Shell, Energy Experts And University Students Engage In Debate On The Future Of Energy
Nov 23, 2018
In a unique opportunity, over 250 students and undergraduates from Singapore, Malaysia and Philippines challenged prominent regional energy experts and global energy company Shell on the issue of climate change and the future of energy at The Great Energy Debate, a live panel debate held on 23 November 2018 at the Singapore University of Technology and Design (SUTD). The debate was streamed live at Curtin University, Malaysia and University of the Philippines.
Maarten Wetselaar, Shell Director for Integrated Gas and New Energies, tackled tough questions from the energy-engaged millennials on the 21st century challenge of providing more energy while reducing impact to the planet.
“Energy affects us all. While we rely on energy in our everyday lives, the way in which it’s produced and used is tied to the well-being of our planet. I’m keen to find new ways to engage with young people – and others – to openly discuss the challenges, as well as the opportunities, surrounding the future of energy,” Mr. Wetselaar said.
Of particular interest to students was the role of renewables. Liu Yuchen, a Junior year student from SUTD, came keen to understand how we could transition from the current reliance on fossil fuels to more renewables. On this, Mr. Wetselaar explained: “I see it as my role to prove that new energies can help the environment and also be commercial. We cannot subsidise our way out of climate change. We need to find commercial models so that people want to invest in it on a large scale and we are finding good opportunities in it.”
Leading energy experts participated in the panel and provided their views on meeting the energy challenge and how different sectors of society can collaborate. The panellists were the following: Wu Changhua, a China sustainability policy and partnership specialist; Jay Layug, former Undersecretary of the Department of Energy and Chairman of the National Renewable Energy Board; and Peter Godfrey, Managing Director of the Asia Pacific Energy Institute, based in Singapore. Professor Peter Jackson, Head of Engineering and Systems Design at Singapore University of Technology and Design pillar, moderated the live debate. Goh Swee Chen, Country Chairman of Shell Companies in Singapore, also joined the students from various institutions in Singapore in watching the debate.
SUTD’s Professor Peter Jackson noted: “We had a great panel of distinguished experts in energy policy, law, and business and they each approached these questions from a unique perspective. I thoroughly enjoyed the lively exchange of ideas and hope that everyone learnt something from this debate.”
Shell recognises the significance of climate change, along with the role energy plays in helping people achieve and maintain a good quality of life. Shell takes part in the energy transition by finding ways to produce more and cleaner energy.
You can watch the debate on https://twitter.com/Shell/status/1065847606406918145
Panellists Engaging The Audience At The Great Energy Debate
SUTD Junior year student, Liu Yuchen, posing his question
ENQUIRIES:
Shell
Name: Ca-Mie De Souza
Email: Ca-Mie.DeSouza@shell.com
SUTD
Name: Melissa Koh
Email: Melissa_koh@sutd.edu.sg
Notes to Editors:
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Cautionary note
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This announcement contains forward looking statements concerning the financial condition, results of operations and businesses of Shell and the Shell Group. All statements other than statements of historical fact are, or may be deemed to be, forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are statements of future expectations that are based on management's current expectations and assumptions and involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results, performance or events to differ materially from those expressed or implied in these statements. Forward-looking statements include, among other things, statements concerning the potential exposure of Shell and the Shell Group to market risks and statements expressing management’s expectations, beliefs, estimates, forecasts, projections and assumptions. These forward looking statements are identified by their use of terms and phrases such as "anticipate", "believe", "could", "estimate", "expect", "goals", "intend", "may", "objectives", "outlook", "plan", "probably", "project", "risks", "seek", "should", "target", "will" and similar terms and phrases. There are a number of factors that could affect the future operations of Shell and the Shell Group and could cause those results to differ materially from those expressed in the forward looking statements included in this announcement, including (without limitation): (a) price fluctuations in crude oil and natural gas; (b) changes in demand for Shell's products; (c) currency fluctuations; (d) drilling and production results; (e) reserves estimates; (f) loss of market share and industry competition; (g) environmental and physical risks; (h) risks associated with the identification of suitable potential acquisition properties and targets, and successful negotiation and completion of such transactions; (i) the risk of doing business in developing countries and countries subject to international sanctions; (j) legislative, fiscal and regulatory developments including regulatory measures addressing climate change; (k) economic and financial market conditions in various countries and regions; (l) political risks, including the risks of expropriation and renegotiation of the terms of contracts with governmental entities, delays or advancements in the approval of projects and delays in the reimbursement for shared costs; and (m) changes in trading conditions. All forward looking statements contained in this announcement are expressly qualified in their entirety by the cautionary statements contained or referred to in this section. Readers should not place undue reliance on forward looking statements. Additional factors that may affect future results are contained in Shell's 20-F for the year ended 31 December 2014 (available at www.shell.com/investor and www.sec.gov ). These factors also should be considered by the reader. Each forward looking statement speaks only as of the date of this announcement, November 23, 2018. Neither Shell nor any of its subsidiaries nor the Shell Group undertake any obligation to publicly update or revise any forward looking statement as a result of new information, future events or other information. In light of these risks, results could differ materially from those stated, implied or inferred from the forward looking statements contained in this announcement.
About the Singapore University of Technology and Design
The Singapore University of Technology and Design (SUTD) is Singapore’s fourth public university, and one of the first universities in the world to incorporate the art and science of design and technology into a transdisciplinary, human-centric curriculum. SUTD seeks to advance knowledge and nurture technically-grounded leaders and innovators to serve societal needs. SUTD also recently topped a list of emerging engineering schools in the world in a study conducted by MIT.
A research-intensive university, SUTD is distinguished by its unique East and West academic programmes which incorporate elements of innovation, entrepreneurship, design thinking and local and international industry collaborations. SUTD will focus in key areas – Healthcare, Cities and Aviation, supported by capabilities in Artificial Intelligence/Data Science and Digital Manufacturing. Multiple post-graduate opportunities are available. In addition, skill-based professional education and training courses are also available at SUTD Academy. www.sutd.edu.sg
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