Decarbonising the energy system: from a global approach to a UK perspective

This webinar will explore different energy, technology, and policy strategies to decarbonise the energy system by 2050.

The world remains turbulent and full of uncertainties, but the current crises may be a trigger for faster change. Choices today will shape the future global landscape and the energy system for decades to come. In all three of Shell’s new scenarios the energy system is transformed, the issue is speed.  Shell’s new long-horizon scenarios explore three possible pathways and implications for energy transitions and the impact on climate. Martin Haigh, Senior Energy Advisor, Shell; will share the latest insights, including practical actions to accelerate progress in order to achieve the goal of the Paris agreement.

Alec Waterhouse (UK Government) will explore possible policy and technology ideas to achieve net zero emissions by 2050. This simultaneous -global and domestic- approach will provide a holistic vision of the energy transition, making clear the similarities and differences of the UK strategy with other alternatives.

 Speakers

Martin Haigh

Martin is Senior Energy Adviser and leads Shell’s World Energy Model team, which explores how energy demand is evolving in different countries and sectors.

Martin joined Shell in 2003 and has been a member of the Shell Scenarios team since 2004. He has led the development of Shell’s World Energy Model, which has underpinned the last three Shell scenario rounds and built on Shell’s 50-year history in scenario planning.

Martin works with many institutions, including MIT’s Climate Science team, the International Energy Agency and has participated in the IPCC Sixth Assessment focusing on energy systems modelling. He is a Fellow of the Royal Geographic Society.

Martin’s background is mathematics. He has experience in mathematical and economic modelling in the transport, telecom and energy industries.

Alec Waterhouse

Alec is Head of the Central Modelling Team in the Department for Business Energy and Industrial Strategy. His team are responsible for working out how much green-house gas the United Kingdom are projected to emit. He and his colleagues develop a range of models that make these projections, taking into account the effect of government policies and a host of other factors. The team also work on models that help to understand how we can meet our long term emissions targets and how government energy policies affect consumers. They have designed and built a bespoke policy simulation language for household energy modelling. He also leads for the department on quality assurance programme for analytical models. Alec started his working life as an engineer. After getting fed up of getting wet and dirty he moved into Operational Research. Since then he has worked in a wide variety of organisations ranging from the retail to public sector.

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