• CERAWEEK 2025 | March 10-14, 2025
  • CERAWEEK
  • March 10 - 14, 2025

Paul McConnell

S&P Global

Research & Analysis Executive Director

Paul McConnell is an Executive Director with the Energy and Climate Scenarios team at S&P Global. Paul’s work covers energy and carbon markets, long-term decarbonisation trends and net zero, climate policy and emissions, and strategic responses to climate change and the energy transition. Paul is highly experienced in development of energy and climate scenarios, as well as their application in assessing climate-related risk and opportunity for organisations across the oil & gas, power, industry and financial sectors. He is a recognized thought leader around emergent and disruptive risks, including climate change and energy security. Paul holds an MSc in Global Environmental Change and International Policy from Imperial College, London.

Sessions With Paul McConnell

Monday, 18 March

  • 07:30pm - 09:00pm (CST) / 19/mar/2024 12:30 am - 19/mar/2024 02:00 am

    Climate Policies Post COP28

    Climate & Sustainability

    Climate change has become a top-tier agenda item for governments around the world and at international forums like the UN and G20. What are the different approaches that governments are taking at home to tackle climate change? How is climate ambition reshaping the global energy system, political alliances and trade? Can international initiatives still rally a consensus or must new strategies emerge to address the combined challenges of energy security, transition and affordability?

Tuesday, 19 March

  • 10:00am - 10:30am (CST) / 19/mar/2024 03:00 pm - 19/mar/2024 03:30 pm

    Improving Energy Access While Combatting Climate Change
    Digitalization/AI/Machine Learning/Robotics/Cybersecurity

    Developments over the past two years have demonstrated that the energy transition is more complicated than previously thought. While the transition proceeds, expectations of a linear global shift have been shaken as climate goals compete with priorities around energy security, energy access and affordability. Where are the gaps in policy, technology and financing and what is a feasible path to address those gaps?

Wednesday, 20 March

  • 10:00am - 10:30am (CST) / 20/mar/2024 03:00 pm - 20/mar/2024 03:30 pm

    Energizing Tomorrow: Charting a successful path for Africa's energy transition
    Climate & Sustainability

    The path to energy transition in Africa looks very different than in the developed world. We will discuss what a successful energy transition means for Africa. We will also explore the role technology, finance, and collaboration have in making that vision a reality.

  • 02:30pm - 03:10pm (CST) / 20/mar/2024 07:30 pm - 20/mar/2024 08:10 pm

    Strategic Roundtable | Rethinking Energy and Climate Scenarios?

    Long-term scenarios for global energy demand, energy supply and GHG emissions provide important tools for policymakers, companies and investors alike. While scenarios have been used since the 1970s, their role has never been more critical, or more contentious. And the variations across scenarios have never been more pronounced due to major uncertainties in future climate policy actions and the pace of clean energy technology development and deployment. Furthermore, fault lines in the global consensus are appearing as countries in the “Global South” prioritize energy access and economic development and are keen to develop indigenous fossil fuel resources. Are current scenarios fit for purpose? Do they adequately capture the complexities and trade-offs of a multidimensional energy transition? What should be the key characteristics of any new scenarios?