SIEW 2009: Singapore Energy Lecture by Dr Daniel Yergin
November 16, 2009 by Editor
Filed under Energy & Climate
The Singapore International Energy Week (SIEW) 2009 opens today at the Shangri-La Hotel Singapore, with the delivery of the Singapore Energy Lecture by Dr Daniel Yergin, an international energy expert; Pulitzer-Prize winning author of The Prize: The Epic Quest for Oil, Money, and Power; and Chairman of IHS Cambridge Energy Research Associates (IHS CERA), an energy research consultancy.
The annual SIEW is a leading energy conference that provides a platform for policymakers, business leaders and academics to exchange ideas, strategies and best practices that will help shape global and industry energy agendas. Jointly organized by the Energy Market Authority (EMA) and the Energy Studies Institute (ESI), SIEW features a comprehensive schedule of clean energy-focused conferences, exhibitions and networking sessions from a diverse cross-section of energy industry leaders.
SIEW 2009 builds on the theme, “Clean Energy: Sustainable Solutions for Urban Cities” to address pertinent energy issues affecting the world today. More than 1,800 companies and over 5,000 participants have registered for the various events during the week. Former British Prime Minister, Tony Blair, also shared his views on the need to balance global energy needs and climate change in a video message to participants at the SIEW 2009.
In Dr Yergin’s lecture this morning, he predicted that:
If the 20th century was the Century of Oil, the 21st century will be the Century of Energy Innovation. This intense push for innovation is driven by two powerful forces – the quest for clean energy and the need to provide energy for economic growth.
This reality is nowhere more vivid than in Asia, the center of economic growth. As Asia becomes an increasingly integrated economy, meeting these needs is not just a national issue, but a regional issue. It is a foundation for regional economic growth in this increasingly-interconnected region. And it is an urgent issue.
Dr Yergin shared his views on peak oil and said that the world is not running out of oil as the capacity is growing and people tend to underestimate the impact of technology. He highlighted four big changes:
- Oil is now a financial instrument, which means greater volatility
- The globalization of oil demand, where demand growth will come from emerging markets
- Climate change and growing pressures
- Technological innovation and the application of technology to energy
Dr Yergin said that the economic recovery is still in its “early days” and it is very important to facilitate global trade, which will stimulate economic growth. Climate change initiatives coming out of the Copenhagen conference next month and thereafter should reflect a “spirit of cooperation” and avoid becoming confrontational and disruptive to trade, which could have very serious unintended economic and political consequences. He emphasized that Copenhagen is not a treaty but a process.
Dr Yergin shared that Asia is in the lead for battery technology and electric vehicles, and that 60% of nuclear construction is in Asia. Natural gas is also going to become a more important part of the energy mix both in Asia and in the world because of its abundance and its attractive attributes as a fuel. Dr Yergin said that:
In the next few years, Asia will see substantial growth in use of natural gas in the form of LNG – liquefied natural gas. The world’s capacity to produce LNG will grow by 50 percent in the period 2008 to 2012.
Dr Yergin concluded that the real growth story in energy is energy efficiency. It is the biggest and easiest way for mitigating climate change. He also noted that Singapore’s role as the “energy crossroad” – both intellectually and in terms of physical supply – goes back to 1892, when the first shipment of oil was unloaded in Singapore. He could see Singapore leading in energy efficiency and smart grids in the future.
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