The Stanford Energy  Seminar has been a mainstay of energy engagement at Stanford for nearly 20 years and is one of the flagship programs of the Precourt Institute for Energy. We aim to bring a wide variety of perspectives to the Stanford community – academics, entrepreneurs, utilities, non-profits, and more. Join us!

Abstract: The transition to sustainable energy systems presents a fundamental paradox: developing nations are expected to achieve both rapid modernization and environmental sustainability in a fraction of the time that developed nations took to industrialize. This talk examines this temporal disconnect through the lens of coal-powered electricity, comparing the centuries-long industrialization of Western Europe and the United States with the compressed timeline facing Southeast Asian and Indian economies today. This accelerated modernization timeline creates unique challenges for developing economies. The discussion concludes by exploring how renewable energy technologies and enhanced international cooperation could help bridge this temporal gap, offering pathways to reconcile rapid development with environmental sustainability.

Speaker Bio: 

Gita Wirjawan is founding partner of Ikhlas Capital and the chairman of Ancora Group, an Indonesian business group with interests in real estate, natural resources, arts and technology, which he founded in 2007.

His public service has included positions as Indonesia's minister of trade (2011–2014), chairman of its Investment Coordinating Board (2009–2011), and chair of a 159-nation WTO ministerial conference in 2012 that focused on easing global trade barriers. He led his country's national badminton association from 2012 to 2016, when Indonesia won 3 gold medals at the World Championships, four titles at the All England Championships, and one gold medal at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro.

As an investment banker, he has held key appointments at Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan, where he led many mergers, corporate restructuring, corporate financing and strategic sales involving leading companies in Southeast Asia. His various board roles included service as a commissioner of the state-owned oil giant, Pertamina, and an independent board director of Axiata Group Berhad.

Gita hosts the educational podcast "Endgame", focused on the region to promote Southeast Asia's growth and prosperity. He is a visiting scholar with Stanford's Precourt Institute for Energy, researching Southeast Asia's nation-building directionality. Additionally, he is a member of the Angsana Council, a non-profit group dedicated to boosting the region's businesses and economies, and global advisory firm Macro Advisory Partners.

His degrees are from the Harvard Kennedy School (MPA), Baylor University (MBA), and the University of Texas at Austin (BSc)

More about the seminar:

Anyone with an interest in energy is welcome to join one seminar or all of them! You can enjoy seminars in the following ways:

• Attend live. The auditorium may change quarter by quarter, so check each seminar event to confirm the location. Explore the current quarter's schedule.
• Watch live in a browser livestream if available. Check each seminar event for its unique livestream URL.
• Watch recordings of past seminars 
  • Available on the Past Energy Seminars page and the Energy Seminars playlist of the Stanford Energy YouTube channel
• (For students) Take the seminar as a 1-unit class (CEE 301/ENERGY 301/MS&E 494)

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