Jacqueline Chinwe Stephen on the Social Impact of Sustainability
Dr Graham Kelly invites Jacqueline, Global Future Energy Leader and Associate Director of Energy and Natural Resources at Turner & Townsend to The Okana Podcast.
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January 23, 2025
Host Dr Graham Kelly invites Jacqueline Chinwe Stephen to discuss what strategies, or indeed urgent actions, need to be implemented in the UK to address the Energy Trilemma and how can we better facilitate positive, sustainable change across emerging markets.
Jacqueline is a Global Future Energy Leader for the World Energy Council, dedicated to driving change in energy, sustainability and social impact. With a background in Oil and Gas Management and a Master’s in Offshore and Ocean Technology with Subsea Engineering from Cranfield University, Jacqueline is currently Associate Director of Energy and Natural Resources at Turner & Townsend.
When and how did you become a Global Future Energy Leader for the World Energy Council?
The World Energy Council is a United Nations Affiliated Energy Body, it is a not for profit organisation and seeks out individuals globally to be senior executives, ambassadors and future leaders within the Council.
It is a highly competitive selection process with over 200 applicants annual from around the world. Only 50 are selected, and I had the pleasure of being chosen to join a three year programme in 2024. Designed to have high level, global conversations about how we can make positive social, cultural and environment impact, it is a very rewarding role and aligns with my curiosity in the intersection of not just sustainability, but, energy, climate, technology and social impact.
I’ve always believed that sustainability isn’t just one piece of the puzzle, it’s about how the whole of the energy ecosystem comes together, and it brings that perspective, the holistic perspective to liaise with forward thinkers around the world and drive change towards net zero.
Can we dig into some of those conversation you are having and what are the key messages you are hearing?
In terms of key messages, there is no one size fits all solution across the globe. Different regions come with their different challenges. This encompasses policies, technologies and basic business modeAs for conversations, they are more focused discussions on decarbonisation pathways. We are also talking about the role of digital technologies and energy systems, and what we are doing with AI and innovation. It is important to be inclusive in energy transition, ensuring that no one is left behind.
What’s inspiring is these conversations involve stakeholders from across the globe sharing their different insights. They are most certainly not the type of conversations where everyone is agreeing and holding hands – they offer diverse perspectives.
A conversation I had at African Energy Week – which was based in South Africa – focused on the challenge of expanding energy access, while also embracing sustainability. It looked at financing renewable energy projects and the need to improve infrastructure and upskill local talent. These types of conversations are driving the need for cross country collaboration and creating new decarbonisation pathways.
What are the barriers to collaboration and reaching net zero targets?
I think it’s very simple, we need to reduce the carbon footprint. The reduction of fossil fuels is essential, but not transitioning prematurely before a region is able to do so.
Introducing carbon capture initiatives should be presented. But it’s not a switch on or switch off scenario – decarbonation is on going.
If we look at the energy trilemma and balancing the act of security, affordability and sustainability, sometimes it feels like these three priorities are pulling in different directions. If we look at the huge demand for connectivity to the grid for example, the infrastructure is not yet in place. The infrastructure we have now does not have the capacity for the rising demand for things such as data centres that need huge amounts of power. And this will only get worse as we switch to electricity from fossil fuels.
Sometimes I’m in conversations, and I hear people ask which is better nuclear, or offshore wind, but it’s really about creating the right energy mix – this is vital to any energy market.
However, although we talk about a trilemma, I see it as a huge, positive opportunity to be able to have this high level view. And not only high level, but a realistic view of how we actually get to net zero.
Sometimes there can be a lot of focus on environmental sustainability but we forget that we need to be thinking about how we’re powering things and look at home grown energy. This presents a massive opportunity for investment, particularly renewable energy investments.
So where do we go from here?
Sustainability isn’t just a goal. It’s not a checkbox. Sometimes we speak about it like it’s this thing that we all need to, just, you know, just get out of the way. But it’s our responsibility. It is how we live today and not just what we can do tomorrow. Being sustainably responsible means thinking about what we’re leaving for the next generation.
So getting sustainability right means not simply concentrating on environmental outcomes, but specifically about equity, humanising energy and going from something that’s intangible to tangible. No matter what industry you play a part in, you need to get on board with sustainability transition and focus on moving forward with intention, embracing this opportunity that is in front of us to collaborate and innovate.
Because when we get sustainability right, everyone wins.
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