Spotlight | Digital technologies: Accelerating transition

There is widespread agreement on the potential of digital technologies to accelerate the transition to a low-carbon world. According to S&P Global estimates, digital technologies could help reduce emissions by up to 30% by 2050 in high-emitting sectors such as power, industry, and transport. These reductions range from implementing relatively straightforward digitally enabled tools to, for example, increase building energy efficiency, use videoconferencing as alternatives to travel and optimize fuel use in transportation. Digital technologies also allow accurate tracking of GHG emissions, enabling emission reporting transparency and tackling high-emission sources. S&P Global expects digital technologies to play a critical role in the design and operations of entirely new energy systems at multiple scales (from household to intercontinental). These systems will focus, among others, on the integration and optimization of different energy sources and related infrastructure, decentralized versus centralized generation, and demand-supply balance. Enabled by technologies such as high-performance computing, 5G, the Internet of Things (IoT), drones, augmented and virtual reality, digital twins, and artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning, digitalization can help predict optimal energy supply and demand control, accommodate increasing shares of different energy sources and improve the reliability of grids. This panel will focus on how digital technologies are accelerating transition. Which digital technologies are deemed most critical? How are digital technologies driving structural change, and transforming traditional energy systems and related business models? What behavioral and organizational challenges need to be overcome to widely deploy these digital technologies? SPEAKERS: Pragati Mathur, ConocoPhillips Uwem Ukpong, Amazon Web Services (AWS) Caspar Herzberg, AVEVA Eimear Bonner, Chevron CHAIR: Oscar Abbink, S&P Global