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COLUMBIA GLOBAL
ENERGY SUMMIT 2023
Ten years ago, the Center on Global Energy Policy was launched with the goal of bringing policymakers actionable insights and solutions to solve today’s greatest energy and climate challenges. What started out as a handful of people in a small office in Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs (SIPA) is now a major policy institute — housing nearly 100 scholars and staff, training dozens of future energy leaders, and developing answers to the toughest problems of the clean energy transition.
The global energy crisis that began last year reminds us every day how important the work is that CGEP does on energy security, energy markets, energy geopolitics, the energy transition, and climate change. To kick off the celebration of our 10th anniversary, CGEP will host a special 10th Anniversary Global Energy Summit — where we will convene some of the brightest minds and important leaders to discuss turbulence in global energy markets, the growing gap between climate ambition and reality, and the tensions between today’s energy needs and tomorrow’s energy transition imperative.
This event will be hosted in-person in New York City and streamed live via Zoom. In-person registration is currently closed. Please join us for the livestream.
Secretary, U.S. Department of Energy
Learn MoreCEO & President, NRDC
Learn MoreMinister of Energy Transition and Sustainable Development, Government of Morocco
Learn MoreExecutive Director, International Energy Agency
Learn MoreFounding Director, Center on Global Energy Policy; Professor, Columbia SIPA; Professor and Co-Founding Dean Emeritus, Columbia Climate School
Learn MorePresident, Eurasia Group and GZERO Media
Learn MorePresident and CEO, Siemens Energy
Learn MoreManaging Director and Head of Global Commodity Strategy and MENA Research, RBC Capital Markets
Learn MoreUS Congress
Learn MoreSenior Research Scholar, Center on Global Energy Policy
Learn MoreChairman and CEO, BlackRock, Inc.
Learn MoreClimate Reporter, New York Times
Learn MoreExecutive Editor, Cipher News
Learn MoreFounding Partner, Global Infrastructure Partners, Board Chair, CGEP Advisory Board
Learn MorePresident and CEO, Occidental
Learn MoreFounding Director, Institute of Public and Environmental Affairs
Learn MorePresident, Republic of Rwanda
Learn MoreManaging Director of International Programs, Energy Opportunity Lab, Center on Global Energy Policy
Learn MorePresident, Environmental Defense Fund
Learn MorePartner, KKR Infrastructure
Learn MoreChester Naramore Dean of the Stanford Doerr School of Sustainability
Learn MoreVice-President, Europe, Breakthrough Energy
Learn MoreGroup President and CEO, Ørsted
Learn MoreCEO of Sustainable Energy for All , Special Representative, UN Secretary-General for Sustainable Energy for All, and Co-Chair, UN-Energy
Learn MoreMinister of State for Energy, Republic of Uganda
Learn MoreDirector-designate, Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs and Jeane Kirkpatrick Professor of the Practice of International Affairs
Learn MoreFormer Minister of Foreign Affairs of Spain; Visiting Professor, Georgetown University
Learn MoreChairman and CEO, TotalEnergies
Learn MoreBloomberg
Learn MoreDeputy Chairman & CEO, Kuwait Petroleum Corporation
Learn MoreCEO, Pioneer Natural Resources
Learn MoreChairman & CEO, ReNew
Learn MoreExecutive Chairman, Tellurian Inc.
Learn MoreChair, Steering Committee, Innovation for Cool Earth Forum, Executive Director Emeritus, the International Energy Agency (IEA) and former Distinguished Fellow, Center on Global Energy Policy, Columbia University
Learn MoreCEO, European Climate Foundation
Learn MoreGlobal Energy & Climate Innovation Editor, The Economist
Learn MoreVice Chairman, S&P Global
Learn MoreDean School of Internation and Public Affairs, Adlai E. Stevenson Proffessor of International Relations, Columbia University
Learn MoreDirector-designate, Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs and Jeane Kirkpatrick Professor of the Practice of International Affairs
Learn MoreSenior Director of Research and Senior Research Scholar
Learn MoreDean School of Internation and Public Affairs, Adlai E. Stevenson Proffessor of International Relations, Columbia University
Founding Director, Center on Global Energy Policy; Professor, Columbia SIPA; Professor and Co-Founding Dean Emeritus, Columbia Climate School
The events of 2022 provided a powerful reminder that energy is at the heart of geopolitics. In 2023 and onward,, as markets re-balance in the wake of Russia’s war in Ukraine, and as world powers establish and expand clean energy supply chains, power relationships driven by energy will remain a topic of global focus. This panel discussion will focus on today’s energy geopolitics, with former government leaders and geopolitical advisors discussing what might come next.
Vice Chairman, S&P Global
President, Eurasia Group and GZERO Media
Director-designate, Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs and Jeane Kirkpatrick Professor of the Practice of International Affairs
Former Minister of Foreign Affairs of Spain; Visiting Professor, Georgetown University
We are in a pivotal moment for American energy policy. The federal government is implementing the most ambitious climate mitigation plan in American history at the same time as it deals with the fallout of the worst energy crisis in a generation. Join Jennifer M. Granholm, Secretary, U.S. Department of Energy, and CGEP founding director Jason Bordoff for a discussion on how the government can engage the private sector and American society as a whole to balance the dual imperatives of energy security and climate action in the decade ahead.
Founding Director, Center on Global Energy Policy; Professor, Columbia SIPA; Professor and Co-Founding Dean Emeritus, Columbia Climate School
Secretary, U.S. Department of Energy
Preventing the worst impacts of climate change will require action from a hugely diverse set of global partners, spanning all regions and all sectors of the economy. On this panel, key environmental leaders will discuss the progress that has been achieved to date in addressing the climate crisis, and what still needs to happen for the world to avoid the worst impacts of climate change.
Climate Reporter, New York Times
CEO & President, NRDC
US Congress
President, Environmental Defense Fund
CEO, European Climate Foundation
According to the IEA, 600 million people in Africa currently lack access to electricity, which presents a serious obstacle to economic growth and general well-being. Rwanda is one of the African countries that is on track to deliver full access to electricity by 2030, and in this conversation President H.E Paul Kagame will discuss how his nation and others are providing access while pursuing global sustainability goals.
Founding Partner, Global Infrastructure Partners, Board Chair, CGEP Advisory Board
President, Republic of Rwanda
Developing nations – which account for a minute share of historical greenhouse gas emissions – often face the worst impacts of climate change. Developing countries also account for 63 percent of current global emissions, with that percentage rising every year. The future of the energy transition will hinge on whether developing countries can build sustainable economies. In this session, a panel of leading researchers and government officials from South America and Africa will explore the challenges and opportunities over the next decade and beyond for clean energy in developing economies.
Senior Research Scholar, Center on Global Energy Policy
Managing Director of International Programs, Energy Opportunity Lab, Center on Global Energy Policy
CEO of Sustainable Energy for All , Special Representative, UN Secretary-General for Sustainable Energy for All, and Co-Chair, UN-Energy
Minister of State for Energy, Republic of Uganda
Technological breakthroughs have the potential to accelerate the path to net-zero. In this panel, leaders at the forefront of energy innovation will consider recent progress in low-carbon technologies, look ahead to the most promising new ideas that will accelerate the energy transition, and discuss how to unlock future technological breakthroughs.
Global Energy & Climate Innovation Editor, The Economist
Chester Naramore Dean of the Stanford Doerr School of Sustainability
Vice-President, Europe, Breakthrough Energy
Chair, Steering Committee, Innovation for Cool Earth Forum, Executive Director Emeritus, the International Energy Agency (IEA) and former Distinguished Fellow, Center on Global Energy Policy, Columbia University
As the world’s largest asset manager and a key source of capital for clean energy and fossil fuels alike, BlackRock has been front and center in discussions about the role of finance in the energy transition. Its chairman and CEO, Larry Fink, has emerged as a key voice in these issues. In this fireside chat, he will discuss key insights from his experience in the role of financial institutions in the energy transition.
Founding Director, Center on Global Energy Policy; Professor, Columbia SIPA; Professor and Co-Founding Dean Emeritus, Columbia Climate School
Chairman and CEO, BlackRock, Inc.
Climate change and energy crises are global problems that demand global solutions. Addressing them will require answering difficult questions about justice, economic progress, and capital allocation from the global to the community level. In this discussion, Fatih Birol will share the IEA’s analysis about the current energy outlook and explore the steps society needs to take in order to accelerate the clean energy transition.
Founding Director, Center on Global Energy Policy; Professor, Columbia SIPA; Professor and Co-Founding Dean Emeritus, Columbia Climate School
Executive Director, International Energy Agency
Amid the tension between climate action and the global economy’s continued need for fossil fuels, what is the role of legacy hydrocarbon producers? Patrick Pouyanné has spent nearly a decade as CEO of TotalEnergies, a French multinational energy company, and has steered the company through years of heightened turmoil in global energy markets. In this fireside chat, he will discuss how his firm is thinking about Europe’s energy crisis, the company’s longer term strategy, and what the future holds for companies such as TotalEnergies.
