Scott Tinker

Texas University, UT Austin

Director, Bureau of Economic Geology & State Geologist of Texas, Professor, Allday Endowed Chair of Subsurface Geology

Scott Tinker brings industry, government, academia, and nongovernmental organizations together to address major societal challenges in energy, the environment, and the economy. Dr. Tinker is Director of the Bureau of Economic Geology, the State Geologist of Texas, and a professor holding the Allday Endowed Chair in the Jackson School of Geosciences at The University of Texas at Austin. With Director Harry Lynch, Tinker co-produced the award-winning documentary films Switch and Switch On, which have been screened in over 50 countries. Dr. Tinker founded the nonprofit Switch Energy Alliance, whose educational materials appear from schools to board rooms globally. Tinker is the host of PBS Energy Switch, an energy and climate talk show appearing on over 200 PBS stations nationwide, and Earth Date, featured weekly on over 450 public radio stations in all 50 United States. In his visits to some 60 countries, Scott has given over 1000 keynote and invited lectures. Dr. Tinker presented a TEDx talk on The Dual Challenge: Energy and Environment. Scott serves on public company boards and science councils, Trinity University’s Board of Trustees, and is an angel investor who has helped bring companies from startup to acquisition. His writing has appeared from Forbes to Fortune to Scientific American. Dr. Tinker has served as president of several international professional associations and is an AGI Campbell Medalist, AAPG Halbouty Medalist, GCAGS Boyd Medalist, American Institute of Professional Geologists (AIPG) Parker Medalist, and a Geological Society of America (GSA) Fellow.

Sessions With Scott Tinker

Thursday, 9 March

  • 01:30pm - 02:15pm (CST) / 09/mar/2023 07:30 pm - 09/mar/2023 08:15 pm

    University of Texas | Energy Security and Climate Security: Chicken or Egg
    The EU and China are the only two major geopolitical regions that consume considerably more of both oil and natural gas than they produce. They are also the two regions pushing the hardest to accelerate EVs, solar and wind. Is climate security the primary motivator, or energy security? The answer matters to the rest of the world.

Friday, 10 March

  • 11:45am - 12:25pm (CST) / 10/mar/2023 05:45 pm - 10/mar/2023 06:25 pm

    Reimagining the Energy Future
    Energy Transition/Climate & Sustainability
    The year 2022 will be long remembered as a year when the world—and the energy world—changed in multiple ways. Accelerating net-zero ambitions—amid conflict, disruption in global energy markets and global economic headwinds—have been surprising and unexpected developments in 2022 with the launch of RePower EU plan in Europe and the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) in the United States. At the same time, energy security once again became a priority for governments in the face of an “energy war” in Europe, high prices and shortages. COP27 in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt, did not produce dramatic agreements that some would have expected. Although there was a pledge on “loss and damage,” the structure and funding of the mechanism have yet to be worked out. There was no progress on the mitigation front. In this final conversation, we will synthesize what panelists heard during the week and discuss how to “reimagine the energy future”: Why is the world falling short of reducing emissions? What systemic changes are required to reduce emissions while meeting current and future energy demand? How will the trilemma be solved? Are commercially available technology solutions on the horizon? How do energy cognoscenti at CERAWeek engage with broader public stakeholder groups to create alignment on future net-zero pathways?
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