IoES seminar series 2024-25 Focus on the Environment and Sustainability – “Managing the Mid-Transition from Fossil to Clean Energy,” Prof. Emily Grubert, University of Notre Dame

Emily Grubert
Associate Professor of Sustainable Energy Policy in the Keough School of Global Affairs at the University of Notre Dame.

Emily Grubert is a civil engineer and environmental sociologist who studies how we can make better decisions about large infrastructure systems, particularly related to justice-centering decarbonization of the US energy system.

Prof. Emily Grubert from the University of Notre Dame will discuss just energy transitions, and decarbonization, especially as related to energy, water, and infrastructure systems.

Key Discussion Topics

• The industrial transformation needed to phase out fossil fuels
• How to restructure energy systems to deliver services without greenhouse gas emissions
• The “mid-transition” period — where neither old nor new systems fully sustain energy needs
• Challenges in safety, reliability, flexibility and planning
• The role of justice-centered decarbonization in reshaping the U.S. energy system

2:00 — 2:30 pm | Refreshments

2:30 — 3:30 pm | Seminar

3:30 — 4:00 pm | Q&A

For inquiries, contact Claire Griffiths at cgriffiths@ioes.ucla.edu.

REGISTER HERE

Abstract

Responding to climate change requires rapid and deep industrial transformation, particularly related to phasing out fossil fuels and restructuring energy systems to deliver services without greenhouse gas emissions. This transformation presents a critical opportunity not only to decarbonize, but to remake the way we provide energy services with emphasis on justice.

The period of remaking is a multi-decade effort that requires both phasing out the majority of the existing energy system and phasing in a new system — all while continuing to provide energy services effectively, despite the growing challenges of climate change and deep inequality.

The “mid-transition” period during which existing and new systems are each too small to provide all services on their own, but too large to avoid constraining the other, poses special challenges of safety, reliability, flexibility, measurement, and other considerations. A successful transition will require extensive coordination and planning, especially due to the dynamism imposed by both technology and climate changes.