John MacArthur

John MacArthur is an energy transition mentor, angel investor and energy industry sustainability leader with global experience spanning operations, strategy, economics, climate policy, energy technology, venture investment and client advisory.

He works with entrepreneurs, investors, corporates and institutions on energy transition, circular carbon, energy security and resilience, scenario planning and capital allocation — through his advisory company Highland Sustainability. He is Visiting Professor of Net Zero Energy Transition at Imperial College London and authors the Responsible Energy briefing on Substack.

John was the first ever Group Climate Change Officer at ADNOC in the UAE, one of the world’s leading energy producers, resulting in climate action investments of $15 billion. Prior to this, John worked for Shell for over two decades. He led Shell’s ‘Net Zero’ climate ambition, strategy, and implementation as its first Chief Carbon Engineer. He also managed Shell’s two R&D centres in The Netherlands, including Gas, Materials and CCUS technology; also managing technology ventures.

John was founding chair of Climate Investments, a billion-dollar energy transition venture fund, funded by the world’s largest energy companies to invest in clean tech ventures and circular carbon projects. 

John holds an MEng Petroleum Engineering from Imperial College, a Masters in Sustainability Leadership from University of Cambridge, and a Masters in Coaching and Behavioural Change from Henley Business School. John is a Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering, Fellow of the Energy Institute, and a Chartered Petroleum Engineer, all awarded in the UK. He is honorary chair of the London College of Energy Economics.