We all use oil in some shape or form: in our cars and trucks, in trains and airplanes, for electricity, to heat our homes, in the form of plastics and other chemical products.

The power dynamics between countries who produce oil and those who consume it has been a source of tension for decades. Recently, the oil price war between Russia and Saudi Arabia and the crash in the price per barrel of oil has shaken the United States and the world. In April, the impacts of Covid-19 led to negative oil prices.

But what does this mean, and how does it affect us?

In this virtual Civic Series event, we’ll explore questions like:

• What power does the U.S. have when it comes to oil?
• Who produces oil? What power do they have geopolitically? And what is “geopolitics”, anyway?
• What is the future of oil, given Covid-19 and climate change?

…and many more.

Join our jargon-free, virtual explainer and Q&A with our guest expert. We go over the essentials and answer your questions about the influence of oil in our world.

Send us your questions before and during the event:

Text or leave a voicemail at (617) 398-0051 so we can play your question during the event!

Our guest expert:

Sergey Paltsev is a Deputy Director of the MIT Joint Program on the Science and Policy of Global Change and a Senior Research Scientist at MIT Energy Initiative and a Director of MIT Energy-at-Scale Center. He is the lead modeler in charge of the MIT Economic Projection and Policy Analysis (EPPA) model of the world economy. Read Dr. Paltsev’s full bio here.

Photo by Zbynek Burival on Unsplash