Founding Director, Center on Global Energy Policy; Professor, Columbia SIPA; Professor and Co-Founding Dean Emeritus, Columbia Climate School
Chairman and CEO, TotalEnergies
One of the major challenges of the energy transition is the scope of changes that must be made to our energy systems to prevent the worst effects of climate change. In this session, the CEOs of Ørsted and Siemens Energy – two leading energy companies that are wrestling with the challenges of developing, deploying, and scaling renewable energy infrastructure – will reflect on the progress that has been made and the hurdles still to come.
Executive Editor, Cipher News
Group President and CEO, Ørsted
President and CEO, Siemens Energy
Bloomberg
Minister of Energy Transition and Sustainable Development, Government of Morocco
Founding Director, Institute of Public and Environmental Affairs
Chairman & CEO, ReNew
The global energy crisis that began last year is unprecedented in scope and scale, touching all corners of the globe and all forms of energy. This panel will convene energy sector leaders to discuss the current state of global energy markets, how they are evolving in response to geopolitical and climate concerns, and what to expect in the months and years ahead.
Managing Director and Head of Global Commodity Strategy and MENA Research, RBC Capital Markets
President and CEO, Occidental
Deputy Chairman & CEO, Kuwait Petroleum Corporation
CEO, Pioneer Natural Resources
Executive Chairman, Tellurian Inc.
Senior Director of Research and Senior Research Scholar
This event will be hosted in-person in New York City and live streamed via Zoom.
To register to join us in person in New York City, click here. Please note: In-person registration is limited to current Columbia University affiliates only (students, staff, faculty, and alumni) and you must register with your UNI.
To join the livestream, click here.
For media inquiries or requests for interviews, please contact Natalie Volk ([email protected]).
For more information about the event, please contact [email protected].
Secretary, U.S. Department of Energy
Jennifer M. Granholm was sworn in as the 16th Secretary of Energy on February 25, 2021.
Secretary Granholm is leading DOE's work to advance the cutting-edge clean energy technologies that will help America achieve President Biden’s goal of net-zero carbon emissions by 2050 while creating millions of good-paying union clean energy jobs and building an equitable economy. Secretary Granholm is also overseeing DOE’s core missions of promoting American leadership in scientific discovery, maintaining the nuclear deterrent and reducing nuclear danger, and remediating the environmental harms caused by legacy defense programs.
Prior to her nomination as Secretary of Energy, Jennifer Granholm was elected Governor of Michigan, serving two terms from 2003 to 2011.
As Governor, Jennifer Granholm faced economic downturns caused by the Great Recession and meltdown in the automotive and manufacturing sectors. She successfully led efforts to diversify the state’s economy, strengthen its auto industry, preserve the manufacturing sector, and add emerging sectors — such as clean energy — to Michigan’s economic portfolio. Today, one-third of all North American electric vehicle battery production takes place in Michigan, the state is one of the top five states for clean energy patents, and 126,000 Michiganders were employed in the clean energy sector prior to COVID-19.
Secretary Granholm was also elected Attorney General of Michigan and served as the state’s top law enforcement officer from 1998 to 2002.
After two terms as governor, Jennifer Granholm joined the faculty of the University of California, Berkeley as a Distinguished Professor of Practice in the Goldman School of Public Policy, focusing on the intersection of law, clean energy, manufacturing, policy, and industry. She also served as an advisor to the Clean Energy Program of the Pew Charitable Trusts.
Jennifer Granholm began her career in public service as a judicial clerk for Michigan's 6th Circuit Court of Appeals. She became a federal prosecutor in Detroit in 1990, and in 1994, she was appointed Wayne County Corporation Counsel.
Secretary Granholm, an immigrant from Canada, is an honors graduate of both the University of California, Berkeley and Harvard Law School. She and her husband, Daniel G. Mulhern, have three children.
CEO & President, NRDC
Manish Bapna is president and chief executive officer of NRDC (Natural Resources Defense Council), one of the nation’s most influential environmental groups, which works to ensure the rights of all people to clear air, clean water, and healthy and equitable communities. During his 25-year career, Bapna’s leadership roles have focused on designing sustainable development strategies that are equitable, durable, and scalable. Most recently, he served as executive vice president and managing director of the World Resources Institute, a leading global research organization focused on the environment and development, for more than 14 years. As NRDC’s new president and CEO, Bapna joins the 51-year-old nonprofit of some 700 scientists, lawyers, and policy advocates around the globe to tackle the biggest environmental issues we face today.
Minister of Energy Transition and Sustainable Development, Government of Morocco
An international expert after career in industry, banking and public policy. H.E Dr. Leila Benali was appointed by His Majesty King Mohammed VI on October 7th, 2021 as Minister of Energy Transition and Sustainable Development. In 2019, she was also appointed as a member of the Special Commission on the Development Model (SCDM) mandated to re-think the kingdom’s development trajectory.
Dr. Benali is a graduate of l’Ecole Mohammadia d’Ingenieurs (EMI) Rabat and l’Ecole Centrale Paris. She also holds a MS in political science and a PhD in Economics Summa Cum Laude from Sciences Po Paris.
Dr. Benali has developed extensive experience in the formulation of energy master plans, reforms and policies, corporate strategies, and strategic investments and acquisitions for governments, energy companies, investment banks, industrialists, and institutional investors.
She has also worked with major boards and international companies, including Saudi Aramco where she spent 8 transformational years and was in charge of the company’s energy policy and gas strategy, the Arab Petroleum Investment Company (APICORP), a Multilateral Development Bank, where she held the position of Chief Economist and Head of Strategy and Sustainability, and the International Energy Forum (IEF), the largest international organization of energy ministers.
She was also Director for the Middle East and Africa at IHS, an international security
and energy research and consultancy firm, a professor at Sciences Po, an industrial engineer at Schlumberger, and the chair of the Arab Energy Club.
Dr. Benali has contributed to the publication of numerous articles and books on energy, reforms
and sustainable wealth. Her co-authored book entitled “Energy Poverty: Global challenges and local solutions”, published in 2014 and which was hailed by former US President Bill Clinton as “a must read for anyone who truly wanted to find meaningful solutions to energy poverty”. Her book “Electricity – sector reforms on the MENA region”, published in 2019 remains a reference for reform policies in emerging countries.
In 2016, she received the “Future Leader” award from the Petroleum Economist, which recognizes individuals most likely to shape the future of an industry.
Dr Benali is a graduate of Ecole Mohammadia d’Ingenieurs Rabat and Ecole Centrale Paris. She also holds a master’s degree in political science and a PhD in Economics summa cum laude from Sciences Po Paris.
Dr Benali has worked with major boards and international companies, including Saudi Aramco, where she spent eight years and was in charge of the company’s energy policy and gas strategy; the Arab Petroleum Investment Company, a Multilateral Development Bank, where she held the position of Chief Economist and Head of Strategy and Sustainability; and the International Energy Forum, the largest international organization of energy ministers.
She has also served as Director for the Middle East and Africa at IHS, Professor at Sciences Po, Industrial Engineer at Schlumberger and President of the Arab Energy Club.
Dr Benali co-authored the book Energy Poverty: Global Challenges and Local Solutions, published in 2014, which was hailed by former US President Bill Clinton as a "must read for anyone genuinely interested in finding meaningful solutions to energy poverty."
Her book Electricity – Sector Reforms on the MENA Region, published in 2019, remains a reference for reform policies in emerging countries.
Executive Director, International Energy Agency
Dr Fatih Birol (@fbirol) has served as Executive Director of the IEA since 2015, taking up his current position after rising through the ranks of the IEA over two decades. He has been named in TIME's annual list of the world's 100 most influential people and by Forbes as one of the most influential people in the world of energy. He chairs the World Economic Forum’s (Davos) Energy Advisory Board and is the recipient of numerous state decorations, including the French Legion of Honour and the Japanese Emperor’s Order of the Rising Sun.
Founding Director, Center on Global Energy Policy; Professor, Columbia SIPA; Professor and Co-Founding Dean Emeritus, Columbia Climate School
Jason Bordoff is the Founding Director of the Center on Global Energy Policy at Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs, where he is a Professor of Professional Practice. He is also on the faculty of the Columbia Climate School, where he is Co-Founding Dean Emeritus.
He previously served as Special Assistant to President Barack Obama and Senior Director for Energy and Climate Change on the Staff of the National Security Council. Prior to that appointment, he held senior policy positions on the White House’s National Economic Council and Council on Environmental Quality. Earlier in his career, he was a scholar at the Brookings Institution, served in the Treasury Department during the Clinton Administration, and was a consultant with McKinsey & Company.
One of the world’s leading energy and climate policy experts, Bordoff’s research and policy interests lie at the intersection of economics, energy, environment, and national security. As a member of the Columbia SIPA faculty since 2013, he teaches and mentors the world’s future energy and climate leaders in government, business and civil society.
