Current and Future Challenges to Energy Security. Energy perspectives beyond COVID19

After the crisis of COVID-19, energy security will remain an important issue  of the world energy policy and the key for a more resilient society. The pandemic has set in motion the largest drop in global energy investment in history, with spending expected to plunge in every major sector this year – from electricity to renewables and energy efficiency.

The overall share of global energy spending that goes to clean energy technologies – including renewables, efficiency, carbon capture, utilization and storage – has been stuck at around one-third in recent years. Power sector  spending is on course to decrease by 10% in 2020, with worrying signals for the development of more secure and sustainable power systems. Energy efficiency, a central pillar of clean energy transitions, is suffering too. Estimated investment in efficiency and end-use applications is set to fall by an estimated 10–15%.   The slowdown in spending on key clean energy technologies also risks undermining the much-needed transition to more sustainable energy systems.

For the coming 10 years the main priority is investing and developing clean energy technologies, ensuring that costs are as low as possible  and stepping up international efforts to reduce climate change.

It is in this context that take place the 5th edition of the AIEE Symposium on Energy Security that this year will be held in cooperation with SDA Bocconi School of Management on December 15^th-17^th 2020. The conference,  organized by the AIEE - Italian Association of Energy Economists  (Italian Affiliate of the IAEE - International Association for Energy Economics - www.iaee.org), will be a forum to discuss all these problems, continuing the dialogue of the past editions analyzing the transformations of the concept of energy security in this new context. Symposium has acquired an international prestige in recent years on the issues of energy security and despite the uncertainties generated by the impact and the effects of COVID-19, the AIEE has decided to continue its initiative by organizing an online event, as a virtual conference.

The Programme Committee Chair of the conference is Matteo Di Castelnuovo, Associate Professor of Practice at SDA Bocconi School of Management, Director of the Master in Sustainability and Energy Management (MaSEM), Director of the Africa Lab and coordinator of the Just Energy Transition team of the Sustainability Lab at SDA Bocconi.

Recent events have added elements of uncertainty in the already complex evolution of the energy situation in the world and in Europe in particular. Security of supply, geopolitical aspects and environmental problems are once more at the forefront. The Conference aims at providing a forum for an analysis of the new developments and a new vision of the future framework for energy security and will try to define the energy priorities for the next years and the action to be taken.

For this purpose, Symposium, foresees a comprehensive program, with plenary sessions and keynote presentations, and several concurrent sessions, that will give the attendees from all over the world  the occasion to participate in an interactive, collaborative networking and information-sharing event, in the prestigious context of our School. About 200 participants are expected to participate in a virtual connection and about 100 speakers will present their works in the parallel and plenary sessions.

Symposium has become an important yearly appointment, as well as an opportunity to discuss energy security and to explore new and existing trends, creative solutions about new technologies and the emergence of new market conditions and of new market operators. In these uncertain times regarding travelling around the world, social distancing and possibility to attend the event physically, hosting a virtual event represents an excellent alternative. Virtual conferences might lack the intimacy of a physical gathering, but they democratize access offering the attendees the possibility to connect with each other providing an interactive, collaborative networking, information-sharing and manly the same benefits as on-site events with less cost and less risk.

For more information about the conference: https://www.aieesymposium.eu/

SDA Bocconi School of Management