This event will be followed by a drinks reception from 7.30pm
‘Integrating Hydrocarbons in a Sustainable Energy System: A Modern Lance of Peleus or an Achilles Heel?’
Dangerous climate change caused by global warming is one of the greatest threats to our world. Burning hydrocarbons is the largest source of harmful man-made emissions that cause global warming.
In Ancient Greek mythology, King Peleus gifted his son Achilles a magical lance, a spear which inflicted wounds that wouldn’t heal. The Pelian lance’s magic could also heal mortal wounds that it itself had dealt. Achilles is also famed for the vulnerability of his heel, which led to his downfall despite his great overall strength.
In this talk, John explores if there is a way to integrate hydrocarbons as a modern Lance of Peleus to create an alternative sustainable energy system. Or is the dominance of hydrocarbons an Achilles Heel which prevents sustainability being achieved?
Register for this free event here
John MacArthur is Vice President CO2 Policy for Shell International, accountable for developing and steering policy to ensure Shell is competitive in a world that needs more energy but less CO2. His early career was in drilling and production engineering in the UK, The Netherlands, and Malaysia. He then returned to The Netherlands in a corporate strategy role, before becoming executive aide to Mr. Malcolm Brinded CBE, Executive Director of Shell Upstream International running all of Shell’s exploration and production businesses. Thereafter, John moved to the United Arab Emirates as strategy manager for the Middle East and Caspian region at a time of rapid growth. He then led Shell’s joint venture operations in Egypt before his current global role.
John represents Shell on the Board of the UK Energy Technologies Institute – an industry-government initiative that brings together projects to create affordable, reliable, clean energy for heat, power and transport. He is also the Shell member of the Energy Research Partnership, a high-level forum bringing together key stakeholders and funders of energy research, development, demonstration and deployment in Government, industry and academia to promote a coherent approach to address UK energy challenges. John hosts the Shell Springboard Awards, an annual competition that provides no strings financial awards to assist small businesses in the commercialisation of low carbon products.
John holds an MEng Petroleum Engineering from Imperial College, London. He received the Outstanding Scholar award when studying for his Masters in Sustainability Leadership at University of Cambridge. He is a Chartered Petroleum Engineer, a Fellow of the UK’s Energy Institute, and a Member of the Institute of Directors.
In association with principal partner KPMG.