The 2026 edition of Fide’s Oxford Congress, held at Jesus College, Oxford on September 16 and 17, brought together experts from investment, energy, technology, academia, regulation and business at Jesus College, Oxford, to examine how the energy transition, artificial intelligence, demographic change, climate risk and geopolitical fragmentation are transforming markets and long-term investment decisions.
Organised by Fide within the framework of the GET-2 Think Tank, the Congress brought together professionals from finance, business, academia, policy and other fields to examine the risks and opportunities emerging from energy transformation, technological disruption, infrastructure needs, climate-related challenges and changing global market dynamics. The objective throughout the Congress was to approach sustainability and investment from a practical perspective, considering how capital can contribute to a more resilient, competitive and sustainable economy.
Energy, technology and the new geopolitical landscape
The opening discussions focused on the increasingly close relationship between energy, artificial intelligence and geopolitics.
The session Powering Intelligence: Energy, AI, and the New Geopolitics of Technology examined how the rapid expansion of artificial intelligence is changing energy demand, infrastructure requirements and technological dependencies, as well as the consequences of growing geopolitical fragmentation for digital sovereignty, data centres and energy security.
The debate also considered Europe’s position within this new landscape and the challenge of strengthening technological capabilities while maintaining competitiveness and strategic autonomy.
This was followed by the presentation of the Transition Tracker Report, which assessed the progress made in the global energy transition and the significant differences that remain between technological advances, investment levels and policy implementation. The discussion addressed the question of how much progress has genuinely been achieved since the Paris Agreement and what will be required to move from ambition to delivery.
A further short talk on 2026 Climate Investment examined the role of central banks and financial institutions in understanding and managing climate- and nature-related risks while contributing to an orderly transition.
The technologies and infrastructure behind the energy transition
A second major strand of the Congress examined the physical transformation of the energy system.
The role of nuclear energy was discussed in the context of rising global electricity demand, energy security and decarbonisation. The conversation addressed the potential contribution of nuclear power to a high-capacity, low-carbon electricity system, as well as the role of advanced reactors, financing structures and the long investment horizons associated with nuclear infrastructure.
The Congress then turned to electrification, considering the technologies required to replace fossil-fuel consumption across transport, buildings and industry, together with the additional demands being created by artificial intelligence and data centres.
Another panel focused specifically on financing the energy transition, exploring how infrastructure investment is evolving in an environment shaped by AI-driven electricity demand, greater geopolitical uncertainty and the need for substantial new investment in grids, storage, renewable generation and other enabling infrastructure.
Demographics, AI and a changing model of economic growth
The second part of the programme broadened the discussion beyond energy to examine other structural forces reshaping the global economy.
The session The demographic-energy shift: how ageing societies reshape technology and capital explored the economic consequences of ageing populations and increasing longevity, including their impact on productivity, labour markets, technology adoption, energy demand and capital allocation.
Particular attention was given to the relationship between demographics, economic growth and technological change, as well as the possibility that automation and artificial intelligence may help societies respond to shrinking working-age populations.
The Congress also examined investment opportunities in AI infrastructure, considering the enormous physical requirements behind the artificial intelligence economy: semiconductors, data centres, electricity generation, grids, cooling systems and other infrastructure.
The discussion highlighted that AI is not only a software story. Its expansion is increasingly connected to energy availability, infrastructure capacity and the ability to finance the physical assets required to support continued growth.
Greening the economy and financing sustainable innovation
Two parallel workstreams provided an opportunity to examine the transition from both a regulatory and an investment perspective.
The Greening the Economy workstream addressed the challenges created by the evolving sustainable-finance regulatory framework, including the difficulty of translating regulatory objectives into investable projects and the continuing importance of mobilising private capital alongside public funding.
A second session provided a practical perspective on impact investing in private markets, examining how impact frameworks can be designed, how outcomes can be measured and how investment decisions can distinguish between genuine impact and weaker or less credible claims.
In parallel, the Sustainable Innovation workstream focused on the resources and technologies required to support the transition.
The discussion on metals and mining examined the growing importance of critical materials for electrification, renewable technologies and infrastructure, together with questions surrounding security of supply, geopolitical concentration and the long-term investment implications of increasing demand.
A further session on Energy Transition: Pure economics and capital catalysts considered where the economics of the transition may increasingly stand on their own, including opportunities related to semiconductors, electrification, green buildings, cooling technologies, grids and the rapidly growing energy requirements associated with AI.
Climate risk, financial innovation and strategic resilience
The final part of the Congress focused on the increasingly important relationship between climate risk and financial markets.
The session Managing CO2: markets, innovation and storage solutions examined the evolution of carbon markets, carbon removal and storage solutions and the role that these mechanisms may play in the investment landscape.
The Congress also devoted significant attention to catastrophe bonds and insurance-linked securities (ILS). The discussion explored how these instruments allow capital markets to participate in the transfer of catastrophe risk, while also considering their role in sovereign resilience and the potential expansion of the asset class into areas such as cyber, casualty and data-centre risk.
The session The New Corporate Order: AI, Energy and Strategic Resilience then examined how companies are responding to the convergence of technological transformation, energy requirements and geopolitical uncertainty.
The Congress closed with The Great Rewiring: Energy, AI, Longevity and the reinvention of global capitalism, bringing together many of the themes discussed throughout the programme and examining how energy, technological acceleration, demographic change and geopolitical competition are collectively transforming productivity, economic power and the organisation of the global economy.
A collective effort
Fide would like to thank all of the speakers, moderators, members of the Scientific Committee and professionals who contributed to the preparation and development of Oxford/26, as well as every attendee whose questions, perspectives and participation enriched the discussions.
