On 23 May 2016, the ELEEP Network hosted a Side Event at the May UNFCCC meeting in Bonn. The event featured guest speakers Aki Kachi (ELEEP Fellow 2015/2016) and Michael Mehling (MIT). Matthias Duwe (Head of Climate, Ecologic Institute) moderated the event. During the event, the speakers discussed existing options for the development of carbon markets post-Paris and provided a perspective on what they could mean for carbon markets in the US and the EU. A video recording of the event can be viewed on the ELEEP Network YouTube Channel.

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?