There is a recurring message from industry leaders at Davos. Policymakers need to work more closely with the private sector to support investments that are economically viable as well as environmentally and socially sustainable.
“The world knows that it needs more energy but less carbon. It’s a complex problem,” says Charlotte Wolff-Bye, Vice-President of Sustainability at Norway’s Statoil. “We need an orderly transition that will incentivize the right investment in low carbon and the right innovation.”
Statoil is a member of the Oil and Gas Climate Initiative (OGCI), which the industry established following the WEF meeting of 2014 to make the case for low-carbon energy solutions. “We need to provide energy for 9 billion people by 2050 and this needs to be clean, sustainable energy with very low carbon emissions.” adds Wolff-Bye.
“The industry is leading the way, but we need more political will and support,” Wolff-Bye says. “Davos can play a critical part in enabling the dialogue that we need to catalyze real industrial action.”
