Energy and Climate Summit 2026

Since 2019, Edward Calthrop has been Head of the Sustainability and Climate Office in the Projects Directorate of the European Investment Bank. This team has been closely involved with the development of the first and second phase of the Climate Bank Roadmap. Edward has over 20 years of experience in the Bank, having worked as an economist within the energy and mobility teams. Prior to joining the Bank, he worked in a range of academic and industry roles. He has a doctorate in economics from the Catholic University of Leuven, followed by post-doctoral studies at Oxford University.

Simonetta Cheli is the Director of Earth Observation Programmes at the European Space Agency (ESA) and Head of the ESA-ESRIN establishment in Frascati, Rome. She has worked at ESA for over three decades, both at ESA Headquarters in Paris and at ESRIN. She is a member of the ESA management team and the ESA Executive Board and is accountable for formulating the ESA strategy for the Earth Observation (EO) sector, managing the development of EO satellites, in-orbit Mission operations, ground segment data distribution and archiving, science applications and projects. She actively engages with worldwide stakeholders including space agencies, industry, scientific communities, satellite operators, public/private entities, and international partners, managing major partnership programmes like Copernicus and meteorological programmes with the European Commission and EUMETSAT. Additionally, serving as the representative of ESA in Italy and Head of the ESA ESRIN establishment, Simonetta Cheli represents ESA in numerous international fora and acts as a spokesperson with media in worldwide conferences.

Beatriz Corredor Sierra currently serves as Chairwoman of Redeia. A legal expert and senior public official, Corredor Sierra has held prominent roles in Spanish public administration, including minister of Housing, secretary of State for Housing and Urban Projects, and president of the Board of Directors of the Public Land Entity (SEPES). She is a member of the EIB Group Women Climate Leaders Network. She has also served as a Madrid City councillor and member of the Congress of Deputies. Corredor Sierra is Vice-President of the Board of Trustees of the Reina Sofia Museum and advises several organisations promoting gender equality and sustainability. She is active in academia and has received multiple national distinctions for her public service.

Ruth studied English Language and Literature at Oxford University. She later received a Masters degree in Plant Sciences from Reading University, and a diploma in Horticulture Science from Kew Gardens. Ruth is an Environment Specialist and Advisor. She has more than 20 years’ experience of high-level influencing on nature and climate change, in the public and private sector. Ruth was previously Deputy Director for Policy and Advocacy at the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds. Prior to that, she was Political Director at Greenpeace UK, leading campaigns on climate and energy, fair and sustainable fishing, and the protection of the Arctic. She has also advised the UK Government in several roles, including its COP26 Nature Campaign. She writes extensively about the philosophy, politics and practice of environmentalism

Sandrine Dixson-Declève served as Co-President of the Club of Rome from 2018-2024 and now acts as its Honorary President while leading as the Executive Chair of Earth4All and the Brussels based Systems Transformation Hub, both promoting economic, financial and governance systems change for a sustainable futureenhancing well-being. She sits on the Climate Governance Commission and the newly formed WHO Pan European Climate & Health Commission. She has advised governments, businesses, and international organizations, chaired the European Commission’s Expert Group on Economic and Societal Impact of Research & Innovation (ESIR), and serves or has served on Boards and advisory boards of Climate KIC, Laudes Foundation, Imperial College London, UCL, BMW, UCB and EDP. A TED speaker and author, she co-wrote Earth for All: A Survival Guide for Humanity and advocates for bold climate action, economic reform, and social equity to address global challenges. Sandrine currently teaches at the College of Europe.

Jan Dusík has spent his entire career in the environmental and climate policy and law. He worked at the Ministry of Environment of the Czech Republic for 12 years, including as the Minister of Environment. In 2011, Dusík became the Deputy Regional Director of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and was subsequently appointed as UNEP’s Regional Director for Europe, followed by serving as UNEP’s Principal Adviser on Strategic Engagement for the Arctic and Antarctic. In 2020, he joined the WWF Global Arctic Programme, leading the work on Arctic Sustainable Development and Governance. In 2022-2024, he held the position of the Czech Government Envoy for International Climate Negotiations. In September 2024, he was appointed Deputy Director-General in DG Climate Action of the European Commission. 

