The clean energy transition

History shows that energy transitions can have dramatic impacts. The Agricultural Revolution of the Neolithic period and the Industrial Revolution of the 19^th and 20^th centuries were both essentially energy revolutions that utterly transformed human society and the economy. We are in the early stages of a new transition to clean energy. This transition is both an urgent necessity to achieve net zero carbon emissions by mid-century and limit damage from climate change, as well as a historic opportunity to create an energy system that is cleaner, cheaper, more secure, and more equitable than the fossil fuel-based system of today.

INET Oxford is actively conducting research on the technologies that are driving this transition, the policies that are key to enabling and accelerating it, and the impacts this transition is likely to have. Examples include work on better forecasting the progress, cost declines, and deployment of key clean energy technologies (e.g., solar, wind, batteries), understanding the impacts of the transition on the macroeconomy, jobs, and the financial system, and assessments of which policies have been most effective in driving the transition. Our researchers are also analysing the most effective and efficient ways to transition away from fossil fuels, for example carbon taxation, coal phaseouts, and policies on energy finance.