Qatar Shell chairman discusses human and sustainable development at CMU-Q Dean’s Lecture Series
Population growth one of the world’s greatest challenges
DOHA, QATAR: Andrew Faulkner, managing director and chairman of Qatar Shell, highlighted the dual global challenges of rising population levels and increasing energy demand at Carnegie Mellon University in Qatar (CMU-Q)’s Dean’s Lecture Series.
“The simple fact of the matter is the world needs more energy, with fewer carbon emissions, to meet the growing demand from rising populations.” While there is a strong demand for renewable sources of energy, these sources currently supply only around 20 percent of global energy requirements.
As the world’s demand for energy is expected to double by the end of the century, Faulkner noted that energy from renewable sources will increasingly become a larger percentage of the supply, but that there are aspects of demand, for instance heavy industry, that are likely to still be met by hydrocarbons. So hydrocarbons will continue to play a role in the energy mix . “A large portion of Shell’s business will therefore remain with traditional hydrocarbons, but we are committing to reducing our net carbon footprint of our energy products by 50% by 2050.” As the cleanest-burning fossil fuel, natural gas will play a key role.
Faulkner also talked about the United Nations sustainability goals: “There’s a large proportion of the world today that doesn’t have access to energy.”Faulkner referred to Ban Ki Moon, the former UN Secretary General, who described energy as the golden thread that connects economic growth, social equity and environmental sustainability. Faulkner highlighted the CEO of Shell’s commitment to help provide access to power to 100 million of those who do not have it by 2030, noting that energy transforms lives and brings new opportunities.
Michael Trick, dean of CMU-Q, commented that human and sustainable development will affect all CMU-Q students: “The issues of sustainability, climate change and human development are critical for all CMU-Q students to understand, regardless of their fields of study. We encourage our students to think about the far-reaching impact of their work, and make decisions that will have a positive change in the world.”
During his lecture, Faulkner also highlighted how Qatar is investing heavily in sustainable development and renewable energy. The Ministry of Municipality and Environment has established a department for climate change, as well as planning for electric vehicle manufacturing and large-scale solar panel plants. Qatar has also committed to delivering the first carbon-neutral World Cup in 2022.
Carnegie Mellon Qatar offers undergraduate programs in biological sciences, business administration, computational biology, computer science, and information systems.