Credit where it is due
This talk was produced and published by Summit. MEER links to the official recording rather than reposting it.
Conference Talks archive
ConferenceSummit
Illusions about the energy transition and our future
Nate Hagens on energy, the economy and what a realistic transition actually demands.
Nate Hagens · Director
Institute for the Study of Energy and Our Future
Date
Information coming soon
Type
Conference presentation
- Energy Transition
- Ecological Overshoot
- Resource Limits
- Economics
- Global Heating
- Climate Solutions
MEER conference talks · video archive
The argument
About this talk
Published by Summit. Nate Hagens examines the assumptions behind mainstream energy transition narratives, arguing that the scale, materials and energy density of fossil fuels are routinely underestimated.
He sets out how energy, debt and growth are linked, and what a realistic response to ecological overshoot might look like.
This recording is published by Summit on its official YouTube channel. Credit and all rights belong to Summit and the speaker; MEER links to it for reference only.
Indexed knowledge
Key topics covered
The signal
Key takeaways
Energy is the economy
Growth and debt rest on cheap, dense energy that is hard to replace like for like.
Transition is not substitution
Renewables change the supply mix but do not remove material and demand constraints.
Why MEER includes it
Emissions cuts take decades to cool the planet, which is why direct cooling matters alongside them.
Questions worth asking
Frequently asked questions
About the speaker
Nate Hagens
Director · Institute for the Study of Energy and Our Future
Nate Hagens is a former Wall Street analyst turned systems thinker who teaches on human futures, energy and the economy. He directs the Institute for the Study of Energy and Our Future and hosts The Great Simplification, exploring how energy underpins economic and ecological systems.
About the conference
Summit
This talk was recorded and published by Summit on its official YouTube channel. Credit and all rights belong to Summit and the speaker.
Downloads and further reading
