Atul Arya

IHS Markit

Senior Vice President & Chief Energy Strategist

Dr. Atul Arya, Senior Vice President and Chief Energy Strategist, IHS Markit is responsible for integrating energy content, analysis, and insights across the entire energy value chain and for c-suite client engagements. The Energy division has an international presence, with over 500 colleagues and office locations on five continents. Legacy product brands including CERA, Herold, Purvin & Gertz, McCloskey, and EER are now part of the Energy business. Dr. Arya’s areas of expertise include business strategy, commercial analysis, oil markets, energy technologies, climate change, and renewables. He has over 30 years of leadership experience in the energy industry, including senior posts with BP. Dr. Arya’s experience includes leadership in solar energy development as well as oil and gas sector. His international career spans a range of energy fields from strategy development and business planning to field operations and technology commercialization. Dr. Arya has previously led Energy Insight, Research and Analysis, and Energy Research teams at IHS. He has previously served on boards of several companies and institutions including Tata BP Solar, Green Mountain Energy, and National Council for Atmospheric Research. Dr. Arya was a member of the World Economic Forum’s Agenda Council on the Future of Oil and Gas and Adjunct Senior Fellow at Council on Foreign Relations in the United States. He is a regular speaker and moderator at public conferences, company boards, and at CERAWeek. Dr. Arya holds a doctorate in engineering from the University of Texas at Austin.

Sessions With Atul Arya

Wednesday, 20 October

  • 02:30pm - 02:40pm (IST) / 20/oct/2021 09:00 am - 20/oct/2021 09:10 am

    Welcome & Introductory Remarks
    Live Stream
  • 06:15pm - 06:45pm (IST) / 20/oct/2021 12:45 pm - 20/oct/2021 01:15 pm

    More Energy, Lower Emissions
    Live Stream

    Although, India is the third largest consumer of energy in the world and the fourth largest emitter, its energy requirements in the coming years are bound to grow as per capita energy consumption is still far below the global average. Thus the dual challenge: how to fuel economic growth and bring people out of poverty with reliable, affordable, and secure energy, while reducing GHG emissions? While India is making good progress on renewable deployment, progress in other sectors is slow. What are some specific actions that can be taken to reduce emissions? What can Indian companies learn from IOCs and NOCs? What role do financial institutions have in accelerating the energy transition? Achieving any significant reduction in future emissions will not be feasible without addressing CO2 emissions from coal. How can India reduce emissions from coal?

Thursday, 21 October

  • 03:10pm - 03:40pm (IST) / 21/oct/2021 09:40 am - 21/oct/2021 10:10 am

    From Oil & Gas Companies to Energy Companies
    Live Stream

    With increasing focus on net-zero targets, including scope 3 emissions, many oil and gas companies are revaluating their portfolio mix. At the same time, returns on cleantech investments have been much higher than oil and gas. And ESG goals are driving investors away from oil and gas investments. Many large IOCs are accelerating low-carbon investments while significantly reducing oil and gas exploration and investments in new projects. Prior attempts to restructure the portfolio have been largely unsuccessful. What is different this time? What would be the ideal portfolio mix for an energy company? With the recent run-up in oil and gas prices, is it a good strategy to reduce oil/gas investments? What skills will oil and gas companies need to transform themselves into energy companies? What role will financial institutions have in accelerating this transition?

  • 03:50pm - 04:20pm (IST) / 21/oct/2021 10:20 am - 21/oct/2021 10:50 am

    Energy Transition in the Era of Climate Change
    Live Stream

    Historically, energy transitions have taken decades. It took ~40 years for coal, oil, and gas to reach 15-20% share of the world’s primary energy consumption. Prior transitions were driven by fuels with higher functionality and lower cost and were technologically and economically driven. The current transition is being driven by a plethora of local, national, and regional policies and regulations which are not well coordinated. Are the recent disruptions in energy supplies around the world an indicator of how this transition will progress? How can policy makers and companies collaborate better to make this transition more orderly? Consumers around the world are generally not willing to pay higher costs to reduce emissions. How will this transition be financed? What is necessary to make this a “just transition” for communities most impacted? Where are the large-scale opportunities for emerging and developing economies to leapfrog to the future energy system?

  • 04:50pm - 05:20pm (IST) / 21/oct/2021 11:20 am - 21/oct/2021 11:50 am

    What's Happening in the Energy Markets?
    Live Stream
  • 08:00pm - 09:30pm (IST) / 21/oct/2021 02:30 pm - 21/oct/2021 04:00 pm

    Dinner & Dialogue: The Glasgow climate summit
    Meal (with programming)

Friday, 22 October

  • 12:10pm - 12:40pm (IST) / 22/oct/2021 06:40 am - 22/oct/2021 07:10 am

    Reducing Emissions from Hydrocarbons
    Live Stream

    Oil and gas companies are taking many actions to reduce their greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, in particular scope 1 (from use of hydrocarbons in their operations) and scope 2 emissions (indirect emissions from the generation of purchased energy). Some companies are also setting targets to reduce scope 3 emissions (emissions caused by suppliers and those associated with the transport and use of hydrocarbon products). There are many options to reduce scope 1/2 emissions, such as energy efficiency and replacing oil/gas with lower carbon alternatives. Companies are also investing in options such as CCS, direct air capture, and nature-based solutions to capture and sequester emitted GHG and reduce scope 3 emissions. What are the critical technologies to accelerate reduction in emissions? How much can methane emissions be reduced, and what are the actions industry is taking to achieve this? Although there is much progress to reduce emissions in the power sector, how can industry and governments work together to reduce emissions from industrial sectors including steel, cement, fertilizers, and refining & petrochemicals? Are policy mechanisms such as carbon price and the carbon border adjustment mechanism proposed by the EU necessary to reduce emissions? Is planting trees (or nature-based solutions) a sustainable option to capture emissions?

  • 03:00pm - 03:30pm (IST) / 22/oct/2021 09:30 am - 22/oct/2021 10:00 am

    Creating Resilience to Climate Change: Lessons from the pandemic
    Live Stream

    The August 2021 Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change report stated that “human-induced climate change is already affecting many weather and climate extremes in every region across the globe.” Build Back Better was the common theme as the global economies started to rebuild post pandemic. A study by the UN and Oxford University in March 2021, however, found that just 18% of announced recovery spending had gone toward green investments. What lessons can we take from the pandemic as we build back better? What are some specific opportunities for industry and governments to work together to improve resilience to climate change? What is a sustainable path of growth that will enable India to grow its economy and meet climate goals? How can climate resilience enter as a key variable in the functioning of industries, especially those that have high vulnerability to climate risk? What role will sustainable supply chains play in developing climate resilience?

  • 04:40pm - 05:20pm (IST) / 22/oct/2021 11:10 am - 22/oct/2021 11:50 am

    Reflections on the India Energy Forum
    Live Stream
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