Exploring the implications for states, firms and consumers as waves of energy crises crash up against each other
The coincidence of unprecedented forces all crashing together in 2022 is leading to the most dramatic rethinking of the global energy system since the oil crises of the 1970s. Over the past six months, energy has rushed to the forefront of global geopolitics and domestic politics and has risen to the top of the agenda of individual consumers.
Even before the Russian invasion of the Ukraine, the challenge of climate change meant that decarbonising energy systems was a preeminent challenge for many states that had adopted a flurry of net-zero commitments, many of which were formalised at COP26 in Glasgow in late 2021.
The next tidal wave, COVID-19 and the associated lockdowns, had dramatic short-term effects on the energy system but longer-lasting systemic changes ranging from working from home to public transport planning are still being worked out.
Finally, though the Ukrainian crisis is most urgent in the short term, there are long-term implications not just for prices but for energy security, with a potentially greater role for the state in energy supply arrangements.
In this webinar, Dr David Reiner, Associate Professor in Technology Policy, discusses the short-, medium- and longer-term pressures on energy markets and their implications. David will draw upon insights from his research on consumer behaviour, voluntary carbon markets and the shifting political economy of national energy systems. He will investigate the differential impacts on countries, sectors and firms. These include the changing prospects for wind, solar and biofuels as well as fossil fuels in this new landscape that is still subject to many uncertainties. The potential for populist reversals in the shift away from coal, oil and gas will also be explored.
Speaker bio
David Reiner is Assistant Director of the Energy Policy Research Group at the University of Cambridge. He is also a Research Associate of the Centre for Energy and Environmental Policy Research at MIT. His research focuses on energy and climate change policy, economics, regulation and public attitudes, with a focus on social license to operate. He has led public and stakeholder surveys on energy and climate change on every continent (except Antarctica!). He has given invited talks in over 20 countries including at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, International Energy Agency workshops, the World Economic Forum in Davos, Moscow and online, French Institute for International Relations, Chatham House, Royal Irish Academy, IPCC, and UNFCCC, and has provided written and oral testimony to the House of Commons Committee on Science and Technology and the House of Commons Committee on Energy and Climate Change.
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Event timings
Date:
6 July 2022
Start Time:
12:30
End Time:
13:30