In 2013, Bordoff created the Center on Global Energy Policy (CGEP), which is now widely recognized as among the world’s leading energy policy research institutes, advancing evidence-based and actionable energy and climate solutions through research, dialogue, and education. (Learn more here.) In addition to serving as CGEP’s Founding Director, Bordoff co-led and created the nation’s first graduate school devoted to tackling climate change, the Columbia Climate School, from 2021 to 2023. Bordoff is a columnist for Foreign Policy Magazine and has authored numerous essays and articles for Foreign Affairs. He frequently publishes articles in leading outlets such as The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Financial Times, The Economist, and appears on NPR, CNN, NBC, Bloomberg, CNBC, CBS, and the BBC as a commentator.His Foreign Affairs article with Meghan O’Sullivan, "Green Upheaval: The New Geopolitics of Energy," was selected as one of the "Top Ten" print articles published in that journal in 2022.
Bordoff also has extensive experience advising the private sector and non-profit organizations. He is a Senior Advisor at Macro Advisory Partners, a geostrategic advisory firm. He chairs the Aspen Institute-Columbia Global Energy Forum and serves on numerous advisory boards and leadership councils, including Sustainable Energy for All at the United Nations, The Nature Conservancy of New York, Foreign Policy 4 America, the New York Energy Forum, and the World Economic Forum’s "Future of Energy Stewardship" and "Mobilizing Investment for Clean Energy in Emerging Economies" programs. He is also a member of the Council on Foreign Relations, the Trilateral Commission, the Oxford Energy Club, and the National Petroleum Council (a federally chartered advisory committee to the Secretary of Energy).
Bordoff graduated with honors from Harvard Law School, where he was Treasurer of the Harvard Law Review, and clerked on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit. He also holds an MLitt degree from Oxford University, where he studied as a Marshall Scholar, and a BA magna cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa from Brown University.
For all media inquiries please email [email protected].
President, Eurasia Group and GZERO Media
Ian Bremmer is a political scientist who helps business leaders, policy makers, and the general public make sense of the world around them. He is president and founder of Eurasia Group, the world’s leading political risk research and consulting firm, and GZERO Media, a company dedicated to providing intelligent and engaging coverage of international affairs. Ian is an independent voice on critical issues around the globe, offering clearheaded insights through speeches, written commentary, and even satirical puppets (really!).
A prolific writer, Ian is the author of eleven books, including the New York Times bestsellers, “Us vs Them: The Failure of Globalism” which examines the rise of populism across the world, and his latest book “The Power of Crisis: How Three Threats—and Our Response—Will Change the World” which covers a trio of looming global crises (health emergencies, climate change, and technological revolution) and outlines how these crises create global prosperity and opportunity.
He serves as the foreign affairs columnist and editor at large for Time magazine, and is the host of GZERO World with Ian Bremmer, which airs weekly on US national public television. Ian is also a frequent guest on CNN, Fox News, MSNBC, and many others globally.
Ian also teaches at Columbia University's School of International and Public Affairs and previously was a professor at New York University.
Find him on Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram, and regularly tweeting from @IanBremmer.
President and CEO, Siemens Energy
Dr. Christian Bruch was born in 1970 in Düsseldorf, Germany. He holds a degree in mechanical engineering (Diplom-Ingenieur) from Leibniz University of Hanover, Germany, studied at the University of Strathclyde Glasgow, United Kingdom, and received his doctorate in 2001 from the Swiss Institute of Technology (ETH) in Zurich, Switzerland, where he also worked as a project engineer in research between 1997 and 2000. Christian Bruch was appointed President and Chief Executive Officer of Siemens Energy AG and President and Chief Executive Officer of Siemens Energy Management GmbH effective May 1, 2020. Before he joined Siemens, he worked for more than 15 years at the Linde Group in various positions, from which he resigned in April 2020 when he joined Siemens. From 2019 he was speaker of the Executive Board of Linde AG. Between 2015 and 2018 he was the Executive Board Member responsible for the Engineering Division and the Corporate & Support Function Technology & Innovation and determined the Group’s digitalization topics. Two years earlier, in 2013, he had been appointed member of the Board of Directors of the Engineering Division. In 2009, he moved from Linde’s Gases Division to the Engineering Division, after being appointed as a General Manager of the Air Separation Plants product line. Between 2004 and 2009, Mr. Bruch held several management positions at Linde’s Gases Division. Christian Bruch began his career in 2000 with the RWE Group in Essen, Germany, where he worked first as a project engineer and then starting in 2002 as head of research and project development at RWE Fuel Cells GmbH. Christian Bruch has been a member of the Supervisory Board of Lenzing AG in Austria since 2019. He is also a board member of the Committee on Eastern European Economic Relations, Chair of the MSC Security Innovation Board and a member of the ESG Council CNBC.
Managing Director and Head of Global Commodity Strategy and MENA Research, RBC Capital Markets
Helima is a Managing Director and the Head of Global Commodity Strategy and Middle East and North Africa (MENA) Research at RBC Capital Markets. She specializes in geopolitics and energy, leading a team of commodity strategists that cover energy, metals and cross-commodity investor activity. Helima is a member of the National Petroleum Council, a select group of individuals who advise, inform and make recommendations to the Secretary of Energy with respect to any matter relating to oil and natural gas. She also is a CNBC contributor, a member of the channel’s exclusive family of experts, is on the Board of Directors for the Atlantic Council, is a member of the Trilateral Commission, and is a Life Member of the Council on Foreign Relations. Helima joined RBC Capital Markets from Barclays, where she was a Managing Director and Head of North American Commodities Research. Prior to that, she worked in Lehman’s Business Intelligence group, the Council on Foreign Relations and the Central Intelligence Agency, where she focused on geopolitics and commodities. Helima has received many industry accolades throughout her career and received her PhD in economic history from Princeton in 2001.
US Congress
John R. Curtis proudly represents Utah’s 3rd Congressional District where he is known for his reputation as someone who gets things done. Since being elected to Congress on November 13, 2017, John has worked on 15 pieces of legislation that were signed into law, ranging in diverse topics such as better managing public lands, combatting human trafficking, reducing burdensome regulations on small businesses, and more. He is ranked #9 Most Effective Member in Congress by the Center for Effective Lawmaking.
John currently serves on the powerful Energy and Commerce Committee including serving as the Vice Chair on the Energy, Climate, & Grid Security Subcommittee and Communications & Technology Subcommittee where John is working to end outdated laws that protect big tech from the legal consequences of their actions.
John has established an international reputation for his work on American energy solutions that unleash US clean fuels, put the US economy on steroids, strengthen our national security, make America energy independent, and reduce global pollution at the same time. John believes America should not just be energy independent. We should be energy dominant.
Before coming to Congress John was a small business owner. Where he was known as a real-world problem-solver. John served as the Mayor of Provo City for 8 years where he enjoyed a 94% approval rating and was named the “Top Elected Official on Social Media” in 2015. During his time as mayor John was recognized as Silicon Slopes Community Hero, UVU’s Civic Innovator Award and Person of the Year by Utah Valley Magazine.
John has been married to his wife Sue for 40 years and together they have 6 children and 15 grandchildren.
Senior Research Scholar, Center on Global Energy Policy
Jonathan Elkind is a fellow and senior research scholar at the Center on Global Energy Policy. Elkind came to the Center after a long and distinguished career devoted to energy and environment policy in the private and public sectors. From 2009 to 2017, he worked on international energy and climate issues at the United States Department of Energy, helping to coordinate energy policy in the Obama Administration and leading climate and energy programs with key global partners. He departed DOE as Assistant Secretary for International Affairs.
Before his service in the Obama Administration, he founded Eastlink Consulting, LLC where he guided corporate and non-profit clients on commercial energy projects in Europe and Eurasia, and he served as a non-resident senior fellow at the Brookings Institution, researching international energy security issues.
Earlier in his career, Elkind focused on energy, environment and economic issues in the post-Soviet nations in a variety of posts with the Joint Global Change Research Institute, the U.S. National Security Council, Office of the Vice President of the United States, the Department of Energy, and the Council on Environmental Quality.
Elkind holds a Master of Business Administration in Strategy and International Business from the R.H. Smith School of Business at the University of Maryland, a Master of Arts in Russian History and Certificate in Soviet Studies from the W. Averell Harriman Institute, and a Bachelor of Arts with Distinction in History from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. He is a Director on the Board of Infineon Technologies, LLC. He is also a distinguished associate with the Energy Futures Initiative; a senior advisor to Project Associates, a London-headquartered strategic advisory firm; and a counsellor with Dragoman, a Melbourne-based strategic advisory and political risk firm.
Chairman and CEO, BlackRock, Inc.
Laurence D. Fink is Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of BlackRock. He and seven partners founded BlackRock in 1988, and under his leadership, the firm has grown into a global leader in investment and technology solutions. BlackRock's mission is to help our clients build better financial futures and the firm is trusted to manage more money than any other investment company in the world.
Prior to founding BlackRock in 1988, Mr. Fink was a member of the Management Committee and a Managing Director of The First Boston Corporation. He serves as a member of the Board of Trustees of New York University (NYU) and the World Economic Forum, and is Co-Chairman of the NYU Langone Medical Center Board of Trustees. In addition, he serves on the boards of the Museum of Modern Art, the Council on Foreign Relations and the International Rescue Committee. He also serves on the Advisory Board of the
Tsinghua University School of Economics and Management in Beijing and on the Executive Committee of the Partnership for New York City.
