Shell launched the New Lens Scenarios in India on Friday, 12th April at an event organised by FICCI (Federation of India Chambers of Commerce and Industry) in New Delhi. Mr. Arun Maira, Member, Planning Commission was the Chief Guest at the event. The event comprised of a panel session which included Mr. Jeremy Bentham, Head of the Scenarios team, Shell International, Mr. Suman Bery, Cheif Economist, Shell International, Dr. A. Didar Singh, Secretary General, FICCI, Mr. Sidharth Birla, Sr. Vice President FICCI and Dr. Arunabha Ghosh, Chief Executive, Council on Environment Energy and Water.
The scenarios explore two possible ways the 21st century could unfold, with dramatically different implications for society and the world’s energy system. One scenario sees cleaner-burning natural gas becoming the most important energy source globally by the 2030s and early action to limit carbon dioxide emissions. The other sees solar becoming the top source by about 2070, but with slower action to address the threat of climate change.
“The New Lens Scenarios have been prepared at a time of profound upheaval in global society. As a result, these are possibly the most ambitious scenarios that Shell has attempted in the 40 years that the scenarios have existed.
India is already central to many of the themes of these scenarios: the shift in the world’s economic centre of gravity toward Asian and other emerging markets, the need to fashion a new global order to reflect these changes, the impact of connectivity on governance and the tension between legitimate growth aspirations and planetary boundaries,” said Jeremy Bentham, Vice President, Global Business Environment, Shell International, who presented the scenarios at FICCI.
Shell has a 40-year history of using scenario planning to explore possible future landscapes and aid strategic decision-making. The latest publication continues a tradition of sharing summaries of the scenarios to contribute to the public debate about possible ways to tackle some of society’s long-term challenges. The New Lens Scenarios, which look at trends in the economy, politics and energy as far ahead as 2100, underscore the critical role that government policies could play in shaping the future.