The value of the Congress lies precisely in this exchange: bringing together professionals with different backgrounds and perspectives to challenge assumptions, compare experiences and develop a more complete understanding of complex economic and investment questions.
Fide also expresses its gratitude to the organisations whose support and collaboration made the Congress possible: Pictet Asset Management, Columbia Threadneedle Investments, Allianz Global Investors, Fermat Capital Management, LLC, Instituto BME, FIAP Internacional and Transparency International España.
Their involvement forms part of the broader collaborative approach underpinning GET-2 and the Oxford Congress.
The work continues
The conclusion of the meetings in Oxford does not mark the end of the project.
During the coming weeks, Fide and the GET-2 Think Tank will work on the Oxford/26 Conclusions Document, which will bring together the principal ideas, reflections and conclusions arising from the discussions and will be published in the coming month.
At the same time, work will begin on the next edition of the Oxford Congress.
The economic, technological and geopolitical environment continues to evolve rapidly. Many of the questions examined this year will require further analysis, while new challenges will undoubtedly emerge.
Oxford/26 therefore represents another stage in an ongoing process of reflection, discussion and collaboration — one that will continue throughout the year and into the preparation of Oxford/27.
Fide thanks everyone who made Oxford/26 possible and looks forward to continuing the work together.
Congress Directors
- Cristina Jiménez — President and Founder, Fide Foundation.
- Juan Ramón Caridad — Head of Fide’s International Strategic Group.
- Marisa Aguilar — Managing Director, Allianz Global Investors in Spain and Portugal.
Scientific Investment Committee
- Alberto Gómez-Reino — Head of Sustainable Investments, BBVA Asset Management.
- Alvaro Carbon — Director of Investor Relations, Fermat Capital Management, LLC.
- Carlos Garay — Responsible for ESG Investments, Sabadell Urquijo Gestión.
- Carlos Moreno — Sales Director Iberia, Columbia Threadneedle Investments.
- Eduardo García Hidalgo — Global Chief Investment Officer, BBVA Asset Management.
- Jaime Martínez — Global Head of Asset Allocation, BBVA Asset Management.
- Jon Recacoechea — Head of ESG Investments, Fineco – La banca privada de Kutxabank.
- Jorge Velasco — Director of Investment Strategy and Sustainability, CaixaBank Private Banking.
- José Cerón — Head of Multi-Asset, Fonditel (Telefónica Group).
Scientific Sustainability Committee
- Ana Rivero Fernández — Operating Partner ESG, Alantra.
- Ángel Pérez — Founder and Managing Director, Transcendent.
- Gonzalo Yebes — Senior Financial Risk Expert, Banco de España.
- Laura Fernandez — SRI Client Solutions, Market Intelligence Manager & IDD, Santander Asset Management, Madrid, Spain.
- María Folqué — Head of Marketing for Spain and Portugal, Allianz Global Investors Spain and Portugal.
- Marta Olavarría — Director of Regulation & Sustainability, CORPORANCE Proxy Advisor.
- Ramón Esteruelas — Senior Investment Specialist – Discretionary Portfolio Management.
- Rebeca Cordero — Sustainability Advisor.
Speakers
- Gonzalo Escribano — Principal Researcher and Director of the Energy and Climate Programme at the Elcano Royal Institute; Professor of Economic Policy in the Department of Applied Economics at UNED.
- Claudio Feijoó — Jean Monnet Chair on Technology Diplomacy and Digital Sovereignty at the Universidad Politécnica de Madrid.
- Katharina Utermöhl — Head of Thematic and Policy Research at Allianz Research.
- Gonzalo Yebes — Senior Financial Risk Expert at Banco de España; member of the Oxford/26 Scientific Committee.
- Francisco Tarín — Nuclear Fuel Consultant and member of the Fide Scientific and Technical Commission.
- Diego Díaz — Global Head of Ventures & Technology at Iberdrola.
- Roxana Tataru — Managing Director, Infrastructure Equity at Allianz Global Investors.
- Duncan Downes — Senior CPM and Engagement Officer at Pictet Asset Management.
- Maria Vassalou — Head of the Pictet Research Institute.
- Natalia Luna — Senior Thematic Investment Analyst, Global Research at Columbia Threadneedle Investments.
- Pablo Alonso — Director in Legal and Regulatory Services to the Financial Sector at KPMG.
- Laura Fernández — SRI Client Solutions, Market Intelligence Manager & IDD at Santander Asset Management; CESGA, EFA.
- Guillermo Zamarripa Escamilla — President of the International Federation of Pension Fund Administrators (FIAP) and President of Amafore.
- Diane Mak — Head of Impact Strategy at Allianz Global Investors.
- David Finger — Portfolio Manager at Allianz Global Investors.
- Pam Liu — Senior Investment Manager, Thematic Equities Team at Pictet Asset Management.
- Manuel Losa — Senior Investment Manager, Thematic Equities Team at Pictet Asset Management.
- Mark Lewis — Partner and Managing Director at Climate Finance Partners.
- Rhodri Lane — U.K. Director of ILS at Fermat Capital Management, LLC.
- Joanna Syroka — Director of New Markets at Fermat Capital Management, LLC.
- David Blázquez — Head of Public Affairs and Institutional Relations for Spain and Portugal at Amazon Web Services (AWS).
- Mauro Guillén — Vice Dean at The Wharton School.
Support Team
- Carmen Hermida — General Director, Fide Foundation.
- Alvaro Arribas — Digital & Marketing Director, Fide Foundation.
- Pablo Abascal — Academic Support.