Mr. Fink earned an MBA from the University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA) in 1976 and a BA from UCLA in 1974.
Climate Reporter, New York Times
Lisa Friedman is a reporter on the climate desk, focusing on climate and environmental policy in Washington. She has covered eight international climate talks and chased climate-related stories from the bottom of a Chinese coal mine to the top of snow-capped Himalaya Mountains.
She previously worked for Climatewire where she led a team of 12 reporters focused on the business and politics of the changing climate. Before Climatewire, she was the Washington bureau chief for The Oakland Tribune and later The Los Angeles Daily News.
Executive Editor, Cipher News
Amy Harder is executive editor of Cipher by Breakthrough Energy. Amy is one of the top national energy and climate change reporters in the country, having built up a reputation of being a uniquely balanced and influential journalist with respect across the spectrum. She joined Breakthrough Energy in early 2021 to help launch Cipher, a publication covering the opportunities and challenges of the energy transition.
Before joining Breakthrough, Amy was with Axios full time since shortly after it launched in 2017, based in Washington DC. In that role, Amy reported on trends and exclusive scoops, while also distilling into understandable formats complex energy and climate issues. Harder has interviewed some of the most well-known leaders in this space, and at the same time bridges the gap between what leaders say and what everyday people care about.
She was the inaugural journalism fellow for the University of Chicago’s Energy Policy Institute for the 2018-2019 school year, where she moderated events and took part in other university initiatives. Previously, she covered similar issues for The Wall Street Journal, based out of its Washington, DC, bureau. Earlier in her career, she wrote for National Journal, also in Washington DC.
She has appeared on PBS' NewsHour, CSPAN, MSNBC, CBS, and NPR, among many other media outlets. She is regularly sought out to speak and participate in events, including moderating and participating in panel discussions, and giving speeches around the country and world.
Amy is originally from Washington State and moved back in 2020, after a dozen years in the other Washington. She received a BA in journalism with honors from Western Washington University. She loves running and cross-country skiing the Pacific Northwest’s best trails.
Founding Partner, Global Infrastructure Partners, Board Chair, CGEP Advisory Board
Matt Harris is a founding partner of Global Infrastructure Partners (GIP), recognized as one of the world’s leading infrastructure investment firms, investing globally in the energy, transportation, water, and waste and digital infrastructure sectors and combining deep industry expertise and relationships with best practice operational management.
During his fifteen years as part of GIP’s leadership team, Mr. Harris has transformed the company into a market leader, managing more than $80 billion for its investors in high-quality infrastructure assets in OECD and select emerging market countries. GIP’s portfolio companies boast combined annual revenues of greater than $43 billion and employ 52,000 people worldwide. He has championed GIP’s forward-leaning approach to growth and innovation, and led the firm’s entry into new markets, including infrastructure in developing countries and renewable energy, as well as focus on the energy transition. Mr. Harris is a member of the executive committee of GIP as well as its Investment and Portfolio Valuation Committees.
He is the founder of Bedari, an impact company innovating at the intersection of investment, philanthropy, and sustainability. Bedari’s portfolio is comprised of operating companies, issue-focused investments, and philanthropic projects catalyzing change in consciousness and energy and the environment. Mr. Harris is also a partner in the Bridge Builders Collaborative, a venture capital fund that invests in start-up companies committed to mental, social, and spiritual well-being.
He serves as chairman of the advisory board of Columbia University’s Center for Global Energy Policy, is a member of Hess Midstream Partners, LLC and of the UCLA College of Social Sciences Dean’s advisory board, and is a member of the board of directors of the Whole Health Institute and the World Wildlife Fund.
He holds a BA in political science cum laude from UCLA.
President and CEO, Occidental
Vicki Hollub is President and Chief Executive Officer of Oxy. She has been a member of Oxy’s Board of Directors since 2015.
During her 35-year career with Oxy, Vicki has held a variety of management and technical positions with responsibilities on three continents, including roles in the United States, Russia, Venezuela and Ecuador. Most recently, she served as Oxy’s President and Chief Operating Officer, overseeing the company’s oil and gas, chemical and midstream operations.
Vicki previously was Senior Executive Vice President, Oxy, and President, Oxy Oil and Gas, where she was responsible for operations in the U.S., the Middle East region and Latin America. Prior to that, she held a variety of leadership positions, including Executive Vice President, Oxy, and President, Oxy Oil and Gas, Americas; Vice President, Oxy, and Executive Vice President, U.S. Operations, Oxy Oil and Gas; Executive Vice President, California Operations; and President and General Manager of the company’s Permian Basin operations. Vicki started her career at Cities Service, which was acquired by Oxy.
Vicki serves on the boards of Lockheed Martin and the American Petroleum Institute. She is chair of the World Economic Forum’s Oil and Gas Community and a member of the Oil and Gas Climate Initiative. A graduate of the University of Alabama, Vicki holds a Bachelor of Science in Mineral Engineering. She was inducted into the University of Alabama
College of Engineering 2016 class of Distinguished Engineering Fellows.
Founding Director, Institute of Public and Environmental Affairs
Ma Jun published his book "China's Water Crisis" in 1999. In 2004, he was selected for the Yale World Fellows Program. In 2006, he founded the Institute of Public & Environmental Affairs (IPE), and led the development and launch of China’s first environmental public database, as well as the Blue Map, a mobile app that visualizes air, water, ocean and soil quality data and tracks the performance of hundreds of thousands of major emitters.
In 2020, he led the launch of the Blue Map for Zero Carbon and collaborated with professional organizations to develop regional Carbon Peak and Neutrality Index, as well as Corporate Climate Action Index (CATI). Major multinationals and financial institutions have incorporated the use of Blue Map data and the digital solutions into their sourcing and investment codes, motivating more than 20,000 companies to openly address their violations or measure and disclose air, water and carbon emissions data.
In 2006, he was awarded as China’s “Green Person of the Year” and was named as one of TIME Magazine’s World’s 100 Most Influential People. Ma was also honored with the Magsaysay Award in 2009 and the Goldman Environmental Prize in 2012. In 2015, he received the Skoll Award for Social Entrepreneurship. In 2019, Ma was invited as a Special Observer by the Ministry of Ecology and Environment. In 2022, Ma received the Asia Game Changer Awards from Asia Society.
President, Republic of Rwanda
Paul Kagame is the President of the Republic of Rwanda. He served as Chair of the AU from 2018 to 2019 and chaired the East African Community from 2018-2021. President Kagame continues to lead the AU Institutional reforms and serves as the AU Champion for Domestic Health Financing.
He also currently Chairs the Commonwealth.
Beginning in 1990, as commander of the forces of the Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF), he led the struggle to liberate Rwanda.
The RPF halted the Genocide against the Tutsi in 1994, which claimed over a million victims.
The hallmarks of President Kagame’s administration are peace and reconciliation, women’s empowerment, promotion of investment and entrepreneurship, and access to information technology, a cause he also champions as Co-Chair of the Broadband Commission for Sustainable Development.
He tweets @PaulKagame. You can follow President Kagame’s daily work @UrugwiroVillage
Managing Director of International Programs, Energy Opportunity Lab, Center on Global Energy Policy
Andrew Kamau serves as the a Co-Director for the Energy Opportunity Lab, leading the lab’s projects outside of the United States. Andrew was the Principal Secretary for Petroleum and Mining in the Ministry of Petroleum and Mining, charged with technical undertaking on behalf of the Government of Kenya in the areas of Oil, Gas, and Mining. He has a wealth of experience in the energy sector having worked in energy trading, oil and gas operations, and the mining sector for over 30 years. Believing in steadfast leadership to deliver complex projects, Andrew has spearheaded several Government initiatives that have benefitted Kenyans. His vantage has allowed him insight on how to structure, negotiate, and navigate interventions that have lasting and positive impact. Among his greatest accomplishments in this regard, Andrew championed the rapid uptake of Liquid Petroleum Gas (LPG) as a primary cooking fuel and moving the per capita consumption from 3kg to 7.5kg in eight (8) years. This initiative contributed to reduction of households reliant on charcoal and firewood as a cooking fuel and reduced serious indoor pollution incidence among vulnerable women and children.
Andrew advocated for initiatives to shift the transportation of most refined petroleum products fromroad to rail and lake barges, thereby reducing costs and the carbon footprint. He oversaw the construction of a new rail siding, connecting the Kenya Pipeline Storage to the Port of Kisumu, allowing for the transportation of refined petroleum products by rail barges from Kenya to Port Bell in Uganda. Relatedly, he led the team working on the rehabilitation of the long defunct Nairobi-Nanyuki rail line, allowing for fuel, agricultural goods, and passengers to be transported after nearly 30 years’ absence.
