More than 250 industry leaders, scholars, analysts, policy makers, alumni and students came together at TCU to discuss the opportunities and multi-faceted challenges of the global energy transition.
April 06, 2022
By Manochehr Dorraj and Erin Smutz
As part of Innovation Week at the TCU Neeley School of Business, the Ralph Lowe Energy Institute hosted an all-day Global Energy Symposium on March 30, 2022, focusing on the role the U.S. will play in the global energy shift. Eager to innovate, learn and collaborate, energy thought leaders, scholars, analysts and policy makers from around the world gathered on the TCU campus to explore security, reliability and accessibility as part of the energy transition.
Energy Faculty Fellow and TCU AddRan Professor of Political Science Manochehr Dorraj shares his reflection on the Global Energy Symposium.
A Glimpse into the Complex Energy Transition
Nine months ago, the Ralph Lowe Energy Institute had an innovative idea – to bring thought leaders to TCU to discuss the intricacies of the global energy shift. Amidst the events surrounding the Russian invasion of Ukraine, in which energy has been used as a weapon with unmistakable economic and political impact, we couldn’t have predicted how timely and poignant the Global Energy Symposium’s impact would be for all of us.
From leading scholars to nationally recognized energy analysts who served in the White House, Department of Energy and U.S Department of State, the symposium’s thought leaders drew in a broad mix of energy executives, community members, faculty, staff, students and alumni, including TCU Board of Trustees members Kit Moncrief and Mary Ralph Lowe. Attendees were unanimously pleased with the quality and substance of presentations and the dialogue, the diversity of perspectives, and the breadth and depth of ideas and analysis.
The broad range of topics addressed at the symposium made the overall content holistic, highlighting all the salient issues surrounding energy transition. It began with a portrayal of the global landscape, covering significant themes such as the uneven nature of transition around the world, and the challenges surrounding some poor nations’ lack of necessary financial and technological resources.
Symposium panelists and moderators shared insight into the state of developments in Latin America, with rich deposits of Lithium and Copper, both necessary minerals for the energy transition. In addition, thought leaders discussed an analysis of energy transition in China, which has the triple distinction of being the most populous nation, and is the number one pollutant and investor in renewable energy. Thus, the energy transition in China would be the most consequential.
Sustainable energy outlook was also a focus of the symposium, both opportunities and challenges. Panelists reflected on the role green and nuclear energy can play in the process of transition, and the issues their successful implementation face.
Keynote speaker Bob McNally, founder and president of Rapidan Energy Group and award-winning author of “Crude Volatility,” gave a stimulating talk on the volatile energy market, policy and geopolitics. Additional panels followed, highlighting how policy can enable the energy transition, demand, renewables share and investment necessary to drive a low-carbon economy. Finally, panelists shed light on the complexities and challenges of financing the global energy transition.
With its extensive topics and energy thought leadership, the symposium put the Ralph Lowe Energy Institute, Neeley School of Business and TCU on the map. It created new opportunities for TCU to collaborate with the Atlantic Council’s energy program, an internationally recognized think tank in Washington, D.C. Attendee engagement proved the symposium to be a fertile ground for networking, exploring future collaborations, fostering closer ties between the institute, energy industry, business community and TCU, and finally a springboard for future symposiums and workshops.
Learn more about the TCU Global Energy Symposium here.
2022 TCU Global Energy Symposium
Watch a glimpse into the thought leadership, opportunities and challenges shared at our symposium about the global energy transition.
