King Abdullah Petroleum Studies and Research Center (KAPSARC) will be inaugurating today (Nov. 1) a two-day dialogue forum with the theme "Energy Transitions and Economic Transformation". The energy dialogue will consist of 16 roundtable open and closed discussion sessions. The sessions will address and identify solutions that can be put forward to the global energy community and support competitive economic energy while providing sustainable energy. Khalid Al-Falih, Saudi Arabia's Minister of Energy, Industry and Mineral Resources will inaugurate the dialogue with his opening speech, followed by the plenary session Transformation to a Competitive Saudi Economy. Over 300 of the world's leading energy policymakers and researchers will be attending the 16 roundtable sessions aimed to act as a catalyst where solutions and common vision on the many energy challenges the global community face can be addressed. This first session will be attended and participated by leaders in the field of energy, like Prince Dr. Turki Bin Saud Bin Mohammed Al-Saud, President of King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology (KACST); Dr. Nabeel Al Amudi, President of Saudi Port Authority; Dr. Aabed AlSaadoun, Deputy Minister for Company Affairs, Ministry of Energy, Industry and Mineral Resources; and Ziyad M. Al-Shiha, President and CEO, Saudi Electricity Company (SEC). The dialogue will also address regional and global issues that affect energy transitions and economic transformation. In light of the new national vision for economic transformation, the dialogue will discuss Leveraging Resources for Economic Development: local content in Saudi Arabia. It will be presided by Dr. Muhammad Al-Jasser, Adviser to the Royal Court of Saudi Arabia. Dr. Majid Al-Moneef, Adviser to the Royal Court of Saudi Arabia, will also be presiding over the round table discussion Gas and Power Cooperation in the GCC: The Scope for Integrated Markets. The dialogue will also address renewable energy sources during the session titled Transitions to Decarbonized Electricity: Finding the Right Balance which will be presided by David Hobbs, Head of Research at KAPSARC. The Future Fuel Mix in Oil Rich Nations: Economically Efficient Resource Use will be presided by Dr. Adnan Shihab-Eldin, Director General of the Kuwait Foundation for the Advancement of Sciences (KFAS). A discussion on China's experience in energy transition and economic transformation will be addressed in the session Reform of China's Energy Economy: Industrial Economic Transition presided by Dr. Jin-Yong Cai, Partner of TPG Capital. The first day of the dialogue will also address Energy Productivity as a New Growth Paradigm presided by Dr. Richard Newell, President and CEO of Resources for the Future (RFF). Amin H. Nasser, President and Chief Executive Officer of Saudi Aramco, will conclude the first day of the energy dialogue by addressing the challenges of climate change while meeting the global demand of energy. The second day of the dialogue will start with two sessions focusing on China's and India's experience in energy transition followed by a roundtable discussion on Global Gas Markets: The Great Reconfiguration facilitated by Dr. Coby van der Linde, Director of the Clingendael International Energy Program. David Hobbs, Head of Research at KAPSARC, will be heading the specialized discussion on Utilities of the Future: Finding a Sustainable Business Model. The Dialogue will also address the financing of the energy infrastructure through Indians experience in the field. Dr. Sunita Narain, Director General of the Center for Science and Environment (CSE) will be heading the discussion titled Energy Infrastructure in India: Financing the Growth. The dialogue will also address the energy relations between the world's primary source of supply (the GCC) and the world's most significant, and growing, source of demand (northeast Asia, or NEA) in the discussion headed by Dr. Daniel Yergin, IHS-Markit Vice Chairman titled Energy Relations Between Northeast Asia and the GCC. The changes and development in the transportation field and its effect on the energy sector will be addressed during the discussion Future Path of Energy for Transport: Modes, Fuels & Technologies headed by Prof. Daniel Sperling, Founding Director of the Institute of Transportation Studies at the University of California, Davis. The Dialogue will also address the world's ambitious decarburization goals and how to ensure level emissions reduction through a discussion on Energy and Climate Change: Toward More Practical Climate Change Policies headed by Mr. Masakazu Toyoda, Chairman and CEO of the Institute of Energy Economics, Japan. The dialogue will conclude with the closing plenary, a summary and presentation of the main points of discussion and common vision and innovative solutions that were discussed and presented during the two-day Energy Dialogue 2016. — SG