In the mining sector, Andrew has championed transparency through implementation of data and technology driven solutions, with a focus on identifying and leveraging minerals that will be critical for the energy transition and for which the 4th Industrial revolution is reliant. From finalization of the cadaster system that forms the bedrock for transparency in licensing, to the acquisition of geological data, Andrew has provided leadership to ensure that the country is well-positioned to capitalized on its natural resource’s wealth.
Prior to his role in Government, Andrew assisted governments to conclude complex trading transactions in energy by structuring practical solutions that took into account local context and financial constraints. For instance, in the power sector in Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Andrew successfully negotiated a contract to rehabilitate two (2) turbine groups at the Inga Hydroelectric Dam on the Congo River thereby paving way for commercial mining activity that benefitted both the Government and its private sector partner. His intuitive insight into the most critical inputs for successful ventures in the oil and gas sector allowed him to assist the DRC government with supply of over USD 60 Mn of refined petroleum products using insurance instruments issued by the Government of South Africa and backed by oil revenue from companies producing oil in the DRC. He also crafted interventions for supply of crude oil to the Ndola oil refinery in Zambia and refined products worth over USD 200 Mn to the TEMA oil refinery in Ghana with structures that did not require both Governments to issue payment instruments.
Through his life’s work, Andrew has applied himself to the energy sector’s challenges and opportunities on the Continent, noting that the resilience of developing economies in Sub Saharan Africa will depend on new thinking. He has participated as a thought leader on the energy transition conversation including encouraging approaches that balance the requirements of industrialization and climate change adaptation. He remains passionate about offering refreshing and non-traditional perspectives on the energy sector’s contribution to sustainable economic development.
Beyond contributions as a public servant and international energy sector specialist, Andrew has a passion for philanthropy and has served as chairman of the Komati Foundation, a non-profit organization in South Africa, working specifically with students and young professionals to nurture leadership skills and service ethics. For his public service to Kenya, Andrew was awarded the First Class, Order Chief of the Burning Spear (CBS) in 2016. In 2005, Global Pacific Partners awarded him the Africa Oil & Gas Deal Maker of the Year.
President, Environmental Defense Fund
Environmental Defense Fund president Fred Krupp has guided EDF for three decades, overseeing its growth from a small nonprofit with a budget of $3 million to one of the world’s most influential environmental organization, with an annual budget of more than $250 million and 1000 employees. EDF works across the globe, including in the United States, China, India, Mexico and Europe.
As a leading voice on climate change, energy and corporate sustainability, Krupp appeared on the TED stage in 2018 to announce plans to launch MethaneSAT, a satellite that will measure and map planet-warming methane emissions from the oil and gas industry worldwide. He was also a key advocate for the overhaul of America’s chemical safety laws in 2016 and the passage of historic climate investments in 2022.
Krupp has pioneered innovative approaches to harnessing the power of the marketplace to protect the environment and has led EDF’s groundbreaking corporate partnerships with FedEx, KKR, McDonald’s, Walmart and others. Most recently, he helped GM develop its plan to sell only zero-emission vehicles by 2035.
He was educated at Yale, where he was recently elected to the board of trustees, and at the University of Michigan Law School. Krupp appears frequently in the media and was named one of America’s Best Leaders by U.S. News and World Report. He is a recipient of the 2015 William K. Reilly Environmental Leadership Award from the Center for Environmental Policy at American University. Krupp is co-author with Miriam Horn of the New York Times bestseller Earth: The Sequel – The Race to Reinvent Energy and Stop Global Warming.
Partner, KKR Infrastructure
Emmanuel Lagarrigue (New York) joined KKR in 2022.
He leads the firm's global investments in climate.
Mr. Lagarrigue has a wealth of experience in sustainability, the energy transition and the transformation of large businesses. Prior to joining KKR, he was one of the founding partners of BeyondNetZero, a General Atlantic fund focusing on growth equity opportunities in decarbonization technologies. Previously, Mr. Lagarrigue was an Executive Committee member at Schneider Electric, holding the positions of Chief Strategy, Chief Sustainability and Chief Innovation Officer. Also at Schneider Electric, he held several P&L and general management positions in Europe, South America, Asia and the United States over 20 years. Mr. Lagarrigue serves on the board of JBT Corporation and is the Chairman of the board of trustees of Menorca Preservation, an NGO dedicated to environmental causes in the Balearic Islands.
Chester Naramore Dean of the Stanford Doerr School of Sustainability
Dr. Arun Majumdar is the Chester Naramore Dean of the Stanford Doerr School of Sustainability, Jay Precourt Professor of Mechanical Engineering & Energy Science and Engineering, and Senior Fellow and former Director of the Precourt Institute for Energy. He is also a faculty member in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering (by courtesy) and Photon Science at SLAC. He served in the Obama administration as the Founding Director of the Advanced Research Projects Agency - Energy (ARPA-E) and as the Acting Under Secretary of Energy. He served as a Science Envoy for the US Department of State and currently serves as the Chair of the US Secretary of Energy Advisory Board. Dr. Majumdar was also the Vice President for Energy at Google and advises numerous business in the energy innovation ecosystem. He is a member of the US National Academy of Sciences, US National Academy of Engineering and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. He received his bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering at the Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay in 1985 and his Ph.D. from the University of California, Berkeley in 1989.
Vice-President, Europe, Breakthrough Energy
At Breakthrough Energy – an organization founded by Bill Gates in 2015 – Ann is working with European partners to accelerate clean tech innovation in the pursuit of climate neutrality and net-zero emissions. Previously, she served as Director-General at the European Commission where she ran the internal strategy department, reporting directly to the President. An entrepreneur at heart, Ann set up her own think tank which she ran for more than a decade. Her career started at the World Economic Forum where she led the Europe department.
Group President and CEO, Ørsted
Mads Nipper is heading Ørsted, the global renewable energy major and world-leading offshore wind developer. He believes businesses should be a catalyst for change in fighting climate change and addressing the Sustainable Development Goals. Mads Nipper is part of World Economic Forum’s Alliance of CEO Climate Leaders where he leads the Power Working Group. He is also Co-chair of the roundtable of hydrogen production under the European Clean Hydrogen Alliance. Furthermore, he is chair of the Danish government’s climate partnership for the energy and utilities sector.
Before joining Ørsted, Mads Nipper was Group President and CEO of the Grundfos Group (2014-2020). Formerly, Nipper had a long career (1991-2014) in the LEGO Group where his last positions were Chief Marketing Officer (from 2006) and member of the Management Board (2011-2014). He has an educational background as MSc in Business Administration from Aarhus University, Denmark.
CEO of Sustainable Energy for All , Special Representative, UN Secretary-General for Sustainable Energy for All, and Co-Chair, UN-Energy
Damilola Ogunbiyi is CEO of Sustainable Energy for All, special representative of the UN Secretary-General for Sustainable Energy for All, and co-chair of UN-Energy.
Previously, Mrs. Ogunbiyi was the first female managing director of the Nigerian Rural Electrification Agency and was responsible for successfully negotiating the Nigerian Electrification Project, a $550 million facility to rapidly construct solar mini-grids and deploy solar home systems across Nigeria. She was also responsible for the Energizing Education Programme, which will provide uninterrupted electricity to 37 federal universities and seven teaching hospitals through off-grid captive power.
Mrs. Ogunbiyi conceptualized the Energizing Economies Initiative, which provides sustainable and affordable off-grid power solutions to economic clusters in Nigeria and drove gender inclusion activities in the REA and energy sectors. Previously, she was senior special assistant to the president on power and head of the advisory power team in the Office of the Vice President, where she was also responsible for the Power Sector Recovery Programme.
Mrs. Ogunbiyi was the first female to be appointed as the general manager of the Lagos State Electricity Board. She entered public service as the senior special assistant to the Lagos State Governor on public-private partnerships. Prior to her appointment, Mrs. Ogunbiyi was a consultant for the United Kingdom Department for International Development on public-private partnerships.
She created the Lagos State Energy Academy to build the capacity of young people in renewable energy technology.
Mrs. Ogunbiyi is a commissioner for the Global Commission to End Energy Poverty.
Director-designate, Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs and Jeane Kirkpatrick Professor of the Practice of International Affairs
Meghan L. O’Sullivan is the Jeane Kirkpatrick Professor of the Practice of International Affairs and the Director of the Geopolitics of Energy Project at Harvard University’s Kennedy School. She is also a Partner at the strategic consulting firm Macro Advisory Partners and is the Chair of the North American Group of the Trilateral Commission.
Meghan draws on her broad experience in government, business, diplomacy, and academia to shed insights into foreign policy and national security, energy markets, the transition to a net-zero global economy, and the geopolitics of that transition to benefit her students and colleagues, the U.S. government, global businesses, and the public debate.
