The outlook for global energy and the road to COP26

Thursday, 15 October 2020: 1630 -1730 GMT

The world is on an “unsustainable path” in its energy consumption. That is the core thesis driving BP, the world’s fifth largest oil company, to radically shrink its carbon footprint to net zero by 2050 and increase its production of low and zero carbon energy. Spencer Dale, Group Chief Economist at BP and former member of the Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee, discussed the road to net zero with Apella partner, Andrew Brown.
BP’s scenarios suggest that the share of renewables - wind, solar, geothermal and bio-thermal – in the energy mix will rise from 5% in 2020 to between 20-60% by 2050, depending on which scenario prevails. Underpinning this, says Dale, is increasing electrification. Even in the business-as-usual scenario, 25% of road transport could be electrified by 2050 against today’s mere 1%.  In all three scenarios, he said, demand for electricity grows by 80% in the next 30 years – “driven largely by rising living standards in the developing world".

You can watch a recording of the discussion here:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AwzhK-U3jCs&t=4s