Europe's Climate and Energy Summit - The price and promise of a clean energy future

As Special Envoy for Climate Change, Marcel Beukeboom represents the Netherlands internationally at intergovernmental and multilateral meetings on climate change and oversees the development and implementation of Dutch policy in this area. He brings to the position excellent diplomatic skills and seventeen  years of experience in trade policy, multilateral affairs, partnerships and development cooperation developed throughout his career in Dutch Foreign Service, including postings in Pretoria and Washington D.C. Most recently, Marcel led the Food and Nutrition Security team at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

As an economist specialised in low-carbon infrastructure investment, Edward Calthrop has over ten years of experience at the European Investment Bank, largely within the renewable energy team. This role requires interacting with project developers, contractors and financiers across a wide range of technologies and countries. He also took part in several discussions with policy makers regarding the scaling up of low-carbon investment.

Anne Chassagnette is currently in charge of environmental and societal responsibility at ENGIE Group, a global energy player the fields of electricity generation, natural gas, nuclear and renewable energy. In recent years, she has specifically worked on coordinating the preparation of the COP 22. In addition to her responsibilities at ENGIE, Anne is a Board member of the Institute for Sustainable Development and International Relations (IDDRI), having previously sat on the Board of Directors at Elengy, French LNG terminal operator, and the Steering Committee of Global Compact France.

Seasoned expert in energy transition to renewables, Luca Cosentino has held various operational positions in Italy and abroad since joining ENI more than three decades ago. Notably, he has served as Operation and Asset Manager at ENI North Africa, Managing Director of ENI Congo, and as Senior Vice Chairman for non-operated business performance and stranded resources valorisation, prior to his current appointment in 2015. Under his supervision, recently ENI together with several big-name companies launched the Make Power Clean campaign aimed at building a cleaner future through the right electricity market design.

Jill Duggan brings with her extensive experience of international climate and energy policy from both government and industry perspectives. Having been deeply involved in the development of climate policy in the UK Government and European Commission, Jill has also worked extensively in the United States and Canada on disseminating some of the lessons learned from early implementation of climate policy. Prior to joining the Cambridge institute for Sustainability Leadership, she was Director of Policy for Doosan Babcock and ran her own consultancy, Carbon Policy Associates.

Patrick Graichen is the former executive director at Agora Energiewende, a think tank and policy laboratory developing scientifically based and politically feasible approaches for ensuring the success of the German energy transition. Patrick has an impressive commitment to the energy transition, having previously worked at the Federal Ministry for Environment, first in the area of international climate policy and later as Head of the Unit for energy and climate change policy. During this time, he head economic negotiations for EU and international treaties such as the Kyoto Protocol, the Integrated Energy and Climate Programme of the Federal Government, as well as the EU’s Climate and Energy Package.

As of January 2021, Kaja Kallas is Estonia’s first female Prime Minister. A competition lawyer by profession, Kaja was elected Member of the Estonian Parliament and Chair of the Committee on Economic Affairs in 2011. After being elected to the European Parliament in 2014, she became a prominent proponent of innovation and frequently emphasised that regulations should not hinder the technological revolution. She authored five reports in the European Parliament, including of an own-initiative report on the Digital Single Market. Kaja left the European sphere in 2018 to become leader of Estonia’s Liberal Reform Party.

Currently Senior Executive Vice President for the Northern European Zone at Veolia, recognised as one of the world’s leading environmental services company, Patrick Labat also sits on the group’s executive committee, ensuring energy and environmental services for municipalities, industries and businesses. Veolia focuses on controlling energy costs and reducing carbon footprints through energy-efficient and customised solutions, notably the introduction of renewable fuels into the energy mix where it is viable. Prior to taking up his current assignment, Patrick served as CEO in other leading energy companies, such as Weiss France, Dalkia’s Polish and Hungarian branches.

Claude Nahon has been EDF’s Director of Sustainability and Environment for more than a decade, having previously served as Head for Hydro and Renewable energies. In her current capacity, Claude represents EDF Group on different occasions and at different institutions. Most notably, she is Liaison Delegate of EDF’s CEO at World Business Council for Sustainable Development, Vice-President of Institute for Sustainable Development and International Relations, and a member of the leadership council of the UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network. For her commitment to sustainable development and SDGs, Claude has been named a Knight of the Legion of Honour and an Officer of the National Order of Merit.

Richard Northcote is a corporate sustainability professional and passionate advocate of the Triple Bottom Line (people, profit and planet) and the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals, with a wealth of substantial consulting experience in the chemical and construction industries. In his current capacity, Richard covers all work related to sustainability, determined to lead ground-breaking innovations in the field of materials transformations and mitigation. In addition to his responsibilities at Covestro, Richard also sits on the Board of numerous leading research institutes, most notably Tongji University Institute of Environment for Sustainable Development and Oxford University Business Economics Programme, to name a few.

Yvon Slingenberg has extensively worked on EU climate action. She served as Senior Adviser to EU Commissioner Arias Cañete for Climate Action and Energy, where she was in charge of issues related to the EU Emissions Trading System (EU ETS), effort sharing and land-use, energy efficiency, and renewable energy sources. Slingenberg has been actively involved in the ETS reform, and the role of the ETS in the 2030 climate and energy policy framework. Slingenberg’s work also covered the negotiations on the 2020 climate and energy package, and steered the adoption of numerous implementing measures necessary to enable the harmonised approach of the revised ETS.

An experienced professional in renewable energy support schemes, Hans van Steen currently works on providing secure, affordable and clean energy for EU citizens and businesses at the European Commission Directorate General for Energy. Prior to that, Hans served as Head of Unit with responsibilities for international energy relations and enlargement. In that capacity he was in charge of the implementation of the actions set out under the external dimension of the Energy Union Strategy.

In her present capacity, Rachel Solomon Williams oversees the organisational management and strategic policy direction at Sandbag, focused to ensure that climate policies are robust enough to drive rapid, sustainable and cost-effective emissions reductions, notably through reforming the Emissions Trading Schemes. Rachel is a former civil servant with particular expertise in energy and the environment. She worked in a number of policy areas across Defra and DECC, including as policy lead on the UK Climate Change Act, running the controversial review of the Feed-in Tariffs Scheme, and leading plans for siting a geological disposal facility for the nations legacy of nuclear waste.

A leading expert in the field of China’s policy in climate change, environmental protection, green and climate financing, and technology innovation, Changhua Wu has been a strong voice and opinion maker of China’s pursuit of sustainable development and clean revolution in the last two decades. As China/Asia Region Director at Jeremy Rifkin’s Office, Changhua Wu currently works on advancing the Third Industrial Revolution agenda to create new growth drivers for a new and clean economy through a systemic change. Changhua also chairs China Redesign Hub, a partnership and innovation platform aimed at helping China to achieve its emissions reduction target, in addition to numerous other commitments.