Meghan has extensive experience in policy formulation and in negotiation. She is currently a member of Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s Foreign Policy Advisory Board. Between 2004 and 2007, she was special assistant to President George W. Bush and Deputy National Security Advisor for Iraq and Afghanistan during the last two years of her tenure. There, she helped run two strategic policy reviews: one on Afghanistan in the summer of 2006 and one on Iraq in late 2006 and early 2007, which led to the “surge” strategy. In her job at the National Security Council, Meghan was responsible for building consensus around new policy directions in Iraq and Afghanistan, as well as overseeing their execution. Meghan spent two years in Iraq during which she helped negotiate the Transitional Administrative Law, which was the interim constitution of Iraq from 2004-2006, and conclude the Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA) and strategic framework agreement between the United States and Iraq. From July 2013 to December 2013, Meghan was the Vice Chair of the All Party Talks in Northern Ireland, which sought to resolve outstanding in the peace process. She also worked in the office of Policy Planning in the State Department under Secretary of State Colin Powell.
Meghan is on the board of Raytheon Technologies and the Board of Directors of the Council on Foreign Relations. She is also a member of the International Advisory Group for the British law firm, Linklaters, a columnist for Bloomberg Opinion and a consultant to companies. She is a trustee of the International Crisis Group and a member of the board of The Mission Continues, a non-profit organization to help veterans. She is also on the advisory committee for the Women’s Initiative at the George W. Bush Institute as well as Columbia University’s Center for Global Energy Policy. She was a Henry Crown Fellow from 2015-2017 and a Henry Luce Fellow from 1991-1992.
Meghan has written several books and many articles on international affairs, including her award winning 2017 book Windfall: How the New Energy Abundance Upends Global Politics and Strengthens America’s Power. She has been awarded the Defence Department's highest honor for civilians, the Distinguished Public Service Medal, and three times been awarded the State Department's Superior Honor Award. In 2008, Esquire Magazine named her one of the most influential people of the century. O’Sullivan earned a bachelor’s degree from Georgetown University, a masters of science in economics, and doctorate in politics from Oxford University. She holds a Top Secret/SCI Security Clearance from the U.S. government.
Former Minister of Foreign Affairs of Spain; Visiting Professor, Georgetown University
Ana Palacio was the first woman to serve as Foreign Minister of Spain, from 2002-2004. Before this, she was a member of the Spanish Parliament, where she chaired the Joint Committee of the two Houses for European Affairs. She also served as a member of the European Parliament, where she chaired the Legal Affairs and Internal Market Committee, the Justice and Home Affairs Committee and the Conference of the Committee Chairs, the most senior decision-making body on legislative policy and programs. As the Head of the Spanish Delegation to the European Union’s Intergovernmental Conference and a member of the Presidium of the Convention, Ms. Palacio was at the forefront of the debate on the future of the European Union and drafted and led legal discussions on the European Treaties reform.
Ms. Palacio also served on Spain's Consejo de Estado (Council of State), and as Senior VP and General Counsel of the World Bank Group, as well as Secretary General of the ICSID - International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes.
In the private sector, Ms. Palacio was a member of the Executive Committee and Senior VP for International Affairs of the nuclear energy leader AREVA. She currently sits on the corporate boards of Enagás, Ecoener, and Emissions Reduction Corp and is a member of the International Advisory Board of OCP Group. Ms. Palacio is a visiting professor at the Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University and at the UM6P University, and she is a member of the governing bodies of several public and academic institutions. She is a regular speaker at international conferences and a contributor to different publications, including a monthly column for Project Syndicate, and a weekly column for El Mundo (Spain).
Chairman and CEO, TotalEnergies
A Graduate of Ecole Polytechnique and Chief Engineer of the French Corps des Mines, Patrick Pouyanné held various positions in the French Industry Ministry and in ministerial offices from 1989 to 1996, including Environment and Industry Technical Advisor to the Prime minister from 1993 to 1995 and Chief of Staff to the information technology and space minister from 1995 to 1996.
Patrick Pouyanné joined the company TotalEnergies (ex Total) in January 1997, with positions in Angola and Qatar in 1999.
In August 2002, he was named Senior Vice President, Finance, Economics and Information Systems in Exploration & Production, then Senior Vice President, Strategy, Business Development and R&D in Exploration & Production in 2006.
In January 2012, he was appointed President, Refining & Chemicals and member of the Executive Committee.
On October 22nd, 2014, the Board of Directors appointed Patrick Pouyanné as Chief Executive Officer, and he became simultaneously President of the Executive Committee.
On May 29th, 2015, Patrick Pouyanné was appointed at the Board of Directors and on December 16th, 2015, he was appointed Chairman of the Board of Directors and Chief Executive Officer.
Patrick Pouyanné is also member of the Board of Cap Gemini, Association Française des Entreprises Privées (AFEP), Institut du Monde Arabe, Ecole Polytechnique and Institut Polytechnique of Paris. Patrick Pouyanné is President of the Alliance for Education, French association against dropping out of school. Patrick Pouyanné is President of the Association Française des Entreprises pour l’Environnement
He has been a Knight of the Legion of Honor since April 2015.
Bloomberg
Akshat Rathi is a London-based senior reporter for Bloomberg News. He tells stories of the people and their ideas tackling the biggest problem facing humanity: climate change. He has edited a book of essays from young climate leaders and he is currently working on a book about scaling up climate solutions.
Akshat has a PhD in organic chemistry from the University of Oxford, and a BTech in chemical engineering from the Institute of Chemical Technology in Mumbai. You can sign up to his weekly Zero newsletter, subscribe to his weekly Zero podcast, and follow him on Twitter and LinkedIn.
Previously, Akshat was a senior reporter at Quartz and a science editor at The Conversation. He has also worked for The Economist and the Royal Society of Chemistry. His writings have also been published in Nature, The Hindu, The Guardian, Ars Technica, and Chemistry World, among others. And he has won numerous awards for his work:
2023: Whitman Bassow Award from the Overseas Press Club for the best reporting on international environmental issues, and SABEW Award for explanatory stories.
2022: Two-time Loeb Award finalist for the ESG Mirage and the Methane Menace, Wincott Award for Journalism of the Year and British Journalism Award for investigating ESG ratings, and SABEW Award for international reporting on methane.
2021: British Journalism Award commendation for an investigation of ExxonMobil’s emissions.
2020: Distinguished Alumni Award by the Institute of Chemical Technology.
2018: The Drum’s Online Media Award for Journalist of the Year and John B. Oakes Award finalist for distinguished environmental journalism.
Akshat has won fellowships from Columbia University and City University of New York to enhance his reporting work. He has also served on the advisory panel of the 2019 Cairncross Review on the sustainability of high-quality journalism in the UK.
Deputy Chairman & CEO, Kuwait Petroleum Corporation
Shaikh Nawaf S. Al-Sabah was appointed president and chief executive officer of Kuwait Petroleum International (KPI), the international downstream subsidiary of the state-owned Kuwait Petroleum Corporation (KPC), in February 2019. KPI owns and operates over 4700 service stations in Europe under the “Q8” brand, as well as three refining joint ventures in Italy, Vietnam, and Oman.
He has also served as chief executive officer of Kuwait Foreign Petroleum Exploration Company (KUFPEC), the international upstream subsidiary of KPC, since 19 May 2013. During his tenure as chief executive officer of KUFPEC, the company doubled its production and expanded into new geographies and technologies.
Before joining KUFPEC in 2013, Shaikh Nawaf spent fourteen years at KPC, the last eight of which he served as deputy managing director and general counsel of KPC, where he was the principal inhouse counsel to KPC and an active member of KPC’s negotiating teams on the corporation’s strategic projects. He was also a board member of KPI’s holding company and of MEGlobal, an olefins joint venture involving KPC’s petrochemicals subsidiary.
From 2002 to 2004, Shaikh Nawaf was head of KPC’s Washington office, responsible for the development of downstream business opportunities and policy analysis in the United States. He also previously worked as a corporate transactions attorney for a major international law firm based in Los Angeles.
Shaikh Nawaf holds an A.B. degree magna cum laude from Princeton University’s School of Public and International Affairs and a Juris Doctor degree cum laude from Harvard Law School.
CEO, Pioneer Natural Resources
Scott D. Sheffield is an energy industry leader who played significant roles in American shale revolution and lifting of the US crude oil export ban. He currently serves as CEO of Pioneer Natural Resources, the company he helped found in 1997 and grew into what it is today the largest crude producer in Texas.
The son of an ARCO executive, Sheffield attended high school in Tehran, Iran. After graduating from the University of Texas, he began his career as a reservoir engineer with Amoco Production Co. In 1979, Sheffield became the fifth employee of Parker & Parsley Petroleum Co. in Midland, Texas. By 1985, he was CEO of Parker & Parsley and became chairman in 1991.
Under Sheffield's leadership, Parker & Parsley merged with MESA, Inc. in 1997 to form Pioneer Natural Resources Co. He became the company's founding CEO and assumed the position of chairman of the board in August 1999. Sheffield retired from the company in 2016, but he returned as President and CEO in 2019. He is now CEO and continues to serve on the board.
Sheffield also serves as a director of The Williams Companies, Inc., a provider of large-scale infrastructure for natural gas and natural gas products, on the advisory board of the Center for Global Energy Policy at Columbia University and on the Energy Council of CSL Capital Management, LLC, a private equity firm.
The Permian Basin Petroleum Association recently honored Sheffield as the recipient of its prestigious Top Hand award, which recognizes individuals who have demonstrated exceptional leadership within the oil and gas industry and the Permian Basin community.