Frank Elderson is a member of the Executive Board and of the Governing Council of the European Central Bank. He is Vice-Chair of the ECB’s Supervisory Board and oversees the ECB’s Legal Services. From 2020 to 2025 he co-chaired the Task Force on Climate-Related Financial Risks of the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision. Elderson previously served as Executive Director of De Nederlandsche Bank (DNB). At DNB he held several senior positions before joining its Governing Board in 2011. Before joining DNB in 1999, Elderson worked as a lawyer specialising in EU competition law. Throughout his career, Frank Elderson has stressed the importance of climate and environment related considerations for the financial sector and for supervisors and central banks. He founded and chaired the Dutch Platform for Sustainable Finance from 2016 to 2020 and from 2018 to 2022 he served as the first Chair of the Network of Central Banks and Supervisors for Greening the Financial System (NGFS), a network he helped creating and expanding. Elderson graduated in Dutch law at the University of Amsterdam in 1994 and obtained an LL.M. Degree at Columbia Law School, New York, in 1995. He also studied various courses at the University of Zaragoza, Spain.

Adam is a sustainability leader with over 19 years of experience in driving positive transformational change for some of the world’s most influential companies. As Google’s Director of Sustainability for Europe, Middle East, and Africa, he works at the intersection of the physical, digital, and natural worlds. He coordinates with Google’s real-world and digital infrastructure teams, from real estate and supply chains to data centers and products, to ensure that the company is taking advantage of opportunities to strategically advance sustainability. Previously, Adam held senior sustainability roles at Amazon, Marks & Spencer, and Klöckner Pentaplast, where he developed and delivered innovative sustainability strategies and programs that enhanced their environmental, social, and governance performance. He is a Chartered Environmentalist and a Fellow of both IEMA and ICRS, and an Executive Fellow at King’s Business School. He has been recognised as one of the UK’s top 100 environmental professionals and among the top 50 sustainability thought leaders and influencers globally. He is passionate about creating a more sustainable and inclusive future for everyone.

With a background in European studies at the University of Osnabrück (Germany) and the Institut d’Etudes Politiques / Sciences Po Paris (France), Corinna Grajetzky started her professional career in Brussels in 2006. She has focused on EU Energy and Climate Policies in different functions, amongst others as policy advisor at the Association of German Chambers of Commerce and Industry (DIHK). From 2014, Corinna worked for the German energy company RWE and became their Head of Brussels Office in 2018. In May 2024, she joined the French energy company ENGIE as Director for European Affairs. With her team, she steers the political positioning and messaging on the broad range of European policies relevant for the company and represents ENGIE vis-à-vis EU institutional and non-institutional stakeholders.

Connie Hedegaard holds several leading positions in support of a low-carbon and green economy. She was appointed Lead of the Mission on ‘Adaptation to Climate Change including Societal Transformation’ for Horizon Europe and also chairs the Board of the KR Foundation, a Danish climate and sustainability foundation. Hedegaard was also the European commissioner for climate action, in which role she led the negotiations for the adoption of the 2030 Climate and Energy Framework and the 2050 Roadmap for moving towards a low-carbon economy, whilst also representing the EU in international climate negotiations.

Dan Jørgensen is the European Commissioner for Energy and Housing within the European Commission in office between 2024-2029. He was Minister for Development Cooperation and Minister for Global Climate Policy between December 2022 – September 2024, and Minister for Climate, Energy, and Utilities between June 2019 – December 2022 in the Danish Government. He was a Member of the Danish Parliament (Folketing) between 2015-2024 where he served as Vice-Chairman of the Parliamentary Group of the Social Democratic Party (2017-2019) and as Vice-Chairman of the Danish Delegation to NATO Parliamentary Assembly. Dan Jørgensen was also a Member of the European Parliament within the S&D Group between July 2004- November 2013. He holds a Master’s degree in Political Science from Aarhus University (Denmark) which he obtained in 2004. He pursued an academic career and lectured as External Lecturer at several universities between 2010-2013, i.e. University of Copenhagen; Seattle University; Sciences Po, Paris; Danish Institute for Study Abroad, Copenhagen; Department of Political Science, Aarhus University and also as Adjunct Professor at the Aalborg University, Denmark (2016 – 2019).

