper than inaction, with Skea saying: ‘It’s clear that the costs of mitigation – reducing emissions – are less than the benefits of avoided emissions, no matter how you do the calculation.’

2. Electrification will be the biggest driver of the energy transition
The role and pace of electrification emerged as another strong theme. International Energy Agency Director General Dr Fatih Birol HonFEI described our present time as an ‘age of electricity’, stating that the global economy is being electrified in a very rapid sense. Much of that is driven by emerging economies, but advanced economies are also playing a part. He forecast that electricity will grow six times faster over the next decade (at 4%/y) than total energy supply.

The efficiency gains from electrification were a major theme in remarks from Emma Pinchbeck FEI. At the event, she presented the UK’s Seventh Carbon Budget, including a Sankey diagram illustrating that 53% of today’s energy (1,000 TWh) is wasted, emphasising ‘if you can electrify it, we’re going to electrify it’.

Birol acknowledged that the growth in electricity is driven by established sectors, but also new ones such as EVs and AI, arguing that countries that lean into the age of electricity will have significant advantages over others that don’t.

It was also interesting to hear the perspectives of integrated oil and gas companies, which have in several cases retrenched on plans for building major electricity businesses. TotalEnergies CEO Patrick Pouyanné reflected on the very different nature of global commodities, such as oil and gas, versus far more localised electricity markets.

The conference did not ignore sectors that are harder to electrify, acknowledging the role of technologies such as sustainable aviation fuel (SAF), carbon capture, use and storage (CCUS), hydrogen and the importance of reducing emissions from oil and gas. But it is clear that electrification is a global megatrend which will reshape energy markets.

3. EV and renewables slowdown – what slowdown?
Despite recent media headlines reporting a slowdown in EV sales and headwinds in the renewables sector, the evidence presented at the conference points to the contrary. Birol highlighted that globally one in five car sales in 2024 was an EV. And Shell’s Global Chief Marketing Officer Carol Chen highlighted that in China this figure was close to 50%. John Kerry stated that China added more renewables than rest of world put together, something we reported in the Energy Institute Statistical Review of World Energy. If you want evidence of multi-paced transitions, look to China.

We also heard from Greg Jackson FEI (CEO of Octopus Energy) and Masdar CEO Mohamed Jameel Al Ramahi on the pace at which battery storage costs are falling, and the scale at which they are being deployed to firm up solar power. When commenting on the current reversal of some international oil and gas companies’ renewables programmes, they viewed this moment as an opportunity for their companies to grow even faster.

All of this is driven by economic fundamentals, despite trade tariffs and geopolitics creating bumps in the road. We are on an irreversible trajectory. The question is no longer ‘if’ but ‘how fast’. My hunch is that it will be faster than most of us expect.

4. The next generation of energy leaders are ready for the challenge
Over the last several years the Energy Institute has made a conscious effort to engage our Young Professionals Network far more deeply in International Energy Week. What started out as one or two Young Professionals joining a panel towards the end of the conference has evolved into representatives sitting on the International Energy Week Board which curates the whole programme, to moderating CEO panels, to chairing an entire day. Young Professionals who span the globe and the breadth of the energy sector have reshaped the tone and content of the conference.  

It is not only the passion and commitment of the next generation of energy leaders that gives me confidence, but also that their world view is so different to that of my generation. Their outlook includes the consumer, human behaviours, digitalisation, equity and many other factors, rather than an outdated linear supply-led push of energy. This was also evident in some of our International Energy Award winners, be it the dynamic teams from Nigeria’s Energy Talent Company and Solar Power Europe to our Young Professional Award winner, Harshil Sumaria.

The quality, expertise and drive of these individuals and organisations, as well as so many more, provides clear proof that the future of the energy sector is in more than capable hands.

Summary
International Energy Week is always a blur of amazing speakers, interesting dialogues and stimulating networking. I feel very proud that the Energy Institute is at the heart of convening such a diverse group of brilliant speakers and engaging participants.

For all of these reasons (and many more) I feel confident that the Energy Institute’s efforts to double down on our purpose of creating a better energy future by accelerating a just transition to net zero has never been as important. And I am confident that we are moving in the right direction.

But I’ll leave the last word to former US Secretary of State John Kerry, who said: ‘The key now for all of us is implementation; make it happen. No government has enough money to do that; we know it’s in the trillions of dollars. But here’s what gives me hope, and what I believe is going to make the difference: the private sector does have trillions of dollars. And the truth is not as a matter of charity, not as a matter of government policy, not as a subsidy, but as a matter of good old capitalism where you go out and invest and you make money because you are producing something that people need and want. That’s what’s happening. For the first time ever last year we reached $2tn in investment capital and venture capital into the new technologies of the transition; $1tn in fossil fuels. We’ve seen already the results of that beginning through what’s happened.’

• Further reading: ‘Looking forward to 2040 and an end for new UK oil and gas projects’. While plans for the how the UK can transition to not-far-from-zero by 2040 are published, shorter-term priorities of the oil and gas industry intrude. Steve Hodgson FEI, Editor-at-Large at New Energy World spent a day at International Energy Week.
• Africa’s energy transition is focused on three key factors – the so-called Triple A’s – affordable energy, availability and accessibility. Find out what West Africa-based experts speaking at International Energy Week had to say about the opportunities and challenges for energy producers, investors and policymakers in sub-Saharan Africa.