Agenda: Day 1  | Day 2  |

The energy industry is entering a new era of uncertainty. The political turmoil which has gripped the Middle East and North Africa is creating concerns over security of supply and oil prices. The recent accident at the Fukushima nuclear power plant in Japan has challenged our assumptions about the role of nuclear in the future energy mix,and the continuing uncertainty about the economy is forcing governments to reflect on their energy priorities - and in some cases, reconsider their support for renewables.  Meanwhile, energy demand is growing and carbon emissions are increasing. What are the likely implications of these unfolding events for the future of the energy industry?

Fossil fuels provide the great majority of the world's energy, and are generally expected to continue to do so for the foreseeable future. However, there is intense debate over the confidence that consumers can have in sustained supplies of fossil fuels, their future costs, and the environmental consequences of their production and consumption. In the past five years, beliefs about accessible oil and gas resources have been overturned by the boom in shale gas and now tight oil in the US. Some argue that growth in unconventional oil and gas and, and the use of "clean coal" will lessen the need to develop additional nuclear and renewable energy supplies. But just how
plentiful are these new hydrocarbon resources? And how wise is to rely on their availability to fuel our economies for decades into the future?

Without clear policy direction it is impossible for investors to fund the investment in vital energy infrastructure that must be built over the coming decades. Yet recent economic volatility is forcing a rethink of energy policy across the globe. How will policy makers balance the conflicting pressures of maintaining energy security, meeting tough carbon reduction targets, and keeping energy affordable? How are the policies and priorities of government changing in view of recent economic volatility? Are governments becoming less green, with the focus now and value and efficiency as opposed to innovation?

With state finances constrained, and governments rolling back subsidies, private sector finance will be required do play an ever more important role in funding the estimated $38 trillion of investment required over the next 25 years across the oil, gas and power sectors. Yet the financial sector is itself constrained by the sovereign debt crisis, and by financial sector reform measures expected to place limits on the availability and cost of finance. Diversifying and securing new sources of finance, particularly for clean energy investment, will be a key challenge for the energy industry. What do investor and financiers see as the key risks and opportunities on the horizon for the energy industry?