The COVID-19 pandemic came as a force of disruption in a world already struggling with how to satisfy its energy needs, address climate change and cope with new power relationships in a complex new era of energy transition. Daniel Yergin, author of seminal volumes such as The Quest and the Pulitzer-winning The Prize, explores these fundamental questions in his new book, The New Map: Energy, Climate and the Clash of Nations and offers a riveting account of the past, the present and the future of energy.

One of the central themes that the book tackles is whether the pandemic will hasten or hinder the energy transition. A fast transition brings with it issues of scalability, reliability, disruption and the high costs. “Energy transition certainly means something very different to a developing country such as India, where hundreds of millions of impoverished people do not have access to commercial energy, than to Germany or the Netherlands,” Yergin writes.

The panel featured the author in conversation with Indian experts from the fields of economics, foreign policy and security and energy, and covered key issues that have wide-ranging consequences for the world: How rapidly can we achieve an energy transition from fossil fuels to renewables? What role does energy play in the developing cold wars between the United States on one hand, and Russia and China on the other? Has coronavirus opened a new era for world oil – in a year when oil collapsed? In what ways and to what degree can technological innovation change the future of energy? And finally, is the story of energy’s future also the story of the clashing paths of global powers?

The event featured a keynote address by Daniel Yergin, author, The New Map: Energy, Climate and the Clash of Nations and Vice Chairman, IHS Markit.

Daniel Yergin is the founder of IHS Cambridge Energy Research Associates and Vice Chairman of IHS Markit. Dr. Yergin won a Pulitzer Prize in 1992 for his bestselling definitive history of oil, “The Prize,” and “The New Map: Energy, Climate and the Clash of Nations” is his fourth book. He was awarded the United States Energy Award for “lifelong achievements in energy and the promotion of international understanding.” He serves on the U.S. Secretary of Energy Advisory Board and chaired the U.S. Department of Energy’s Task Force on Strategic Energy Research and Development. Dr. Yergin is a director of the Council on Foreign Relations and a trustee of the Brookings Institution. Dr. Yergin holds a B.A. from Yale University and a Ph.D. from Cambridge University, where he was a Marshall Scholar.

This was followed by a panel discussion, featuring the following experts from India:

Panelists:

Arvind Subramanian, Director, Ashoka Center for Economic Policy and former Chief Economic Adviser to the Government of India

Amb. Shivshankar Menon, Distinguished Fellow, CSEP and former National Security Adviser to the Government of India

Naushad Forbes, co-Chairman, Forbes Marshall; former President Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), Chairman of Centre for Technology Innovation and Economic Research and Ananta Aspen Centre

Moderator: Vikram Singh Mehta, Chairman and Distinguished Fellow, CSEP