_{In this short piece, we will briefly look at 3 areas related to space and its exploration that may prove to be important branch points in our efforts to understand and harness space for the future of energy.}

The aim of this inquiry-form piece is to highlight the 4 areas peaking my personal interest that I will therefore be looking out for, explicitly stated, inferred or otherwise as to the potential policy directions in store. This is therefore not exhaustive given the somewhat anecdotal nature of questions. However, I believe it forms a basis around which many elements will relate to or spawn from and are in turn the foundations of what makes the overall universe surrounding the discussion complex and in need of genuine and sincere multilateral engagement.

_{Flight has always been one of those phenomena that enamors the human imagination. We can see this exemplified in mythologies across global cultures that frequently associate flight with an aura of grandeur and even divinity. A modern-day extension of this even relates to concepts like TV & film superheroes where being able to seamlessly fly captures the essence of their powers. It is therefore no surprise that despite humans’ anatomical inability to fly, once the industrial revolution ushered in new energy sources and in turn improved manufacturing, mechanical flight became a reality in the early20th century. Technology has since continuously improved to allow more people to experience this feat of human ingenuity – a feat which we may today take for granted but is no doubt a bookmark in the story of mankind.}

_{Within the avalanche of discussion surrounding sustainability, one of the most prevalent cornerstones of this discourse is the concept of carbon emissions. Of particular scrutiny is the carbon emissions that result from human activity. This activity has underpinned the way society has functioned since the industrial revolution and the technological strides that came with it. These leaps are namely in the key economic and prosperity enablers of electricity , transport, heating, agriculture and industrial manufacturing.}

_{The Financial Times recently conducted their 2020 Energy Transition Strategies Summit on the 1st and 2nd of December. The agenda was made up of various players providing their experience and insight on the energy transition discussion and what forces are shaping where energy will go in light of significant push to cut global carbon emissions having experienced the global shock of the corona virus. These players are summarized in the table below to emphasize the scope of expertise and perspectives.}

_{The romantic flirt and dance with the idea of self-driving cars has been a long standing and deep-seated human mobility desire. One of the ways in which we have seen this expressed is the art of film. This art provides a conceptual visual platform and peak into how society views the potential progression of vehicles driving themselves and even communicating with us such as in the 1982-86 action series Knight Rider. The perspective of film helps give a societal temperature check in terms of elements like technological expectations of the future all the way to societal fears (e.g. war, disease or terror) prevailing at the time. For example, we can see in Steven Spielberg’s 2002 movie Minority Report, a futurist view of what 2054 could look like and what that would entail for vehicles at this time.}

_{For many people, the concept of blockchain careened into realization due to the prominence of the Bitcoin cryptocurrency. The astronomical price surge of Bitcoin in the second half of 2017 seen via a peak unit Bitcoin price in the region of $20 000 coerced public attention. This ranged from long time cryptocurrency advocates, to would-be investors experiencing Fear of Missing Out (FOMO) and to general on-lookers attempting (and potentially still currently trying) to understand how Bitcoin exactly works. What has however been of increasing realization is the revolutionary foundations that Bitcoin is based on i.e. Blockchain. The goal of the article is to describe how Blockchain fundamentally works and combine that with how its functionality is being and could be further applied in reshaping energy and its future.}

_{The concept of cognitive bias and framing illusions has been the subject of psychological interest for many years.  Some modern work delving into this area includes research by 2002 Nobel Prize winner in Economic Science, Daniel Kahneman and his late close research partner and friend, Amos Tversky. This work centered on integrating psychological research into economics en-route to coming up with insights into what is commonly referred to as behavioral economics.}

_{The concept of using solar energy is no longer novel to most people. Before the recent explosive growth, we have seen it come through in various innocuous forms before such as calculators with the mini solar panel popularized by electronics companies Casio and Sharp in the 80s and 90s. Today however, it is seen as a much bigger energy solution and many future energy scenarios that aim for emissions reduction and weaning off from fossil fuels require solar to be a pivotal part of this mix. In this crammed read, the discussion mainly surrounds what has gotten solar to be this key and what challenges have still to be overcome to create a true transition in primary energy consumption}

_{The term energy transition has become an integral part of both energy and policy discussion lexicon. What proves fascinating is how we have become accustomed to hearing this term while potentially disassociating it with the intended meaning of the context it is used. While this could easily be considered semantics, it is still essential to differentiate what is being referred to as this helps gauge the context of the discussion one encounters in business, investment decision-making and even social settings.}

_{After going through Part 1 of this article series referring to the absolute quantities of primary energy consumption, we now look at the alternative perspective based on the mix of energy. This can begin with observing how the mix of energy is and has been constituted. This means looking at how energy consumption by primary fuel type has changed in terms of contribution to the overall quantity of energy consumed.}

_{Africa’s OPEC member countries are facing sternly challenging times with the 45% drop in oil prices in March 2020 due to the double blow of extremely suppressed demand from the COVID-19 crisis coupled up with the supply side impact of a potential glut as Saudi Arabia and Russia jostle in disagreement on production output policy in the so-called OPEC-Plus arrangement. The over-reliance on oil and gas export revenues for these African countries particularly the larger ones reveals how such high exposure in the modern globalized and interconnected economies era of the world presents a high degree of vulnerability in crisis times.}

_{The term "Electric Vehicle" (usually abbreviated EV), has become somewhat of an automotive technology buzzword. The global drive for greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions reduction has been and continues to be a significant proponent in the development of partly or fully electric vehicles. According to the International Energy Agency (IEA), such vehicles have grown from almost nothing in 2010 to a global stock of about 3 million currently. The last 5 years alone have witnessed a 500% growth rate in vehicle count. Large vehicle corporations are constantly informing the public of their strides in this arena as well as delivering vehicle models to satisfy demand towards electromobility.}

_{When it comes to oil prices, much like any commodity price, the future is always uncertain and anyone who says they know what the future holds should be met with skepticism. Variables such as market traded prices are not extrapolations of the past.}

_{However, it is a useful exercise to observe the current relative position of oil prices and delve into the factors contributing to it. We have seen oil prices hit approx. $75 per barrel in the last few weeks representing the highest prices since 2014. If you’re here in South Africa, the pinch is tingling right in your bank account and pocket at this very moment given that our regulated fuel prices are based on international product prices which are in turn linked to crude prices. This is even before we factor in the Rand/Dollar exchange rate impact on these quoted prices which also plays a significant part in the volatility of local fuel prices.}