Energy Change and Investment Challenges

Abstract

Climate change is an energy problem — we cannot solve climate change without solving energy. Energy change is not just a matter of convincing the world’s energy producers to alter the resources they use; or manufacturers to focus on energy Efficiency; or consumers to alter their energy use behaviours. To meet greenhouse gas and particulate emissions targets, and manage water consumption, can never be merely a political, regulatory question, and arguably this would anyway require more organised, committed global governance than currently in evidence. The privately owned energy sector cannot be assumed to be in sufficient good health to respond to regulatory or market change, despite excellent stock market performance. It could be said that the strong value of shares in energy companies and a recently terminated decade of mounting energy commodity prices have created a distraction, a diversion from fundamental fault lines. Studies into energy increasingly alight upon concerns about the projections for future global energy production and consumption, and questions about the life cycle renewal of energy supply and infrastructure in an atmosphere of low economic growth.