The renewable energy optimists are contemplating a scenario in which peak demand for fossil fuels is reached earlier than expected, resulting in an accelerated transition as energy companies look to find greater returns by investing in low-carbon technologies. Others anticipate that depressed oil prices undermine the recent cost competitiveness that renewables have achieved; with significant government stimulus and policy support for the fossil fuel sector starving the renewables sector of the support required to decarbonise in line with a 1.5 degree world.
The sixth event in the Chatham House COP26 Diplomatic Briefing Series will explore these competing narratives and related arguments, focusing on the key question: what should be done in either scenario to ensure the availability of affordable energy and that the Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) deliver the best chance of climate change mitigation?
