Panel Discussion: 

Solutions & Society

Geoscience - accelerating sustainable transformation through academia, industry professionals and societal engagement

In the wake of the climate emergency and a renewed focus on environmental and social sustainability objectives there’s a need to reassess the geoscience discipline and evaluate our contribution in society (as geoscientists). The poor understanding of the discipline is reflected in declining enrollment numbers in universities around the globe. There is a need to promote the pivotal role that the geosciences play in accelerating sustainable transformation, in order to safeguard the future of the discipline and its vital contribution to the energy transition.

Having arrived at a crucial stage for the discipline, this forum session will focus on how we, as geoscientists, can advance sustainability, and what what we can do as members of professional organizations, businesses and of society at large. 

The discussion will evolve around questions, such as:

• How to attract and retain students and professionals working in the geoscience sector
• How to support seasoned professionals in their personal transition towards dedicating their skills to a net-zero future
• How to better communicate the value proposition of geoscience to society, to raise the profile of geoscientists and to build the necessary trust and acceptance for subsurface projects in the energy transition? 
  
  

Meet the Moderator

Philip Ringrose is a specialist in CO2 storage and reservoir geoscience at the Equinor ResearchCentre, Trondheim, Norway. He is also Adjunct Professor in CO2 Storage at the NorwegianUniversity of Science and Technology (NTNU) and a leader in the Centre for GeophysicalForecasting based at NTNU. He has published widely on reservoir geoscience and flow in rockmedia and has published textbooks on ‘Reservoir Model Design’ and ‘How to Store CO2underground.’ He is Editor in Chief for the journal Petroleum Geoscience.

Back to Programme