Conference for Academic Researchers in the Energy Sector (CARES) CALL FOR PAPERS
Theme: Futures in Energy
The transformation of global energy systems is driven not only by climate pressures and technological change but shaped by contested histories, power asymmetries, and political struggles. Despite decades of climate action, global carbon emissions continue to rise, underscoring the gap between ambition and reality. The Just Energy Transition (JET) offers a critical framework, one that centres equity, historical responsibility, and systemic inclusion in confronting this complex and uneven shift.
The African Energy Leadership Centre (AELC) at Wits Business School, supported by Absa and the Upstream Training Trust (UTT), is hosting a Conference for Academic Researchers in the Energy Sector (CARES) 2025 on Wednesday, 26 November 2025, to provide a platform for scholars, early-career researchers, and postgraduate students to explore the intersections of technology, policy, socioeconomics, and the environment within the context of the JET. The conference seeks to foster knowledge exchange, promote interdisciplinary collaboration, and highlight the role of scholarship in shaping South Africa’s energy future.
Key Conference Themes
• Technological Innovation and Energy Systems: Clean and synthetic fuels, modelling, and integration studies, with focus on the gap between innovation potential and techno-optimism, especially as limited public finance in the Global South has stalled projects such as green hydrogen.
• Shifting geopolitical energy contexts and emerging opportunities for growth and investment
• Socio-Economic Dimensions: Employment, community resilience, skills, and diversification.
• Environmental Sustainability: Emissions Trends and Transition Realities, Life cycle analysis and decarbonisation pathways.
• Energy Governance and Policy: Regulation, institutional alignment, and public–private partnerships.
Target Audience
• Academic researchers and postgraduate students in energy-related fields.
Important Dates
| Deadline Type | Date | Notes |
| Abstract Submission | Sunday, 5 October 2025 | |
| Full Paper Submission | Friday, 31 October 2025 | Must follow the conference template provided |
| Conference Date | Wednesday, 26 November 2025 |
Submission Information
| Requirement | Details |
| File format | All submissions must be in PDF format |
| File naming convention | Abstracts: YOURNAME_CARES2025_ABSTRACT Full Papers (Oral): YOURNAME_CARES2025_PAPER_ORAL Full Papers (Poster): YOURNAME_CARES2025_PAPER_POSTER |
| Submission emails | To: Dr Goitsione Olifant: goitsione.olifant@wits.ac.za cc: Dr Thabakgolo Letsau: thabakgolo.letsau@wits.ac.za |
Presentation Formats
• Poster presentation
• 10–15-minute oral presentation
Venue
Wits Business School, 2 St Davids Place &, St Andrew Rd, Parktown, Johannesburg, 2193, Gauteng, South Africa.
Dr. Goitsione Olifant (Goitsione.olifant@wits.ac.za)
