The 14th edition of KPMG's annual energy and natural resources conclave – ENRich 2023, themed "Growing with Less", brought together stakeholders to share insights and deliberate on energy security, sustainability, digital transformation, green financing, decarbonising and several other relevant issues.

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At the flagship event, a panel discussion was held, titled 'Energy transition and the emergent risks – are we falling behind the curve?' It featured five KPMG partners, from different geographies. They enriched the audience with their diverse perspectives. Moderated by Simon Virley CB, Vice Chair and Head of Energy and Natural Resources, KPMG UK, they spoke about the current status and key factors influencing the energy transition in their own regions and discussed the crucial role of policy in steering the process.

Angela D Gildea, Partner & ENRC Co-Head KPMG Americas & ENRC Leader, US, highlighted the contribution of the Inflation Reduction Act and the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, to clean energy investment in the US. She noted that together, these represent the largest climate and energy policy investment ever and the largest investment towards infrastructure that the US has made, post-World War II.

With respect to India, Apurba Mitra, Partner, ESG, KPMG in India, outlined significant elements of India’s energy transition story, on the backdrop of its complex growth and development landscape. She pointed out that with its unique positioning and imperatives, the country faces a huge strain on its resources and energy demand. But having outlined the challenges, she also acknowledged that in recent times, India’s renewable journey has been quite phenomenal, largely driven by policy incentives and regulatory pressures.

Sharad Somani, ASPAC Infrastructure Leader, KPMG in Singapore shared his perspective on energy transition in Southeast Asia, a region that is heavily dependent on coal and gas. He explained that with the demographic dividend of the region expected to unfold in the next 15 years, energy security and affordability are top priorities for policy makers, even superseding sustainability. So, despite commencing on various green initiatives, the region is awaiting technological breakthroughs and blended finance to make the transition without compromising economic growth.

Nigeria is an important energy producing country and Ayo Luqman Salami, Partner & Head, Energy & Natural Resources, KPMG Nigeria, set the context for the country’s energy transmission roadmap by recalling that the biggest player in the sector today is the government, through the national oil companies.

Salami quoted the president’s commitment that Nigeria would be carbon neutral by 2060 and how in response to it, the government introduced the Climate Change Act two years ago. He also cited the significant policy shift toward achieving carbon neutrality by using gas as a transitional fuel in the current decade.

The final perspective in the discussion came from Trevor Hart, Global Mining Leader, KPMG International. Underlining the challenge of mustering up adequate mineral resources for sustainable energy, within the necessary time frame, he emphasized the importance of increased global collaboration to access them.

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This is a partnered post.