Transition of society – Fair, just and sustainable?
The 2021 conference was organized as a digital conference, due to the circumstances regarding Covid-19.
A wide range of speakers came with thought-provoking keynote presentations that engaged the audience to make the energy transition an achievable reality.
They shared their knowledge and experience, and also presented challenging cases on the transition of society.
Energy Transition Conference 2021
Confirmed speakers 2021
STEVEN STONE
Chief of UN Environment's
Resources & Markets Branch
TINA BRU
Minister of Petroleum and Energy
Norwegian Government
POPPY KALESI
Director, Global Energy
Environmental Defense Fund
GRETE TVEIT
Senior Vice President and Head of
Low carbon solutions
Equinor
AL COOK
EVP and and Head of Development and
production, International Development
Equinor
RADHIKA KHOSLA
Research Director
Oxford India Centre for Sustainable
Development
BENJAMIN SOVACOOL
Professor of Energy Policy
University of Sussex Business School
HAN PHOUMIN
Senior Energy Economist
Economic Research Institute for ASEAN and
East Asia
FU SHA
Program Director, Low Carbon
Economic Growth
Director, Strategy and Planning
Energy Foundation China
HENRIK SÆTNESS
Executive Vice President Corporate Staff
Statkraft
KEYWAN RIAHI
Program Director Energy,
Climate, and Environment Program
International Institute for Applied Systems
Analysis (IIASA)
JILLIAN ANABLE
Professor, Chair in Transport and Energy
Institute for Transport Studies
University of Leeds
SETH MONTEITH
Associate Director for the
Global Intelligence team
ClimateWorks Foundation
ANNEMIE WYCKMANS
Professor & leader of Smart Sustainable Cities
Faculty of Architecture and Design
NTNU
WANJIRA MATHAI
Vice President And Regional Director
World Resources Institute
TUDOR CONSTANTINESCU
Principal Adviser to the Director
General for Energy
European Commission
JONATHAN STERN
Professor and Research Fellow
Founder, the Natural Gas Research Programme
Oxford Institute for Energy Studies (OIES)
ARMIDA SALSIAH ALISJAHBANA
Executive Secretary
United Nations Economic and Social Commission
for Asia and the Pacific
STEVEN STONE
Chief of UN Environment's
Resources & Markets Branch
TINA BRU
Minister of Petroleum and Energy
Norwegian Government
Fairness and justice for consumers and industry in the North and South, the East and the West should be cornerstone of energy and climate policy making. This session addresses the massive polarization in the world, which needs to be removed in order to meet the sustainable development goals we have signed up for.
Confirmed speakers participating:
Phoumin Han, Senior Energy Economist
Economic Research Institute for ASEAN and East Asia
Benjamin Sovacool, Professor of Energy Policy
University of Sussex Business School
Wanjira Mathai, Vice President And Regional Director
World Resources Institute
Armida Salsiah Alisjahbana, Executive Secretary
United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific
Discussion
Panelists in this session:
MARIANNE RYGHAUG
Professor, leader of
Centre for Energy, Climate and Environment, KULT
NTNU
NICK EYRE
Professor of Energy and Climate Policy
University of Oxford
On track to meet the Paris Agreement?
With COP26 coming up in Glasgow in November 2021 we want to take a short pause and look back at what has been achieved, where new insights are available and if there is a need to adjust pathways.
Confirmed speaker participating:
Keywan Riahi, Program Director Energy, Climate, and Environment Program
International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA)
Discussion
Panelists in this session:
EDGAR HERTWICH
Professor and International Chair
Industrial Ecology Programme, NTNU
HELENE MURI
Senior Researcher
Industrial Ecology Programme, NTNU
Challenges to deep decarbonization
During this session we focus on technical and societal constraints to a deep transition. What are technically feasible options to reduce emissions, the role of sector coupling, which role do consumers play, how can we decarbonize industry, how does the smart city of tomorrow look like are just few topics that are addressed.
Confirmed speakers participating:
Henrik Sætness, Executive Vice President Corporate Staff
Statkraft
Annemie Wyckmans, Professor and leader of Smart Sustainable Cities,
Faculty of Architecture and Design, NTNU
Jillian Anable, Professor, Chair in Transport and Energy,
Institute for Transport Studies, University of Leeds
Grete Tveit, Senior Vice President and Head of Low carbon solutions,
Equinor
Discussion
Panelists in this session:
FRANZISKA HOLZ
Professor and Deputy Head of Department
Energy, Transportation, Environment Department
DIW and NTNU
MARK O'MALLEY
Professor and Chief Scientist, Energy Systems Integration,
Senior Research Fellow
National Renewable Energy Laboratory
The colour of hope is green
The European Green Deal, climate action in China and the US, stimulus packages for economic recovery following the global pandemic – several activities have the potential to make the energy transition a global effort. Are these sufficient and what can green growth look like?
