Supply-side factors are key to explaining the dramatic fall of oil prices from over $100 per barrel since late 2013 that have eaten into the profits of oil companies. However, oil industry observers are increasingly drawing attention to the long-term disruptive potential of new technologies, design methods, and business models that could also herald strong competitive pressures by weakening consumer demand for oil. The results of the Paris Climate Summit with its call for rapid emission reduction, early peaking and green-house-gas neutrality can accelerate this trend and herald a paradigm shift. As the world begins to embrace a low-carbon future by 2050, as evidenced in the Paris Agreement and many private sector initiatives, what are the strategic implications – and opportunities – for oil companies and resource owners?

The Emerging Leaders in Environment and Energy Policies Network (ELEEP) is helping to deepen transatlantic cooperation on climate and energy by organising a Transatlantic Energy and Climate Dialogue. Specific themes of the ELEEP Transatlantic Energy and Climate Dialogue are the transition to low-carbon energy systems in the EU & the US, local adaptation of energy systems to climate change impacts and the potential for transatlantic cooperation in carbon markets. Over the course of two years, 40-60 new ELEEP Fellows will join the network and engage in a variety of offline and in-person activities. Based on these activities, members will collaborate on online platforms to produce jointly published policy papers and impact projects, which will be presented at an ELEEP Conference in Washington D.C. in the summer of 2017.