BEGIN:VCALENDAR VERSION:2.0 PRODID:-//Talks.cam//talks.cam.ac.uk// X-WR-CALNAME:Talks.cam BEGIN:VEVENT SUMMARY:Bigger Picture Talk with Dr Saied Dardour - Dr. Saied Dardour\, en ergy economist\, International Atomic Energy Agency DTSTART:20230315T160000Z DTEND:20230315T170000Z UID:TALK197920@talks.cam.ac.uk CONTACT:Mariella Kundert DESCRIPTION:Our departmental seminar series\, Bigger Picture Talks\, runs throughout the academic year\, inviting thought-leaders from across the wo rld driving significant advances in our impact areas of energy\, health an d sustainability to share and discuss their work with us.\nFor this Big ger Picture Talk we are joined by Dr Saied Dardour\, energy economist at t he International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).\n\n*Abstract*\nAccording to the United Nations\, more than 70 countries have set a ‘net zero’ t arget\, covering more than 75% of global emissions. For all these countrie s\, the transition to a low-carbon economy is a major challenge that requi res nothing less than a complete transformation of the energy sector\, whi ch is responsible for about three-quarters of greenhouse gas emissions. Th is transformation involves replacing polluting coal\, oil and gas-fired el ectricity-generating plants with low-carbon alternatives such as wind\, so lar and nuclear power. It also entails transitioning high-emitting and har d-to-abate sectors to ‘net zero’\, decarbonising energy-intensive indu stries such as steel\, cement\, petrochemicals and fertilisers — they re present about a fifth of global CO2 emissions — through increased electr ification and use of hydrogen and other energy carriers (ammonia and synth etic liquid fuels\, for instance).\nTo meet the ‘net zero’ target\, el ectricity networks are expected to evolve towards a system with high share s of variable renewables\, extensive use of storage and flexibility means (thermal storage systems\, batteries\, Power-to-X-to-Power\, Demand-Side M anagement\, and others)\, and increasingly strong coupling between the var ious components of an energy system. These developments pose new challenge s to policymakers\, who need to consider the multiple implications of thei r choices\, not only on energy systems and their ability to deliver electr icity reliably and cost-effectively but also the associated social-economi c and environmental impacts.\nThis interactive lecture is designed to prov ide insights into what it takes to decarbonise electricity grids while int roducing the audience to approaches and conceptual frameworks informing de cision-making in the power sector such as\, energy systems modelling\, lif e-cycle assessment (LCA) and multi-criteria decision analysis (MCDA). Duri ng this event\, participants§ will be challenged to set a fictitious coun try’s electricity-generating mix (choosing between nuclear\, coal\, gas\ , solar\, wind\, and batteries) and visualise the impacts of their decisio ns on the reliability of electricity supply (frequency of power interrupti ons)\, power generation economics (as captured by the system LCOE metric) \, greenhouse gas emissions\, land occupation\, water consumption and crit ical material use.\n\n§ Up to 20 seats will be available to attendees on a first come first served basis.\n\n*Bio*\nDr Saied Dardour is an energ y economist\, currently working for the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA)\, with extensive experience in energy systems and their economics. Before joining the IAEA\, he spent almost a decade in the French Atomic a nd Alternative Energies Commission (CEA) leading and contributing to the d esign and development of innovative concepts of nuclear power reactors.\n\ nRegister to attend: https://bit.ly/3m4RnI9 LOCATION:Department of Chemical Engineering and Biotechnology\, West Cambr idge Site END:VEVENT END:VCALENDAR