Arthur Rogé is one of the French delegates selected for the youth summit, preamble to the G7. Originally from Haute-Garonne, the analyst-modeler of the International Energy Agency will defend his ideas to address the various crises affecting the world, particularly in favor of the environment and energy transition.
“As a young person, I wanted to become an astrophysicist and uncover the secrets of our universe. And after, I realized that there were more urgent problems to solve on Earth.” At 27 years old, Arthur Rogé now works as an analyst-modeler at the International Energy Agency. And this Monday, May 18, 2026, he will be one of the selected French delegates for the Y7 youth summit, whose objective is to make proposals to the Heads of State who will meet in June in Evian. His goal? To ensure that environmental issues are not forgotten in the context of the multidimensional crisis shaking the world. Interview.
What prompted you to run for this summit? Arthur Rogé: The current state of the world, I would say. I believe that we live in an increasingly complex world and that youth cannot afford the luxury of indifference if we want to build a desirable future. It feels like we are facing a world that is on the brink of collapse with a series of interlocking crises that reinforce each other. This is the concept of the multidimensional crisis.
We are going through a major geopolitical crisis, as you know. We are also in a situation of increased economic tensions, we have the ongoing environmental crisis. By environmental crisis, I mean biodiversity and climate crisis. We also have political crises in many countries. In this context, how can we provide credible solutions and try to steer the ship back on course without forgetting the environmental issues and planetary boundaries?
Today, we talk a lot about defense, national security and unfortunately, we don’t talk much about the environment anymore. But every year, biodiversity continues to decline further and the climate continues to heat up. Unfortunately, this is not a subject that can be easily dismissed. I will try to bring this subject back to the center of international discussions to ensure that we deal with the world in all its complexity.
Based on your professional experience, what solutions can you bring? Arthur Rogé: Through my work, I believe that the solutions lie in international dialogue. If we cannot restore dialogue and come to an agreement together, unfortunately, it will be difficult to deal with this situation. In terms of energy, the dependence on fossil fuels is one of the problems that fuels the multidimensional crisis. These energies are concentrated in a number of countries and are at the heart of geopolitical tensions.
It is clear that in a world dependent on fossil fuels and undergoing a brutal transformation, energy crises spiral, and it is the most vulnerable citizens who pay the highest price. As we rely on oil and gas produced in the Gulf countries, the conflict in the region has triggered an unprecedented energy crisis, which will certainly result in a wave of inflation and an economic crisis. One of the levers would be to reduce our dependence on these fossil energies.
How could we go about it? We will try to push for a Fossil Free Union. A large international coalition of volunteer countries, open to countries in the global South, agreeing on a common carbon budget with emission permits that companies must purchase, modeled on the existing carbon quota exchange system in Europe. The collected carbon revenues are then redistributed fairly within the coalition.
Each year, this budget decreases and the price increases until it reaches a point where it is more economical for companies to reduce their emissions rather than buy these emission permits. The idea is to reduce the demand for fossil energies.
Are you optimistic? Do you think this can really evolve in the right direction? Arthur Rogé: “It’s hard to say if it will evolve in the right direction. If we look at the current trends, I have the impression that it is deteriorating year after year. But that’s also why I’m getting involved. It is clear that the situation today is dizzying, this concept of a multidimensional crisis is dizzying. But I think we should not be afraid to face this complexity and also try to find measures that are clear-sighted and consider the world as it is and not as we would like it to be.
For our environmental action, we try to focus on three main areas. The first is the recognition of essential systems: clean water, access to food, clean air, flourishing ecosystems, a minimum of energy, health, etc. So, trying to protect these essential systems and make them fundamental rights. And also ensuring that public money is redirected towards their protection. Because today, globally, it’s crazy, but there are $2700 billion a year in public subsidies considered harmful to the environment. So in fact, when you do the math, you realize that public money is more used to destroy than to protect. It’s an absolute aberration and we will try to correct that.
Then the second axis is to redirect private capital towards the transition and protection of the environment. And our third axis is to rebuild social cohesion to ensure that environmental issues stop being a divisive subject. Because unfortunately, whether you are on the right, left, or center, we are all facing the same problem and facing the collapse of biodiversity and climate warming.”
Editor’s Note: The youth summit brings together delegates under 30 from each G7 country and the European Union. It is the official forum for exchanges between Heads of State and Government and representatives of future generations from each country. The delegates will work in four groups: the environmental crisis, the economic crisis, the geopolitical crisis, and the technological disruption with a focus on artificial intelligence. Organized by the Open Diplomacy Institute, it takes place in Paris from May 17 to 20, 2026.