Dharmendra Kanani is Director of Policy & Programmes and Chief Spokesperson at Friends of Europe. Prior to joining Friends of Europe, Dharmendra was director of policy at the European Foundation Centre (EFC). He was the England director at the Big Lottery Fund, the largest independent funder in the UK and fourth largest in the world. Dharmendra has held senior positions in the public and voluntary sectors and advisor to numerous ministerial policy initiatives across the UK.

Cillian Lohan is a leader in the field of the Circular Economy. He was the inaugural Chair of the European Circular Economy Stakeholder Platform which he helped to establish. He is an experienced delegate at United Nations initiatives such as the Climate COP negotiations, and the High Level Political Forum on the Sustainable Development Goals. As CEO of Green Economy Foundation, Cillian has overseen ambitious projects including the planting of over 4 million trees in Ireland, and the establishment of a Wildlife Reserve in Tobago. Appointed through the Irish Environmental Pillar, he has been an active member of the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) since 2015, and has been rapporteur for 17 opinions. He was EESC vice-president in charge of communication from 2020 to 2023. In October 2025, he was elected to the office of president of the EESC Civil Society Organisations’ Group.

Antonio Lopez-Nicolas is a senior official at the European Commission working on energy policy. He currently leads the Chief Economist team in the Directorate-General for Energy, where he provides economic, financial, and modelling expertise to support the design and implementation of European energy policy. In previous roles at the Commission, he coordinated the preparation of the Action Plan for Affordable Energy, adopted alongside the Clean Industrial Deal, and led interinstitutional negotiations on the Renewable Energy Directive. He has also steered several flagship initiatives, including the Wind Power Package and the Energy System Integration and Hydrogen Strategies. Before joining the European Commission, Lopez-Nicolas was Head of the Market Unit at the European Network of Transmission System Operators for Electricity (ENTSO-E), where he oversaw the development of European network codes, market design, and transparency initiatives.

Alex Martinos is an Energy Analyst at the International Energy Agency (IEA), where he contributes to the World Energy Outlook and other major publications. He was lead author of the Global Energy Review 2025 and a lead author of the IEA’s Special Report on Energy and AI. Previously, Martinos spent 11 years at Energy Intelligence in London, including as Director of Energy Transition Research, covering electric vehicles, hydrogen, carbon capture, utilisation and storage (CCUS) and energy scenarios. He has also worked in consulting, finance and journalism, with a focus on the global energy sector.

Pierfrancesco Maran is a Member of the European Parliament for the Socialists and Democrats Group, elected in 2024 in the North-West Italy constituency. Maran currently chairs the European Parliament’s Committee on the Environment, Climate and Food Safety (ENVI) and serves on the IMCO and EMPL committees. Maran began his political career as a Local District Councillor before joining Milan City Council in 2006. In 2011, Maran became the youngest councillor in Mayor Giuliano Pisapia’s administration, overseeing mobility, the environment, public water, energy and the metro. Reappointed by Mayor Beppe Sala in 2016, Maran took responsibility for urban planning, green spaces and agriculture. In 2021, Maran received more votes than any other municipal candidate in Italy and began a third consecutive term as councillor, with responsibility for housing and neighbourhood policy. In 2022, Maran published Visible Cities: Where the Nation’s Change Begins, an analysis of the transformation of major European cities, later adapted for the stage. Maran is married and has two children, Lorenzo and Viola.