He is also a 2013 inductee into the Permian Basin Petroleum Museum Hall of Fame, memorializing those whose achievements and outstanding contributions to the industry helped build the Permian Basin. Sheffield also received the Texas Oil & Gas Association’s Distinguished Service Award, the ADL's Henry Cohn Humanitarian Award in Dallas, the National Multiple Sclerosis Society's Hope Award in Midland and the Frank Pitts Award for Energy Leadership from SMU.
Sheffield is a distinguished graduate of the University of Texas with a Bachelor of Science degree in Petroleum Engineering.
Chairman & CEO, ReNew
A leading first-generation entrepreneur, Sumant Sinha is the Chairman and CEO of ReNew Power – one of India’s largest clean energy companies. Sumant founded ReNew Power in January 2011, with a vision to transform the way energy is produced and consumed in India. Since then, under his leadership, the company has grown exponentially and is today one of India’s premier renewable energy companies with an aggregate portfolio of more than 13 GW spread over more than 140+ sites. ReNew has been funded by marquee investors including Goldman Sachs, CPPIB (largest Canadian pension fund), ADIA (sovereign wealth fund in the Middle East) and JERA (leading Japanese utility), and has raised more than USD 7.3 billion of capital, both in equity and debt. In August 2021, ReNew became the first Indian renewable energy company to list on NASDAQ (NASDAQ: RNW). ReNew’s current enterprise value is US$10 billion and the company has
emerged as one of the leading asset creators in the country over the last 5 years. It now generates nearly 1.8% of India’s total electricity annually and in doing so helps mitigate half a percent of India’s carbon emissions in a year.
Sumant is a passionate advocate for solutions related to climate change and sustainable development and has spoken at various thought leadership platforms, such as World Economic Forum at Davos, COP Summits, Climate Week NYC, CERA Week, and other forums organized by Financial Times, ORF as well as leading global universities. He has written more than 150 opinion articles in leading global and Indian publications on the pressing issues of climate change, renewable energy and sustainable economic growth. Sumant has recently written a book – Fossil Free: Reimagining Clean Energy in a Carbon-Constrained World, which is about the past, present and future of the world’s energy systems in the context of the world’s changing climate and spells out a playbook to create a carbon light future for India. Recently, Fossil Free was featured in the Tata Literature Live Business Book Award 2021 shortlist. Former US Vice President Al Gore describes the book as “a compelling roadmap to a better, cleaner future for India—and other developing regions of the world”.
Sumant is Co-Chair of the Electricity Governor’s Group, and member of the Stewardship Board on Shaping the Future of Energy and Alliance of CEO Climate Leaders, at the World Economic Forum. He was recently elected as Co- Chair of the Alliance of CEO Climate Action Leaders India. Sumant also serves as the President of the Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (ASSOCHAM). He serves on the Board of Directors of the US India Strategic Partnership Forum (USISPF) and the Rocky Mountain Institute. Sumant has been instrumental in ReNew joining as a founding member of the First Movers Coalition (The First Movers Coalition is a public-private partnership between the US State Department, through Special Presidential Envoy for Climate John Kerry, and the World Economic Forum). Sumant also serves on the Singapore Government’s International Advisory Panel on Energy, and member - Advisory Committee of India Climate Collaborative- a platform promoting policy advocacy and thought leadership on climate change. He is on the Board of Governors of IIM Calcutta, IIT Delhi and Columbia
University’s School of International and Public Affairs (SIPA) and a Fellow of the Indian National Academy of Engineering (INAE). Sumant is an Energy Transitions Commissioner (UK), and chair of the Global Wind Energy Council (GWEC) India. Sumant is also one of the founding members of the CFA Society India that today has more than 3200 members across India consisting of portfolio managers, investment advisors, and other finance professionals.
For his achievements in entrepreneurship and clean energy, Sumant has won several awards and recognitions including 2022 USISPF Global Leadership Award; S&P Global Platts ‘Trailblazer of the Year 2021’; ‘Chairman Of The Year’ at the Stevie International Business Awards 2020; Columbia SIPA ‘Distinguished Alumni Award 2022’; ‘ET Energy’s Chief Executive of the Year 2022’; The Entrepreneur India’s Entrepreneur of the Year award, 2019; Distinguished Alumnus Award – IIM Calcutta 2019; the coveted ‘Economic Times Entrepreneur of the Year Award’ 2018, Distinguished Alumnus Award – IIT Delhi, 2018; ‘EY Entrepreneur of the Year’, 2017’ and ‘Outstanding Start-up of the Year’- Forbes India Leadership Awards 2017. Sumant has also been recognized as an SDG Pioneer by the United Nations Global Compact, a first for any Indian business leader, for his work in the areas of energy transition and gender equality.
After starting his career in the Tata Administrative Service, Sumant worked as an investment banker with Citicorp and ING Barings in the US and UK, before heading finance in one of India’s largest conglomerates, the Aditya Birla Group. He was also COO of Suzlon, India’s largest wind turbine company. Sumant has a Master’s degree in International Affairs from Columbia University, a diploma in business management from the Indian Institute of Management Calcutta and a B. Tech from the Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi.
Executive Chairman, Tellurian Inc.
Charif Souki co-founded Tellurian with Martin Houston in February 2016 and serves as Executive Chairman. Tellurian is developing an integrated global gas business beginning with its first project Driftwood LNG, an ~ 27.6 million tonne per annum (mtpa) liquefied natural gas (LNG) export facility on the United States Gulf Coast.
Charif began his career as an investment banker and spent 20 years specializing in financing small capitalization companies in the energy industry. He founded Cheniere Energy in 1996, helping to create the North American LNG export industry in the wake of the shale revolution, with Sabine Pass and Corpus Christi facilities. Charif served as Chairman of the Board of Directors and Chief Executive Officer and President, and ultimately built an LNG complex with an enterprise value that now exceeds $60 billion.
He currently serves as a member of the Advisory Board of the Center on Global Energy Policy at Columbia University, and on the International Advisory Board for the Neurological Research Institute (NRI) at Texas Children’s Hospital. Charif received a BA from Colgate University and an MBA from Columbia University.
Chair, Steering Committee, Innovation for Cool Earth Forum, Executive Director Emeritus, the International Energy Agency (IEA) and former Distinguished Fellow, Center on Global Energy Policy, Columbia University
CEO, European Climate Foundation
Laurence Tubiana is CEO of the European Climate Foundation (ECF) and a Professor at Sciences Po, Paris. She previously chaired the Board of Governors at the French Development Agency (AFD), as well as the Board at Expertise France (The French public agency for international technical assistance). Before joining the ECF, Laurence was France’s Climate Change Ambassador and Special Representative for COP21, and as such a key architect of the landmark Paris Agreement. Following COP21 and through COP22, she was appointed UN High-Level Champion for climate action.
Laurence brings decades of expertise. From 1997—2002, she served as Senior Adviser on the Environment to the French Prime Minister Lionel Jospin. From 2009—2010, she created and led the newly established Directorate for Global Public Goods at the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs. She founded in 2002 and directed until 2014 the Institute of Sustainable Development and International Relations (IDDRI). She has held academic positions including Sciences Po and as Professor of International Affairs at Columbia University. She has been a member of numerous boards and scientific committees, including the Chinese Committee on the Environment and International Development (CCICED).
Global Energy & Climate Innovation Editor, The Economist
Vijay V. Vaitheeswaran is the new Global energy & climate innovation editor, covering the energy and utility industries, the clean energy transition, climate innovations and low carbon technologies. He leads our coverage of America’s climate and green infrastructure efforts, and keeps a watchful eye on ESG trends and corporate pledges of net-zero emissions for signs of promise as well as greenwashing.
An award-winning senior journalist, he previously served as both US Business Editor and China Business Editor. He also serves as chairman of The Economist Innovation Summit, a provocative series of global conferences on innovation.
He joined the editorial staff in 1992 as its London-based Latin America correspondent, and opened the magazine’s first regional bureau in Mexico City. From 1998 to 2006, he covered the politics, economics, business and technology of energy and the environment. From 2007 to 2011 his portfolio encompassed innovation, global health, pharmaceuticals and biotechnology.
His latest book, published by Harper Collins, is “Need, Speed and Greed: How the New Rules of Innovation Can Transform Businesses, Propel Nations to Greatness, and Tame the World’s Most Wicked Problems”. Amazon named it a Book of the Month and Kirkus Reviews called it “the perfect primer for the postindustrial age.” In reviewing the book, the Financial Times declared that “Vaitheeswaran is a writer to whom it is worth paying attention.” It has been translated into Chinese and several other languages. His second book, “ZOOM: The Global Race to Fuel the Car of the Future,” co-authored with Iain Carson, was named a Book of the Year by the Financial Times.
Vijay is a life member at the Council on Foreign Relations. He is an advisor on sustainability and innovation to the World Economic Forum at Davos, and his commentaries have appeared on NPR and the BBC, in the Wall Street Journal and the New York Times. He has addressed groups ranging from the US National Governors’ Association and the UN General Assembly to the Technology, Entertainment & Design (TED), Aspen Ideas and AAAS conferences.
