Future of Energy Lecture 2024 – Lord Adair Turner

We are delighted to announce that the 10th BIEE Future of Energy lecture will be given by

Lord Adair Turner

Achieving a net zero economy:
technological possibilities and economic challenges

at The Royal Society on Thursday 16 May 2024

Adair Turner

Lord Turner chairs the Energy Transitions Commission, a global coalition of major power and industrial companies, investors, environmental NGOs and experts working out achievable pathways to limit global warming to below 2˚C by 2040 while stimulating economic development and social progress.

Amongst other roles, he chairs Chubb Europe; is an Advisor to the Board of Shanhai energy group Envision Ltd., and a board member of battery production company AESC Japan. In 2023, he became Advisor to the boards of Watershed Technologies Inc. and ReNew Power India, as well as Chairman of Oaknorth Bank (a UK start-up lending money to small and medium companies)

Lord Turner chaired the UK’s Financial Services Authority from 2008 to 2013, overseeing the UK’s policy and regulatory response to the Global Financial Crisis and  playing a lead role in the post crisis redesign of global banking and shadow banking regulation.

During his public policy career, he was Director General of the Confederation of British Industry (1995-2000); chaired the UK Low Pay Commission (2002-2006); the Pensions Commision (2003-2006); and the UK Climate Change Committee (2008-2012) an independent body to advise the UK Government on tackling climate change. The recommendations set out in their first report “Building a low-carbon economy” were adopted in 2009. He became a cross bench member of the House of  Lords in 2006.

Amongst his business roles, Lord Turner was at McKinsey&Co (1982-1995) and has served in several Non-Executive Directorships across a wide range of financial, business and not-for-profit boards, such as Merrill Lynch Europe (2000-2006), Standard Chartered plc (2006-2008), Prudential (2015-2019), Overseas Development Institute (2007-20200, Save the Children (2006-2008).

Lord Turner is the author of “Between Debt and the Devil” (Princeton 2015), and Economics after the Crisis (MIT 2012). He makes regular contributions in the printed press, in the UK and abroad.

He is a Trustee Emeritus of the British Museum, honorary fellow of The Royal Society, and received an Honorary Degree from Cambridge University in 2017.

The Future of Energy Lecture series

As its strapline says, BIEE has for over 40 years provided a focal point for informed discussion and debate of key energy issues in the UK (and more broadly in Europe and globally).

In 2014, to mark its 30^th anniversary, BIEE  launched an annual lecture series – “The Future of Energy”. The lecture is given by a leading figure in the energy world from industry, government or academia on a topic of their choice.

Past Speakers

2023 Juliet Davenport OBE – ‘A view from a Renewables Pioneer’
2021/22 Greg Jackson, Founder & Chief Executive, Octopus Energy – ‘Heating goes electric: Why heat pumps will become mainstream soon’
2019 Sinead Lynch, UK Country Chair, Shell – ‘The UK’s Energy Future: a call for greater urgency’
2018 Steve Holliday, Former CEO, National Grid – ‘We Need a Plan… or do we ?’
2017  The Rt Hon Greg Clark MP, Secretary of State for Business Energy and Industrial Strategy – ‘UK Energy Policy’
2016 Iain Conn, CEO, Centrica – ‘The Customer and the Changing Energy Landscape’
2015 Prof Dieter Helm, University of Oxford – ‘Energy Policy after the Election’
2014 Ian Marchant, Former CEO, SSE – ‘Keeping the Lights on’

Resources