The Global Commission on the Geopolitics of Energy Transformation, is an independent initiative that was launched during the IRENA Assembly in January 2018. Its purpose is to examine how the large-scale shift to renewable energy is disrupting the global energy system, impacting economies and changing the political dynamics within and between countries.
Ólafur Ragnar Grímsson was the President of Iceland for twenty years, 1996-2016; elected five times in nationwide elections. He now serves as the Chairman of the Arctic Circle, which he founded in 2013 with various Arctic partners.
Adnan Z. Amin is the Director-General Emeritus of the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA).
Anatoly Chubais was Russia’s Deputy Prime Minister under the first Russian government led by Y.G. Gaidar, where he set up and ran the state property privatization programme.
Christiana Figueres is an internationally recognized leader on global climate change, who served as Executive Secretary of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) between 2010 and 2016.
Joschka Fischer served as Vice Chancellor and Foreign Minister of Germany from 1998 to 2005. He led the German Green Party in its first participation in government at the state and federal levels.
Fu Chengyu is currently the Chair of United Nations Global Compact Network China. With over 40 years of experience in the oil industry, he has served as Chairman and CEO of China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC), and Chairman for China Petroleum & Chemical Corporation (SINOPEC).
Maria van der Hoeven served as Executive Director of the International Energy Agency (IEA) between 2011 - 2016. She also served on the Advisory Board for the UN Sustainable Energy for All Initiative between 2013 and 2015.
Pascal Lamy served two terms as Director-General of the World Trade Organization (WTO) between 2005 and 2013. A member of the French Socialist party, Mr. Lamy was Chief of Staff to the President of the European Commission, Jacques Delors, from 1985-1994.
Carlos Lopes is a development economist, author, educator and civil servant who served as the eighth Executive Secretary of the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa from September 2012 to October 2016.
Murray McCully served as a Member of Parliament in New Zealand for 30 years, including more than 16 years as a Minister. He served as New Zealand’s Foreign Minister for eight and a half years.
Professor Pangestu served as Indonesia’s Minister of Trade from 2004 to 2011, and as Minister of Tourism and Creative Economy from 2011 until October 2014.
Andris Piebalgs is an experienced Latvian politician and diplomat, who has occupied key positions on both national and European levels.
Lapo Pistelli has served as ENI’s Executive Vice President of International Affairs since April 2017. He served as member of the Italian Parliament from 1996 to 2015, and was a member of the European Parliament from 2004 to 2008.
Bill Richardson has more than thirty years of government experience including serving as the Representative of New Mexico in the 3rd Congressional District in the U.S. Congress between 1982-1996; the US Ambassador to the United Nations, and Secretary of Energy between 1997 and 2000.
Khalid M. Al-Sulaiman was Vice President for Renewable Energy at the King Abdullah City for Atomic and Renewable Energy (K.A. CARE) in Saudi Arabia.
Izabella Mônica Vieira Teixeira was Brazil´s Minister of the Environment between 2010 – 2016, and prior to that served as Deputy Minister of the Environment between 2008 and 2010.
Masakazu Toyoda is Chairman and CEO at the Institute of Energy Economics, Japan (IEEJ) since July 2010.
Eirik Waerness is Senior Vice President and Chief Economist at Equinor, responsible for all macroeconomic and market analyses in the group, as well as for mid- and downstream strategy.
Peter Fischer is German Ambassador to the United Arab Emirates and Permanent Representative to IRENA. Previously he was Deputy Director-General for Energy and Climate Policy and Export Control at the German Federal Foreign office. His portfolio covers global energy and climate policy, as well as export control.
Hans Olav Ibrekk is Policy Director for Energy and Climate, at the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Fatima Al-Foora Al Shamsi is the Assistant Undersecretary for Electricity and Future Energy in the United Arab Emirates Ministry of Energy and a member of the UAE Board of Climate change & Environment.
Ruth McCoy has more than twenty years of professional experience working in the United Nations system, with governments, in public policy organisations and the not-for-profit sector.
Kingsmill Bond is the New Energy Strategist for Carbon Tracker and a Research Partner of TS Lombard, where he offers economic and financial guidance on the implications of the energy transition.
Thijs Van de Graaf is Assistant Professor at Ghent University, Belgium, where he teaches and studies international relations and global energy politics.
Morgan Bazilian is the Executive Director of the Payne Institute and a Research Professor of Public Policy at the Colorado School of Mines. Previously, he was Lead Energy Specialist at the World Bank.
Adil Najam is the inaugural Dean of the Frederick S. Pardee School of Global Studies at Boston University. He is also a Professor of International Relations and of Earth and Environment.
Meghan O’Sullivan is the Jeane Kirkpatrick Professor of the Practice of International Affairs and director of the Geopolitics of Energy Project at Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government.
Indra Overland is Research Professor and Head of the Energy Programme at the Norwegian Institute of International Affairs (NUPI). He did his PhD at the University of Cambridge and has since been published extensively on global energy issues.
Daniel Scholten is Assistant Professor at Delft University of Technology, the Netherlands. He specializes in the geopolitical implications of renewable energy and the governance of renewable energy systems.
Kirsten Westphal is Senior Analyst at the Stiftung Wissenschaft und Politik (SWP), the German Institute for International and Security Affairs, in Berlin.
To strengthen the Commission’s work, views and perspectives from a range of corporate, policy and academic leaders are sought and welcomed.
During the Commission’s second meeting, the Commission held a dialogue with business leaders from DNV GL, Statnett, Engie, Enel, Total and Statkraft, as well as, the former Chief of the Armed Forces of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, and the co-founder and chief scientist of the Rocky Mountain Institute.
In this context, should you have important insights on the geopolitical implications of the energy transformation, please send a written contribution of no more than 2 000 words, to geopolitics@irena.org before 30 September 2018. All contributions received will be acknowledged in the final Report.
The geopolitics of electric cars will be messy (Financial Times, Subscription - Opinion)
Renewable Energy and Chinese Power (Foreign Affairs, Subscription)
Commission on the Global Consequences of Renewable Energy Transformation
New Global Commission to Examine Geopolitics of Energy Transformation (IRENA)
Clean power is shaking up the global geopolitics of energy (The Economist)
Global Commission on the Geopolitics of Energy Transformation is supported by the International Renewable Energy Agency
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geopolitics@irena.org
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