2026: Macroeconomics for the Energy Transitions of the 21st Century

July 21st, 2026 • Chicago, IL

WILLIAM BLAIR ENERGY AND POWER LUNCH

In partnership with the Energy Institute University of Texas at Austin and the Transition Macroeconomics Consortium

This event examines who benefits from today’s energy order, who bears the cost, and what new economic frameworks are needed and available to navigate the energy and AI transitions ahead.

New energy systems rarely replace old ones—they stack on top of them, driving continued growth in energy use and emissions. Despite the rapid increase in renewable electricity and numerous economic studies indicating that decarbonization has very low cost to the economy, the low-carbon transition isn’t happening. AI exacerbates this reality: the constraint is no longer only chips or software, but power. Commitments to power data centers with 100% low-carbon electricity are postponed, revealing the digital economy is still deeply physical. Further, recent geopolitical events have fragmented global markets, adding more energy constraints. 

Given these observations, and with almost all countries currently signed onto the UN Paris Agreement, why aren’t economies decarbonizing?  

A critical part of the answer to this question involves a critical blind spot in the global climate response: the need for more fit-for-purpose macroeconomic models to better explain and navigate the dynamic impacts from a low-carbon energy transition. To understand these dynamics, macroeconomic models must better link materials, energy use, and efficiency constraints in the context of technological change and GDP to assess the long-term consequences of decarbonization. Data center expansion exhibits an example of the same dynamics and constraints — as it commands increasing shares of economic resources it increases prices along constrained supply chains (e.g., construction, natural gas turbines) and electricity generation becomes the bottleneck for AI development. 

Registration link … COMING SOON

Location:

William Blair Building, 150 N Riverside Plaza, Chicago, IL 60606 

Schedule (July 21st, 2026):

  • 8:30 AM – 9:00 AM      Registration and Breakfast
  • 9:00 AM – 12:30 PM   Presentations
  • 12:30 PM – 1:30 PM   Networking Lunch

Presenters:

  • Jed Dorsheimer, Group Head, Energy and Power Technologies, William Blair
  • Dr. Carey W. King, Research Scientist, Energy Institute, University of Texas at Austin
  • Dr. Paul Gruenwald, Chief Global Economist, S&P Global
  • David Monsma, Cynthia and George Mitchell Foundation

Hosted by:

Jed Dorsheimer, Group Head, Energy and Power Technologies, William Blair