Vice Chairman, S&P Global
Daniel Yergin is a highly respected authority on energy, international politics, and economics, and a Pulitzer Prize winner. He is Vice Chairman of S&P Global and Chairman of S&P’s CERAWeek conference, which CNBC has called "the Super Bowl of world energy". He has oversight for the Commodity Insight research at S&P.
Time Magazine said, "If there is one man whose opinion matters more than any other on global energy markets, it’s Daniel Yergin." The New York Times described Daniel Yergin as "America’s most influential energy pundit."
Dr. Yergin's new book The New Map: Energy, Climate and the Clash of Nations is described by NPR as "a master class on how the world works", in The Washington Post as "a tour de force of geopolitical understanding," and by The London Sunday Times as "a wonderful book". It has been translated into 14 languages.
A Pulitzer Prize winner, Dr. Yergin is the author of the bestseller The Quest: Energy, Security, and the Remaking of the Modern World. The Quest, which The New York Times said it is "necessary reading for C.E.O.'s, conservationists, lawmakers, generals, spies, tech geeks (and) thriller writers." Bill Gates summed up his review of The Quest by saying, "This is a fantastic book."
Dr. Yergin is known around the world for his book The Prize: The Epic Quest for Oil Money and Power, which was awarded the Pulitzer Prize. It became a number one New York Times best seller and has been translated into 20 languages.
Of Dr. Yergin’s book Commanding Heights: The Battle for the World Economy, which has been translated into 13 languages, The Wall Street Journal said, "No one could ask for a better account of the world’s political and economic destiny since World War II." Both The Prize and Commanding Heights were made into award- winning television documentaries for PBS and BBC, which Dr. Yergin co-produced, co-wrote, and narrated.
Dr. Yergin is a member of the board of directors of the Council on Foreign Relations and a senior trustee of the Brookings Institution. He is a member of the Energy Advisory Council of the Dallas Federal Reserve. Dr. Yergin served on the U.S. Secretary of Energy Advisory Board under four U.S. presidents.
Among his honors, the Prime Minister of India presented Dr. Yergin with a "Lifetime Achievement Award" and the U.S. Department of Energy awarded him the first "James Schlesinger Medal for Energy Security." The University of Pennsylvania
presented him with the first Carnot Prize for "distinguished contributions to energy policy." Dr. Yergin was awarded the Gold Medal of the President of the Republic of Italy for combining "an understanding of the dynamics of the market with a broad view of the forces of geopolitics as he seeks to point the way to the positive outcomes for the world community."
Dr. Yergin is a member of the advisory board for the Columbia University Center on Global Energy policy. He is also member of the Indian Government’s Energy Think Tank and the advisory board of the MIT Energy Initiative.
Dr. Yergin holds a BA from Yale University and a Ph.D. from Cambridge University, where he was a Marshall Scholar.
Director-designate, Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs and Jeane Kirkpatrick Professor of the Practice of International Affairs
Meghan L. O’Sullivan is the Jeane Kirkpatrick Professor of the Practice of International Affairs and the Director of the Geopolitics of Energy Project at Harvard University’s Kennedy School. She is also a Partner at the strategic consulting firm Macro Advisory Partners and is the Chair of the North American Group of the Trilateral Commission.
Meghan draws on her broad experience in government, business, diplomacy, and academia to shed insights into foreign policy and national security, energy markets, the transition to a net-zero global economy, and the geopolitics of that transition to benefit her students and colleagues, the U.S. government, global businesses, and the public debate.
Meghan has extensive experience in policy formulation and in negotiation. She is currently a member of Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s Foreign Policy Advisory Board. Between 2004 and 2007, she was special assistant to President George W. Bush and Deputy National Security Advisor for Iraq and Afghanistan during the last two years of her tenure. There, she helped run two strategic policy reviews: one on Afghanistan in the summer of 2006 and one on Iraq in late 2006 and early 2007, which led to the “surge” strategy. In her job at the National Security Council, Meghan was responsible for building consensus around new policy directions in Iraq and Afghanistan, as well as overseeing their execution. Meghan spent two years in Iraq during which she helped negotiate the Transitional Administrative Law, which was the interim constitution of Iraq from 2004-2006, and conclude the Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA) and strategic framework agreement between the United States and Iraq. From July 2013 to December 2013, Meghan was the Vice Chair of the All Party Talks in Northern Ireland, which sought to resolve outstanding in the peace process. She also worked in the office of Policy Planning in the State Department under Secretary of State Colin Powell.
Meghan is on the board of Raytheon Technologies and the Board of Directors of the Council on Foreign Relations. She is also a member of the International Advisory Group for the British law firm, Linklaters, a columnist for Bloomberg Opinion and a consultant to companies. She is a trustee of the International Crisis Group and a member of the board of The Mission Continues, a non-profit organization to help veterans. She is also on the advisory committee for the Women’s Initiative at the George W. Bush Institute as well as Columbia University’s Center for Global Energy Policy. She was a Henry Crown Fellow from 2015-2017 and a Henry Luce Fellow from 1991-1992.
Meghan has written several books and many articles on international affairs, including her award winning 2017 book Windfall: How the New Energy Abundance Upends Global Politics and Strengthens America’s Power. She has been awarded the Defence Department's highest honor for civilians, the Distinguished Public Service Medal, and three times been awarded the State Department's Superior Honor Award. In 2008, Esquire Magazine named her one of the most influential people of the century. O’Sullivan earned a bachelor’s degree from Georgetown University, a masters of science in economics, and doctorate in politics from Oxford University. She holds a Top Secret/SCI Security Clearance from the U.S. government.
Senior Director of Research and Senior Research Scholar
Dr. Melissa C. Lott is a Senior Research Scholar and the Senior Director of Research at the Center on Global Energy Policy, where she leads the Center's research team. She also serves as the lead of the Center's Power Sector and Renewables Research Initiative and serves as the Acting Director of the Center's Carbontech Development Initiative and Energy Opportunity Lab. Dr. Lott is also an Adjunct Professor in Columbia University's Climate School, where she teaches the graduate level course "Climate Change Mitigation".
Dr. Lott has worked as an engineer and advisor for nearly 20 years in the United States, Europe, and Asia. While her work has spanned the entire energy system, Dr. Lott is internationally recognized for her work in the electricity and transportation sectors. In 2022, she was selected to serve on the United Nations Council of Engineers for the Energy Transition (CEET), which will serve as an independent advisory council to the UN Secretary-General. Dr. Lott is also a current member of the World Economic Forum’s Global Future Council on the Future of Economics of Equitable Transition
Dr. Lott specializes in technology and policy research, working to increase our understanding of the impacts of our energy systems on air pollution and public health. She directly applies this understanding to help decision-makers mobilize technology and policy solutions to support the transition to net-zero energy systems. She has authored more than 350 scientific articles, columns, op-eds, journal publications, and reports. Dr. Lott was previously a founding author on Scientific American’s Plugged In. An active public speaker, she has been featured in interviews with international news organizations including the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, PBS Newshour, PBS NOVA, the BBC World Service, BBC Singapore, The Guardian, Good Morning America, National Public Radio, Bloomberg, Axios, ABC News PM in Australia, and Scientific American magazine’s French edition. She was recently featured in the PBS documentary "Chasing Carbon Zero," which discusses the net-zero energy transition in the United States. She was also named the 2023 recipient of the AGU Pavel S. Molchanov Climate Communications Prize.
Prior to joining the Center on Global Energy Policy, Dr. Lott served as the Assistant Vice President of the Asia Pacific Energy Research Centre (APERC), where she led the development of the flagship APEC Energy Demand and Supply Outlook. Dr. Lott has also held roles at the International Energy Agency, where she served as the primary author of the IEA’s technology roadmap on energy storage. In 2011, Dr. Lott was selected as a U.S. Presidential Management Fellow (PMF). She went on to work as the Lead of Energy Modeling and Simulation for the Program Analysis and Evaluation Office at the U.S. Department of Energy. Dr. Lott has also served as an advisory board member for Alstom and GE and contributed as an expert advisor for government organizations including the London Sustainable Development Commission under Mayor Boris Johnson. Throughout her career, Dr. Lott has worked as a Principal Engineer at YarCom Inc., providing her clients with a practical engineering understanding of the relationships between our energy sources, our energy uses, and the impacts of our choices on the environment. Dr. Lott has been featured as a Solar 100 Thought Leader, an IEEE Women in Power, and a Forbes 30 under 30 in Energy as recognition for her research and contributions to global energy sector dialogues.
Dr. Lott holds degrees from the University of California, Davis (Bachelor of Science – Engineering), the University of Texas at Austin (Master of Science – Engineering and Master of Public Affairs), and University College London (Ph.D. in Sustainable Energy Resources and Engineering). While in university, Dr. Lott completed internships at the White House Council on Environmental Quality under President Obama, the U.S. Energy Information Administration, and Sandia National Laboratories in Albuquerque, New Mexico.