Public-Private Understanding Creates a Strong Foundation for a Sustainable Energy Future

The author, a Shell executive, asserts that achieving a sustainable energy future requires integrating sustainable development into business decisions and establishing a collaborative relationship between governments and industry. Shell utilizes 'scenarios' to navigate energy uncertainty and advocates for the 'Blueprints' model, which emphasizes anticipation of environmental issues. The paper highlights carbon capture and storage (CCS) as a critical technology for large emitters, noting that public policy and financial support, such as carbon pricing, are essential for its commercial viability. Using examples from Wyoming and Brazil, the author demonstrates how industry can manage environmental risks and community concerns. Finally, the document emphasizes that governments must appreciate the immense costs, long lead times, and technical challenges of energy production—exemplified by the Perdido project—to set workable regulations.

• Shell employs two primary energy scenarios to 2050: 'Scramble', characterized by energy security fears and late environmental reactions, and 'Blueprints', which involves better anticipation of supply security and environmental issues. Shell explicitly prefers the 'Blueprints' model as a more sustainable societal model.
• Sustainable development is integrated into Shell's business decisions at the earliest possible stage to reduce financial and operating risks, improve efficiency, and create new business opportunities.
• Carbon capture and storage (CCS) is identified as the most appropriate technology for large stationary emitters, such as industrial installations and power stations. However, because these projects do not generate revenue, they require carbon pricing and public financial support to become viable.
• Shell is implementing several global CCS projects, including the Gorgon LNG project in Australia, which aims to be the world's largest by capturing and storing nearly 4 million tons of CO2 annually, and the Quest project in Canada, targeting over a million tons of CO2 from the Scotford Upgrader.
• The author argues that governments should adopt market-based policies and collaborate with the private sector to ensure the fastest and lowest-cost solutions are implemented first, rather than selectively supporting specific technologies.
• The oil and gas industry in the United States is a major economic driver, supporting 9.2 million jobs and contributing over $1 trillion to the economy, representing 7.5 percent of national wealth.

APA

Cheney, E. (2010). Public-Private Understanding Creates a Strong Foundation for a Sustainable Energy Future. World Resources Institute. https://files.wri.org/d8/s3fs-public/2023-02/wrr-2010-11-question-8-response-2.pdf

Chicago

Cheney, Elizabeth. Public-Private Understanding Creates a Strong Foundation for a Sustainable Energy Future. World Resources Institute, 2010. https://files.wri.org/d8/s3fs-public/2023-02/wrr-2010-11-question-8-response-2.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Cheney |first1=Elizabeth |title=Public-Private Understanding Creates a Strong Foundation for a Sustainable Energy Future |publisher=World Resources Institute |date=2010 |url=https://files.wri.org/d8/s3fs-public/2023-02/wrr-2010-11-question-8-response-2.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{cheney2010publicprivate, author = {Cheney, Elizabeth}, title = {{Public-Private Understanding Creates a Strong Foundation for a Sustainable Energy Future}}, institution = {World Resources Institute}, year = {2010}, url = {https://files.wri.org/d8/s3fs-public/2023-02/wrr-2010-11-question-8-response-2.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }