“Every analysis of future energy production, including from the International Energy Agency, points out that much of the technology we need to ensure energy security and to minimize emissions in the future does not exist in commercial form today,” Hayes says. That means there’s an urgency for continued innovation in the global energy industry, making events like the upcoming World Petroleum Congress, happening in Calgary in September, all the more timely and critical. This will be the first time at the World Petroleum Congress that the global oil and gas industry will collectively address the theme of energy transition and the path to net zero, and it’s a chance for Calgary and Canada to affirm its position as an energy leader. “We sit on one of the biggest hydrocarbon deposits in the world, so we need to do everything we can to reduce the environmental impact of the hydrocarbon we’re producing,” says Masson, who is chair of the World Petroleum Council-Canada, the host of the congress. “The congress brings people from all over the world — CEOs, energy ministers, academics, companies — to talk about how we tackle this issue,” he says. “It’s a key opportunity to showcase what Canada is working on.”
HOUR
COLLABORATION IS KEY
At the crux of energy innovation in Calgary is collaboration. While the energy sector generates a lot of revenue and jobs for Calgarians, it also poses great environmental challenges, putting it at the centre of a complex and often divisive debate. Enter the Energy Futures Lab (EFL), which, according to managing director Alison Cretney, was created in response to this harmful polarization around energy issues. The lab brings together a diversity of perspectives — oil and gas professionals, renewable energy developers, Indigenous leaders, environmental groups, government and even artists. “We asked: How can we build from our strengths in order to accelerate transition to the energy system the future requires of us?” Cretney says. “And how do we do that in a way that incorporates equity and prosperity in a future that people want to be part of?” EFL acts as a platform to transform those polarized conversations into actionable solutions. The lab’s guiding principle is that finding innovative energy solutions requires collaboration, insights and contributions from diverse stakeholders. It takes a multifaceted approach that recognizes the complexities and interconnectedness between our social systems and our energy system. “Innovation in the energy sector needs a comprehensive and holistic approach,” says Cretney. “The challenges we face cannot be solved in isolation.” She adds that we need to foster conditions for innovation through competitiveness, social-cultural acceptance, public policy, regulatory controls and investment attraction. “By bringing together the right people on the right issues at the right time, we can unlock the biggest opportunities we’re seeing for the province and the city, in relation to a changing energy system.” Such unprecedented collaboration is already happening.
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