BACK TO THE ENERGY FUTURE like environmental change , or cyber security . States take responsibility for these challenges , setting clear regulatory and other frameworks . Modern Jazz is much more about disruptive technologies and innovation reforming the energy sector . It ’ s about lots of new and different types of platform based business models . But it ’ s a highly innovated , creative and fast moving world . Because of the digital disruption there is a much stronger focus around electrification .
“ And across all three of them one common factor starts to emerge ,” Wilkinson adds . “ Somewhere between 2030 and 2050 , depending on which scenario you are in , we get to peak energy demand for things like coal and oil . That ’ s not to say they don ’ t remain a significant part of the mix , but they are not continuing to grow in demand .”
‘ IT IS MUCH MORE SOBERING WHEN YOU STOP TALKING ABOUT CLIMATE CHANGE AS THIS SORT OF GENERAL THING AND YOU START LOOKING AT WHAT THE
IMPLICATIONS ARE ’
For Wilkinson , the purpose of the scenarios is all about getting people to see the realities of climate change , not what we think the reality is . “ If you want to model energy supply systems you are going to have to design it for whatever envelope of climate change you are going to get . It is much more sobering when you stop talking about climate change as this sort of general thing and you start looking at what the implications are and the impact of climate change on different parts of the world . And the risks that carries to different types of energy systems .”
For Wilkinson there is a real fear that we are sleepwalking into the future . That as far as society is concerned , there isn ’ t really an energy problem . “ The hope of the digital revolution is that in the long run it will save more energy than it uses . That is the promise , but we have to get there . And we are not going to get there in the world where nobody is putting investment into energy systems .
“ I would say that I am a concrete utopist . That means I think that it is possible to be hopeful but only if we work hard for hope . I am a realistic hoper rather than an optimist or pessimist .”
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