Jim Skea has research interests in energy, climate change and technological innovation. He has been RCUK Energy Strategy Fellow since April 2012 and a Professor of Sustainable Energy at Imperial College since 2009. He was Research Director of the UK Energy Research Centre 2004-12 and Director of the Policy Studies Institute 1998-2004.
He has operated at the interface between research, policy-making and business throughout his career. He is Vice-President and President-elect of the Energy Institute. He is also a member of the UK Committee on Climate Change and a Vice-Chair of IPCC Working Group III. He was awarded a CBE for services to sustainable energy in 2013 and an OBE for services to sustainable transport in 2004.
Presentation Title
The Role of Energy Efficiency in Transforming the Global Energy System
Abstract
Regardless of the ambition of climate policy decided at COP 21 in Paris in December 2015, energy efficiency is expected to play an important future role in containing costs, reducing environmental impacts and reducing reliance on traded fossil fuels. This paper will review expectations about energy efficiency built into a number of global energy projections, highlighting key opportunities in industry and the built environment. Progress in developing policies that will help realise energy saving opportunities will be reviewed. Finally, the importance of skills and training in enabling energy efficiency actions will stressed, drawing on the experience of the Energy Institute in supporting the UK’s Energy Savings Opportunity Scheme.