Josh Zoffer is Senior Non-Resident Fellow at the Columbia Center on Global Energy Policy. His research and writing focuses on climate and energy policy, the global financial system, and the intersections between international economics and national security.
Mr. Zoffer currently leads the climate tech investment practice at Clocktower Ventures, an early-stage venture capital fund. From 2023 to 2024, Mr. Zoffer served as Special Assistant to the President for Economic Policy at the White House National Economic Council (NEC). At the White House, he led the NEC’s work on issues at the intersection of climate, energy, and markets, including climate technology investment, climate-related financial risk, carbon markets, energy security, and energy-related sanctions. He also worked closely on trade and supply chain issues, including China-related trade policy.
From 2021 to 2023, Mr. Zoffer served at the U.S. Department of the Treasury, most recently as Senior Advisor to the Deputy Secretary. In that capacity, he served as the Deputy Secretary’s principal advisor on economic and foreign policy issues and as his chief speechwriter. He played a key role in many of the Treasury Department’s signature policies during this period, including the design and negotiation of the price cap on Russian oil and the implementation of the Inflation Reduction Act. He also co-led the negotiation of the U.S.-Japan Critical Minerals Agreement. He is a recipient of the Treasury Medal.
Mr. Zoffer also served on both the Biden-Harris Presidential Transition Team and the Clinton-Kaine Presidential Transition Team and advised the Biden-Harris campaign on economic policy issues. Before serving in government, Mr. Zoffer worked at Cove Hill Partners, a technology-focused private equity firm, and in McKinsey & Company’s New York Office.
His writing has been published in the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Financial Times, Washington Post, The Atlantic, Foreign Affairs, The New Republic, and others, as well as academic journals such as the Yale Law Journal and Stanford Law Review. A native of Chapel Hill, NC, he graduated with an A.B. in Social Studies from Harvard University and a J.D. from Yale Law School.