Raluca is the Director, EU Advocacy & General Delegate – International Road Transport Union (IRU), where she leads the Brussels based team and is in charge of advocacy for the entire commercial transport by road, including mobility of people and goods. Regarding people mobility, this means advocating for bus, coach and on demand last mile mobility, such as taxi. Regarding goods mobility, this includes all road freight transport and logistics matters as well as their multi-modal connectivity and drive to digitalisation. Prior to joining IRU, for over 10 years Raluca was a competition and regulatory lawyer in Norton Rose Fulbright’s team in Brussels, where she advised on a broad range of competition areas, such as merger control, investigations, abuse of dominance, horizontal and vertical agreements and State aid law. On the regulatory side, her focus has been transport regulation and market access.

As Microsoft’s Chief Sustainability Officer, Melanie Nakagawa leads the company’s sustainability strategy and targets, as well as global initiatives focused on expanding digital connectivity and inclusive access to technology worldwide. She brings two decades of experience at the nexus of policy, business, and technology, most recently serving as Special Assistant to the President and Senior Director for Climate and Energy on the National Security Council at the White House. Prior to the White House, Melanie helped launch Princeville Capital’s inaugural global growth equity climate technology fund, investing in companies delivering transformative solutions to climate change. She also served as a strategic advisor to Secretary of State John Kerry on climate change and environmental issues and held roles in the U.S. Senate and with the Natural Resources Defense Council. Melanie has a JD and MA from American University and an AB from Brown University.

Bart Sap was appointed Chief Executive Officer in May 2024, after serving as Executive Vice-President Catalysis from 2021 to 2024 and Senior Vice-President for Cobalt & Specialty Materials and Supply from 2020 to 2021. He joined Umicore in 2004 as controller for Cobalt & Specialty Materials and occupied several management functions in Korea and Belgium covering finance, supply and refining of battery raw materials, business development and operations. Bart holds a Master’s Degree in Commercial Science from Vlekho in Brussels, Belgium, with majors in Accountancy and Taxation.

As Managing Director of the Jacques Delors Friends of Europe Foundation, Ulrike is responsible for developing an integrated approach across the work of the Jacques Delors Institutes and Friends of Europe. She supports the implementation and operationalisation of the Foundation’s strategy, strengthening advocacy, citizen engagement, and collective impact across multiple European capitals. Ulrike comes from the private sector, most recently serving as Chief Sustainability Officer at Henkel AG, where she led a team of 50, reporting to the Executive Management Team and shaping strategy, business integration, data systems and reporting. Her previous roles include international positions at The Coca-Cola Company and RWE Thames Water across various European locations. She also brings extensive experience in European and global policy, having engaged on topics such as public-private partnerships, climate and energy transition, circular economy, and human rights. Ulrike is a German national and is based in Brussels.

Leena Ylä-Mononen has worked with national, European and international environmental policy and administration for over 30 years. Before joining the EEA, Ylä-Mononen was director general at the Finnish Ministry of the Environment, where she was in charge of the Ministry’s Climate and Environmental Protection Department, dealing with environmental policy issues and EU files. Prior to joining the Ministry Ylä-Mononen worked in management positions at the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) in Helsinki, first as a head of unit and then as one of the directors. She also worked at the European Commission, Directorate-General for Environment, on policy files related to chemicals, pesticides and multilateral environmental agreements related to chemicals.

Ke Wang leads “Energy Minerals and Circularity” at WRI, addressing the grand challenge of meeting the world’s need for energy transition minerals, both in time and in ways that are responsible for people and nature. Prior to her current role at WRI, Wang was the Program Director of PACE (Platform for Accelerating the Circular Economy), where she managed the program team and oversaw a broad portfolio including electronics, food, plastics, textiles, capital equipment, and metrics. She led PACE’s flagship knowledge products such as the Circular Economy Action Agenda, and Circular Economy as a Climate Strategy, in collaboration with over 200 experts and stakeholders. Before joining WRI, Wang had been active in circular business model innovation in renewable energy and built environment. She has successfully set up and managed complex partnerships, including large project consortia such as EU Horizon2020 CIRCUSOL (circular business models for the solar power industry). Before pivoting her career to sustainability, Ke had nearly a decade of experience managing medical technology innovation at Philips, including neural implants, ultrasound imaging, and minimally invasive cardiovascular healthcare.