ABOUT THE OGCI CHALLENGE TEAM:

The team of six individuals from across the globe will collaborate with the Oil and Gas Climate Initiative (OGCI), a voluntary, CEO-led oil and gas industry initiative that aims to accelerate the industry’s response to climate change. After learning about the organization’s work, including directly from OGCI staff, the Challenge team will be tasked with creating a report with recommendations to challenge and support OGCI’s existing and future climate action.

This is a unique opportunity to learn from critical players in the energy industry and have a meaningful voice as young climate leaders. The team will have access to direct interviews with OGCI staff and staff from the member companies that participate in OGCI workstreams. The team will also be coached by Student Energy on research and presentation skills. You will also have an incredible opportunity to understand from the inside how the oil and gas majors are  working on the energy transition towards net zero emissions, having the opportunity to collaborate with experts in the field along the way. This is a unique opportunity, offered by OGCI, to make recommendations that will help shape the low carbon future of some of the world’s largest energy companies and the future of your generation.

At the end of the challenge, the team will collectively write a report and recommendations for OGCI and its member companies. The team will also present its findings to the CEOs of each of the member companies and gain high-level exposure for their ideas. 

Young people between the ages of 18-30 from all countries, and all educational and professional backgrounds are invited to apply. 

Applications are open until June 10, 23:59 UTC, 2020.

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

1) How long is the term of the challenge team? 

The challenge team will work together from mid-June 2020, to the end of September 2020. In this time they will conduct research into OGCI and work together to write the report recommendations for the final report to be delivered in mid-September. After report writing is complete the team will prepare their presentation for the CEOs the presentation will take place between October – December 2020 – timing will be confirmed at a later date. 

2) What is the time commitment of the challenge team?

The time commitment is a minimum of 25 hours spread evenly from June-September 2020 with an additional 5 hours of presentation preparation. If there is interest, challenge team members may spend more time on the research and report writing. 

3) What recognition will you receive?

All team members will be listed as authors of the report that will be posted publicly on Student Energy’s website. You will also have the opportunity to be featured on our blog and social media. Opportunities for building your professional network, building your skill set and publishing more of your work may become available during the challenge. 

4) What support will the team have?

The challenge team will be directly coached by Student Energy’s staff. They will learn about how to effectively work with and advocate for change with a high-level audience, how to conduct research, presentation skills, in-depth energy knowledge, in-depth knowledge of Paris Agreement targets and more.

Energy Transformation Policy Sprint

From a youth perspective, the policy-making process can sometimes seem quite opaque. Many of us know in general the kinds of changes we need to see in order to accelerate the energy transition, but how do we drill down into specifics? Who will implement these new programs, assign incentives and disincentives, and evaluate progress? How can we address specific local issues while ensuring policy packages are scalable?

To get a taste of what the policy-making process involves, Student Energy ran an Energy Transformation Policy Sprint at Leading Change, challenging participants to design a policy addressing one of three of the largest sources of carbon emissions in Canada: Industry, Transport, or Buildings.

What if? Unpacking energy scenarios and what they mean for canada

On February 12th, Student Energy’s Executive Director, Meredith Adler, moderated a mainstage panel at GLOBE 2020, with speakers representing organizations that produce or rely on energy scenarios in their decision-making:

• Ken Elser – Senior Vice President, Project Finance and M&A at DNV GL | DNV GL’s Energy Transition Outlook
• Mallika Ishwaran – Senior Economist and Policy Advisor at Shell International | Shell’s Sky scenario
• Jonathan Arnold – Senior Research Associate at the Canadian Institute for Climate Choices | Charting Our Course

This panel dove into the assumptions behind energy modelling and forecasting, unpacking how people relate to complex energy topics, and energy scenarios inform policymaking.

Energy scenarios are highly influential in determining the scope, timeline and ambition of climate targets across all sectors, from energy companies to the financial sector to governments’ policies, so it’s important that these models are aligned with climate science. Young people are deeply concerned that many governments and companies may set emissions targets that are too low, with timelines too far away to limit warming to 1.5C. Many of these timelines and targets are heavily influenced by energy scenarios. Whether they are intended to be neutral data sets and analysis or recommendations, energy scenarios set a standard for what is considered feasible or economically advantageous

Our takeaways from the panel

• Most influential energy forecasts are based on current and historical trends – there are few forecasts that actually predict and provide pathways to achieving a 1.5 or 2C future, which could contribute to setting targets that are too weak or too gradual.
• Scenarios that do show pathways forward often include solutions that are not yet sufficiently scalable (carbon capture and storage, certain types of nature based solutions).
• Models can sometimes overlook social issues like affordability and accessibility in the energy transition (for example, whether people can afford to adopt necessary new technologies, retrofits, or transition careers).

Highlights at Leading Change and GLOBE 2020

As GLOBE takes place in Canada, the conference is undoubtedly affected by current events in Canada. Right now, land defenders from the Wet’suwet’en and supporting Indigenous nations are leading actions across Canada to halt construction of the Coastal GasLink pipeline through unceded traditional territory and oppose police intervention on these lands. So the topic of Indigenous sovereignty (particularly in relation to climate change) was at the forefront of many of the conversations we witnessed at the conference, including in MC Larissa Crawford’s opening remarks and delegate Christie McLeod’s question.

We appreciate GLOBE’s openness to making space for these important conversations.

Another highlight for us was Faceoff: The Energy Panacea, an exciting panel debate that explored whether there are any silver bullet solutions in the energy transition (spoiler alert: there aren’t), and whether we’ve prioritized the right solutions and industries to take us forward. You can check out the full panel here!