We are living in the Human Age and climate change presents an existential threat to humanity. For the commodities sector, it is the key driver of opportunities and challenge, from selecting strategies to pricing future risks. Growing awareness of the impacts is profoundly affecting society and companies alike. But what is climate change and to what future climate are we headed? Is humanity capable of addressing it whether through mitigation and adaptation? And how can the best intentions of energy-transition be disruptive as they change the societies within which they are placed? In this episode, we are delighted to welcome Dominic Boyer, Professor of Cultural Anthropology, whose focus is on climate change and societal responses. Dominic is also the author of Energopolitics and co-host of the Cultures of Energy.To find out more about HC and our talent advisory services in the energy & commodities sector visit www.hcgroup.global/hc-insiderTo connect with our host Paul Chapman, you can find him at www.linkedin.com/in/paulchapmanhc/

The Commodity Futures Trading Commission regulates commodities futures markets and enforces the Commodity Exchange Act in the US. As such, it sets the tone for much of the global regulation governing the sector. In such a global, dynamic and evolving market, the CFTC has its work cut out. It also has teeth, exacting significant fines on transgressors through its enforcement arm. What is the CFTC? How is it constructed and managed? How can it provide stable and forward looking regulation in such a volatility and changing sector? What are the challenges it faces triggered by energy transition and digitization (and digital assets)? We are delighted to have Commissioner Summer Mersinger join us to discuss all these points and more.  To find out more about HC and our talent advisory services in the energy & commodities sector visit www.hcgroup.global/hc-insiderTo connect with our host Paul Chapman, you can find him at www.linkedin.com/in/paulchapmanhc/

The commodities sector has never been under more financing pressure. Yet, many traditional financiers have scaled back their capabilities or exited the space altogether. To fill this void, alternative financing has emerged from a range of sources including hedge funds, trade-finance funds, and other asset managers – bringing with it a new set of costs and challenges. In this panel recording, we take on the rise of alternative financing in the commodities sectors and its consequences with some of the leading protagonists.  The panel was recorded at the Reuters Events Commodity Trading USA event. The panelists were Lewis Hart, head of Commodities and Corporate Banking at BBH, Prashant Mupparapu, head of investments in energy and infrastructure at Citadel and Ethan Shoemaker, Investment Partner and head of infra credit at Orion Infrastructure Capital.To find out more about HC and our talent advisory services in the energy & commodities sector visit www.hcgroup.global/hc-insiderTo connect with our host Paul Chapman, you can find him at www.linkedin.com/in/paulchapmanhc/

Energy transition will be revolutionary. Fundamental to that statement is recognition that solar and batteries are technologies, not fuels. Their technological journeys have just begun - as have their consequences for societies, economics and for individuals. This is the biggest opportunity since the development of the combustion engine for the energy & commodities sector. But who will lead this next chapter in the global energy industry? Who is currently investing in what and what will the future look like? Our guest Bill Nussey, entrepreneur, tech CEO and host of the Freeing Energy Podcast.  Bill is the author of Freeing Energy – How Solar and Batteries are disrupting the global energy industry from the outside in. To find out more about HC and our talent advisory services in the energy & commodities sector visit www.hcgroup.global/hc-insider To connect with our host Paul Chapman, you can find him at www.linkedin.com/in/paulchapmanhc/

This episode continues our focus on the looming energy crisis in Europe; its causes, path and potential solutions. The episode is a recording of a Reuters Events webinar from late July 2022, where host Paul Chapman moderated a discussion between Gerard Reid, co-founder of Alexa Capital and host of the Redefining Energy Podcast and George Voloshin, previously head of the Paris branch of Aperio Intelligence and now at ACAMS. The panel discuss the structural and temporal backdrop to Europe’s unprecedented energy prices and what the likely political and societal responses could be. To find out more about HC and our talent advisory services in the energy & commodities sector visit www.hcgroup.global/hc-insider To connect with our host Paul Chapman, you can find him at www.linkedin.com/in/paulchapmanhc/

At root, the rise in global food prices is tied to energy. The rise in energy prices is fundamentally driven by a lack of investment in hydrocarbons. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has tipped rising prices into the genesis of a crisis. The invasion has deepened the divide between energy exporters and importers, with profound and increasing impacts on food supply. What does the future hold and what are the milestones that signal whether the crisis is improving and getting worse? Will the pain of sanctions be too much for Western Democracies? Where is the political will to underpin energy security in the face of energy transition? Our guest is Doomberg, one of the leading content providers on Substack and a leading thinker on commodities, economics and finance. To find out more about HC and our talent advisory services in the energy & commodities sector visit www.hcgroup.global/hc-insider To connect with our host Paul Chapman, you can find him at www.linkedin.com/in/paulchapmanhc/

Fifteen years ago, money was flowing into oil. Prices were high and the stock market rewarded successful exploration above all. A lot has happened since including a price collapse and the advent of shale. Now with prices on the rise again, how will this cycle look different? Is there the appetite to invest in oil exploration and production in a world of energy transition and an uncertain carbon regime? How have producers adapted and what choices do they face? Our guest is Morten Kelstrup, oil industry veteran and Chief Operating Officer for Maersk Drilling. To find out more about HC and our talent advisory services in the energy & commodities sector visit www.hcgroup.global/hc-insider To connect with our host Paul Chapman, you can find him at www.linkedin.com/in/paulchapmanhc/

This week’s episode is a panel discussion on the US carbon markets, and beyond, recorded at the Reuters Event’s USA Commodity Trading 2022 in June. Our panelists take on the state of the compliance and voluntary carbon markets today. How in the absence of a federal carbon market, voluntary markets are leading the charge.  How are voluntary credits generated? What is legal framework and the nascent legislation around them? How are they already transforming industry and technologies? What could the future hold and how can the opportunity across carbon avoidance and mitigation be unlocked? What are the hurdles to that future? The panelists are Deanna Reitman, head of DLA Piper’s commodity platform, Eric Rubenstein, founder and Managing Partner of New Climate Ventures and Lance Titus, Managing Director at Uniper Global Commodities.To find out more about HC and our talent advisory services in the energy & commodities sector visit www.hcgroup.global/hc-insider To connect with our host Paul Chapman, you can find him at www.linkedin.com/in/paulchapmanhc/

Blessed by geography and abundant oil and gas, the UAE is adding targeted legal, tax and infrastructure policies to create a commodity trading hubs in Abu Dhabi and Dubai that rivals Singapore, London and Geneva. Timed with the release of HC Group’s editorial on this subject in our quarterly review (available at www.hcgroup.global) , we dig into the rise of the UAE as a commodities hub. What is the background to the strategy. What specific policies are targeting commodity traders and what could it mean for the sector. How is the UAE tackling the leading edge in commodities of energy transition and digitization. What does it mean for individuals thinking of relocating… Our guest is Bhaskar Dasgupta, an independent board executive and long-time UAE operator.

Do the commodity markets pose a systemic risk to the global financial markets and beyond? A timely look at the risks inherent in the commodity markets and capacity of exchanges, clearing houses, traders, regulators and central banks to manage them. What are the main sources of systemic risk? What would a disruption look like and how could it spread through the broader global financial system? What are potential solutions? Our guest is Craig Pirrong, Professor of the Bauer Business School at the University of Houston and Adjunct Professor at the University of Geneva. To find out more about HC and our talent advisory services in the energy & commodities sector visit www.hcgroup.global/hc-insider To connect with our host Paul Chapman, you can find him at www.linkedin.com/in/paulchapmanhc/