St Andrews hosts major international conference on 'Financing the Future'
St Andrews hosted the fourth international Energy Ethics conference on the theme ‘EE2023: Financing the Future’ on 6-8 June 2023. Organised by the Centre for Energy Ethics (CEE), the conference brought together over 130 experts from 23 different countries, securing St Andrews’s place as a hub for interdisciplinary cross-sectoral energy research.
Led by CEE Director Dr Mette High and CEE Director of Policy Dr Sean Field, the conference featured a series of internationally renowned academic speakers spread across 39 concurrent panel sessions, 3 keynote addresses, a participatory workshop led by CEE Artist-in-Residence Rebecca Sharp, poster prizes, and an extensive events programme with whisky tasting and tours of Eden Campus. EE2023 speakers included Professor Stephanie LeMenager, the Barbara and Carlisle Moore Professor of English and Professor of Environmental Studies at the University of Oregon. She was joined by Professor Andrew Barry, Professor of Human Geography at University College London and co-convenor of the UCL Anthropocene initiative. In addition to academic speakers, EE2023 also featured a keynote address by Gillian Martin, MSP for Aberdeenshire East and Scottish Government Minister for Energy, introduced by Professor Brad MacKay, Dean of the Business School, Deputy Principal, and Vice-Principal (International Strategy and External Relations).
EE2023 comes at a significant time for energy and climate research. Record high temperatures, chaotic weather patterns, and the knock-on effects of the war in Ukraine on energy markets have given new urgency to the dilemma of balancing energy demands with a transitioning to low carbon energy solutions in an equitable and just way.