Energy Unplugged by Aurora EP.244 Mallika Ishwaran, Chief Economist, Shell
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May 20, 2025 Mallika Ishwaran, Chief Economist at Shell, delves into the intricate dynamics of energy demand and AI's impact on the future. With a rich background in UK government roles, she discusses Shell’s 2025 Energy Security Scenarios and highlights four key megatrends shaping our energy landscape. Mallika also examines gas's dual role as a transition fuel and backup solution, raising critical questions about infrastructure and usage amid rising electricity demands. Her insights bridge economic trends with essential climate conversations, making for a thought-provoking discussion.
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Scenarios Over Forecasts
- Shell uses scenarios to explore large systemic uncertainties rather than produce a single forecast.
- Scenarios help Shell test long-lived investment resilience and policy engagement.
Four Megatrends Shape Futures
- Shell built the 2025 scenarios around four megatrends: energy security, economy/demographics, climate risk, and technologies including AI.
- These megatrends parameterize all three scenarios but evolve differently across them.
AI Raises Then Moderates Demand
- Advanced digitalisation and AI can both raise near-term electricity demand and later enable system optimisation.
- Shell models a techno‑optimistic pathway where AI first boosts demand and later moderates it via efficiency gains.