Confirmed speakers participating:
Tina Bru, Minister of Petroleum and Energy
Norwegian Government
Tudor Constantinescu, Principal Adviser to the Director General for Energy
European Commission
Fu Sha, Program Director, Low Carbon Economic Growth Director, Strategy and Planning
Energy Foundation China
Steven Stone, Chief of UN Environment's Resources & Markets Branch
Seth Monteith, Associate Director for the Global Intelligence team
ClimateWorks Foundation
Discussion
Panelists in this session:
VOLKER KREY
Research Group Leader, integrated Assessment and Climate Change Research Group
Institute of Energy Research, IIASA
JAE EDMONDS
Chief Scientist and Battelle Fellow
Joint Global Change Research Institute, (PNNL) and Adjunct Professor of Public Policy University of Maryland
Don’t slow me down
In this closing session, we point to the potential controversies that could slow down or hamper the transition of society: the societal dilemma across the globe, the question on how costs and benefits are allocated among customers and industry, geographical perspectives on just transition or if degrowth can be a solution to the Northern hemisphere. Are targets for renewable energy and environmental goals aligned and how do they match with the wishes of individuals and quality of life?
Confirmed speakers participating:
Radhika Khosla, Research Director
Oxford India Centre for Sustainable Development
Jonathan Stern, Professor and Research Fellow, Founder of the Natural Gas Research Programme, Oxford Institute for Energy Studies (OIES)
Poppy Kalesi, Director, Global Energy
Environmental Defense Fund
Al Cook, Executive Vice President and Head of Development and production international, Equinor
Did you get invigorated by the conference and want to meet like-minded people?
“Startups and Cocktail” is an informal social after-party where we get together in virtual roundtables over a drink of your choice (drinks are unfortunately not included in your ticket) and discuss basically anything you’d like – related or unrelated to the conference.
And if you’re curious to see something new, we really recommend you to see pitches and talk to the energy-related student startups from NTNU.
See you there!
Workshops 2021
Workshops 2021
Workshops 2021
The value of end-use flexibility:
Perspectives on digitalization, energy communities and power markets
Integrating end-user flexibility in the operations of the energy system has the potential to reshape load profiles to match variable renewable generation(VRE), to reduce peak load, and to create a more active demand-side participation in power markets and grid operations. However, incentivizing and raising end-use flexibility touches upon multiple technological and structural challenges (e.g., social, market, and regulatory). To this end, the objective of the workshop is to discuss related questions on:
What is the value of end-use flexibility? (from the consumer perspective as well as for the energy system)
What market designs will provide the right investment signals to guarantee a business case (long term perspective) for providers of end-use flexibility (from prosumers, local markets to aggregators?
How is digitalization and smart grids enabling the emergence of a consumer-centric energy transition? What is the role of Peer-to-Peer and flexibility markets in supporting grid operations and managing VRE?
Speakers and panel discussants: Confirmed international speakers will discuss up-to-date research and challenges on end-use flexibility.
Workshop Organized by Pedro Crespo del Granado (NTNU), and Igor Sartori (SINTEF). This in coordination with two ongoing research projects, Flexbuild and Beyond.
Climate finance: Hard choices in the Energy transition
In this workshop we will focus on economic risks that arise from climate policies and climate action failures, emphasizing risks in public and corporate strategies and mega-projects. Can we discover and discuss risk factors that potentially can avoid stranded assets? There are two sessions, each followed by a discussion. The first session is devoted to the oil and gas sector with a focus on transition risks, whereas the second session focuses on the electricity sector with an emphasis on policy risks.
You will hear contributions from:
Liv Kari Eskeland, Member of Parliament in Norway representing the Conservative party and a member of The Standing Committee on Energy and the Environment, Norway
Ottar Skagen, Equinor, Norway
Espen A. Hauge, The Norwegian Petroleum Directorate (NPD), Norway
Tine Compernolle, Docent, University of Antwerp, Belgium
Franziska Holz, Professor DiW Berlin and NTNU, Germany
Luiz Barroso, CEO, PSR Energy Consulting & Analytics, Brazil
Jostein Søreide, Hydro, Norway
Ahlmahz Negash, Tacoma Power, USA
David Aikman, Professor at King's Business School and Director of the Qatar Centre for Global Banking and Finance, UK
Negative emissions and Carbon Dioxide Removal (CDR)
Time: 14.00-18.30, 28 April 2021
Most scenarios and pathways that brings us to a net zero society rely on our ability to remove CO2 from the atmosphere from around 2040 and onwards. This workshop aims to involve key representatives from industry, government, academia and NGOs in discussion of some of the central questions that needs to be solved. It is the first in a series of workshops and we will try to outline the main challenges related to:
How should businesses approach a situation where negative emissions becomes a necessity?
What is the role of governments in making this happen: for example, reducing risk, building markets, and providing regulation – and what is the right timing?
What are the knowledge gaps that the academic society should address?
Note: This workshop employs a modified Chatham House Rule. Participants are free to use the information received during the meeting, but specific positions taken by individuals should not be attributed without expressed permission. However, formal presentations, the meeting agenda, and the meeting participation list will become part of the public meeting record unless participants request anonymity.
Participatory processes and social inclusion are key aspects of just transitions. In this workshop we discuss what this means, both in practice and conceptually. What does it mean to participate in the energy transition, and which are the ways that public actors and industry can advance inclusive forms of participation? This workshop showcases research perspectives and work by practitioners who work with such issues daily and seeks to stimulate a combination of broad reflection and hands-on discussions about why, how and when to engage the public.