Panel to be Chaired by Former President of Chile Michelle Bachelet
Top Energy, Finance, Industry, Philanthropy, and Government Leaders to Examine Pathways to Drive Energy Development in Low- and Middle-Income Countries to Create Opportunity and Growth
New York, NY | April 14, 2026 — The Center on Global Energy Policy (CGEP) at Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs and The Rockefeller Foundation announced the creation of a new high-level panel focused on universal energy abundance, the ambition to ensure everyone on earth has access to the level of reliable and affordable energy necessary for industrialization, job creation, and broad-based prosperity in emerging and developing economies in the 21st century. This high‑level panel will produce analysis and insights on institutional and policy environments shaping energy system investment, informing decision makers across finance, government, and industry and enabling wider socio-economic development. The High-Level Panel will be chaired by Dr. Michelle Bachelet.
Panel members include senior leaders from the public and private sectors, international energy organizations, the investment world, and civil society organizations.
“At a time when military conflict and technological transformation are straining global energy supplies, we must not forget that 730 million people around the world still live without access to electricity,” said Dr. Rajiv J. Shah, President of The Rockefeller Foundation. “The Rockefeller Foundation has bet big on energy abundance as the most transformative investment we can make to end large-scale poverty and advance opportunity in the 21st century’s digital economy. Now, to make this big bet even bigger, the High-Level Panel will bring together the world’s most innovative thinkers to identify and scale solutions to the urgent, generational challenge of energy poverty.”
“Providing energy access to the 730 million people who still lack it is an urgent priority. But delivering meaningful prosperity to billions more will require much larger quantities of energy—and will depend on looking at both electricity and other parts of the energy sector as well,” said Jason Bordoff, Founding Director of CGEP. “The High-Level Panel on Universal Energy Abundance will convene leading energy experts and policymakers to examine strategies that can dramatically expand energy use for economic development and industrial growth. Its work is especially urgent today, as energy security has become central to economic decision-making in countries around the world.”
The High-Level Panel will convene a total of four times throughout the remainder of 2026 and in early 2027. The inaugural convening will take place from May 25 to May 29, 2026.
Each convening over the course of the High-Level Panel’s work will focus on a different aspect of the challenges related to advancing universal energy abundance, including:
- The ambition of universal energy abundance
- Technologies that can help deliver universal energy abundance
- Financing challenges and solutions
- Effective policy structures
Following each meeting, a summary of discussions and progress on the work of the High-Level Panel will be released. The Panel will release a final report in early 2028.
“Emerging and developing economies have set ambitious goals to expand their industrial bases and ensure the electricity their citizens rely on. The High-Level Panel on Universal Energy Abundance will explore how countries can balance these priorities at the same time,” said Michelle Bachelet, Chair of the High-Level Panel on Universal Energy Abundance. “I am pleased to join this distinguished group of leaders and experts and look forward to contributing to a series of productive discussions on the need to deliver abundant energy to support job growth, improve quality of life, and advance economic prosperity.”
In addition to the chair, other members of the High-Level Panel on Universal Energy Abundance at the date of launch include:
- Jason Bordoff, Columbia University Center on Global Energy Policy
- Dr. Fatih Birol, Executive Director, International Energy Agency
- Ashvin Dayal, Senior Vice President, The Rockefeller Foundation
- Eric Francia, President and CEO, ACEN Corporation
- Matthew Harris, Founding Partner, Global Infrastructure Partners, a part of BlackRock; Founder, Bedari Collective
- Georgina Kessel, former Mexican Secretary of Energy
- Sheila Khama, former CEO DeBeers Botswana
- Dr. Rania Al-Mashat, former Egyptian Minister of Planning, Economic Development and International Cooperation
- Máximo Pacheco, Chairman of Codelco and former Secretary of Energy of Chile
- Mari Elka Pangestu, former Indonesian Minister of Trade, former Managing Director at the World Bank
- Rajiv Shah, President, The Rockefeller Foundation
- Sumant Sinha, Chairman and CEO, ReNew
- H.E. Majid Al Suwaidi, CEO, ALTÉRRA
- Ben van Beurden, former Shell CEO
- Kandeh Yumkella, Sierra Leone’s Presidential Initiative on Climate Change, Renewable Energy and Food Security
- Samaila Zubairu, President and CEO, African Finance Corporation
To kick-off the High-Level Panel’s work, Jason Bordoff hosted Rajiv Shah for a special conversation on the Columbia Energy Exchange podcast, discussing the goal of universal energy abundance, the core objectives of the High-Level Panel, and the scope of the partnership between CGEP and The Rockefeller Foundation. A link to that episode can be found HERE.
