Energy and society: challenges ahead

Barring unexpected developments, the next half century appears likely to experience a widespread transformation in the ways in which societies around the globe produce and consume energy. Enormous attention is being paid to a range of dimensions of this potential energy transition, from technological innovation to its implications for greenhouse gas emissions, energy costs, and dependence on technologies with catastrophic potential (as demonstrated by the BP oil spill and the Fukushima nuclear crisis). Yet, the broader implications of this transformation for individuals and communities have received less attention. Will the distribution of benefits and risks of new energy systems be similar or different in the future? Who will gain? Who will lose? How will ideas such as energy rights, energy justice, and energy security impact energy transitions? More subtly, how will social values, behaviors, relationships, and institutions change alongside changes in energy technologies? This panel will explore these topics in a conversation with a number of experts in energy science and policy.