Speakers

Career history:

Nobuo Tanaka is currently President of the Sasakawa Peace Foundation since April 2015.  He is also Visiting Professor at Graduate School of Public Policy of the University of Tokyo, where he is teaching energy security.  He is Distinguished Fellow at the Institute of Energy Economics, Japan (IEEJ) as well as Center on Global Energy Policy at Columbia University.  

As Executive Director of the International Energy Agency (IEA) from 2007 to 2011, he oversaw a seminal period in the Agency’s work and direction. Under his leadership, the IEA initiated a collective release of oil stocks in June 2011, the third such collective action in the Agency’s history, opening new scope and a new era for IEA emergency action.  He was responsible for pioneering the concept of ‘comprehensive energy security’ while also expanding the Agency’s focus on climate change, renewable energy and the transition to a low-carbon energy economy. He also played a crucial and personal role in the strengthening of ties with major IEA non-Member energy players, including China, India, Russia, etc.

He began his career in 1973 in the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) in Tokyo, and has served in a number of high-ranking positions in METI, including Director-General of the Multilateral Trade System Department. In this capacity, he led many trade negotiations at the World Trade Organization (WTO) and for bilateral Free Trade Agreements. He was deeply engaged in a range of bilateral trade and economic issues with the US as Minister for Industry, Trade and Energy at the Embassy of Japan, Washington DC from 1998 to 2000, as well serving as the first secretary of the Embassy from 1982 to 1985.

With a strong background in international affairs, He has served as both Deputy Director and Director for Science, Technology and Industry (DSTI) of the Paris-based Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).

Areas of expertise:

Energy Security Trade Policy, International Relations, Industrial Policy, Management of International Organization

Career history:

Stavins is the Albert Pratt Professor of Business and Government at the Harvard Kennedy School, Director of the Harvard Environmental Economics Program, Director of Graduate Studies for the Doctoral Programs in Public Policy and Political Economy and Government, Co‑Chair of the Harvard Business School‑Kennedy School Joint Degree Programs, and Director of the Harvard Project on Climate Agreements. He is a University Fellow of Resources for the Future, a Research Associate of the National Bureau of Economic Research, a member of the Board of Directors of Resources for the Future, and an editor of the Journal of Wine Economics. He was elected a Fellow of the Association of Environmental and Resource Economists in 2009. He was the Founding Editor of the Review of Environmental Economics and Policy, a member of the Scientific Advisory Board of the Fondazione Eni Enrico Mattei, and the Board of Directors of the Association of Environmental and Resource Economists. He was Chairman of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Environmental Economics Advisory Board, and Lead Author, Second and Third Assessment Reports, and Coordinating Leading Author, Fifth Assessment Report, Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. Professor Stavins' research has focused on diverse areas of environmental economics and policy, including examinations of: market‑based policy instruments; regulatory impact analysis; innovation and diffusion of pollution‑control technologies; environmental benefit valuation; policy instrument choice under uncertainty; depletion of forested wetlands; political economy of policy instrument choice; and costs of carbon sequestration. His research has appeared in hundreds of journal articles, popular periodicals, and several books. He holds a B.A. in philosophy from Northwestern University, an M.S. in agricultural economics from Cornell, and a Ph.D. in economics from Harvard. Prior to coming to Harvard, Stavins was a staff economist at the Environmental Defense Fund, and a Peace Corps volunteer in West Africa.

Areas of expertise:

Environmental Economics and Policy

Career history:

David Victor is an internationally recognized leader in research on energy and climate change policy as well as energy markets . He is the author of Global Warming Gridlock, which explains why the world hasn't made much diplomatic progress on the problem of climate change while also exploring new strategies that would be more effective

Prior to joining the faculty at UC San Diego, Victor served as Director of the Program on Energy and Sustainable Development at Stanford University where he was also a Professor at Stanford Law School and taught energy and environmental law.  At Stanford he built a research program that focused on the energy markets of the major emerging countries—mainly Brazil, China, India, Mexico and South Africa. Earlier in his career he also directed the science and technology program at the Council on Foreign Relations in New York and led the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis in Austria one of the first major assessments of the effectiveness of international environmental law.

Victor directs the ILAR research center at UC San Diego. ILAR’s work in understanding regulation, from climate change treaties to human rights accords, aims to have a significant impact on all players in international relations––those working in the global economy in multinational firms, aid and development as well as nongovernmental organizations.

Victor is a leading contributor to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), a United Nations-sanctioned international body with 195 country members. Victor’s expertise was recently tapped by the Southern California Edison to lead the company’s Community Engagement Panel for decommissioning of the San Onofre Nuclear Power Plant. According to utility officials, he was chosen to lead the panel because he has the vision, leadership and experience. His Ph.D. is from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and A.B. from Harvard University.

Areas of expertise:

Energy and Energy Security, Climate Change, International Law.

Career history:

A Graduate of Ecole Polytechnique and an 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. He joined Total in January 1997, as Chief Administrative Officer of Total E&P Angola and became Group Representative in Qatar in 1999. In August 2002, he was named Senior Vice President, Finance, Economics and Information Systems in Exploration & Production. In January 2006, he became Senior Vice President, Strategy, Business Development and R&D in Exploration & Production. In January 2012, P. Pouyanné was appointed President, Refining & Chemicals and member of the Executive Committee. On October 22, 2014, the board of Directors of Total appointed
Patrick Pouyanné Chief Executive Officer and President of the Executive Committee.On May 29, 2015, he was elected as Member of the Board of Directors of Total. Patrick Pouyanné was decorated as Knight of the Legion of Honor in April 2015.

Areas of expertise:

Energy Industry

Career history:

Professor John Loughhead OBE FREng FTSE is the Chief Scientific Advisor at the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC). John joined DECC from the position of Executive Director at the UK Energy Research Centre (UKERC). Prior to that John was Corporate Vice-President of Technology and Intellectual Property at Alstom. Until recently, John was the UK-China Science Focal Point for Energy and Renewables and a member of the European Energy Research Alliance Executive Committee.

John has been active in energy systems research for over 30 years, developing new generation, conversion and system technologies, and has had extensive interactions with UK and international Government bodies on energy policy and technology development.  

John is a graduate in Mechanical Engineering from Imperial College, London, where he also spent five years in computational fluid dynamics research.   He is Past-President of the UK’s Institution of Engineering and Technology, Fellow of the UK and Australian national Academies of Engineering, Professor of Engineering Cardiff University and Fellow of Queen Mary University of London.

Areas of expertise:

Energy systems research; energy policy and technology development; computational fluid dynamics research

Career history:

• Military Service (From 1973 to 1994)
• Deputy General Manager, Myanma Timber Enterprise (From 1994 to 1996)
• General Manager, Myanma Timber Enterprise (From 1996 to 1999)
• Managing Director, Myanma Timber Enterprise (From 1999 to 2010)
• His speeches in international conferences:
  • Speaker at Ministerial Section of 12th Delhi Sustainable Development Summit (2012)
  • Earth Day Keynote Address at the WWF-US Washington DC HQ on 21 April 2023
  • Chairman’s Introductory remarks at the Session 1: High Level Dialogue on Policy and Strategy Determinants for Integrating Energy-Water-Food Nexus of 3rd Green Economy Green Growth Forum (2013)
  • Plenary Speech at Forests Asia Summit 2014

Areas of expertise:

Sustainable development, Forest conservation and environmental protection

Career history:

Peter Bakker is the President of the World Business Council for Sustainable Development. Mr. Bakker is a distinguished business leader who, until June 2011, was the CEO of TNT NV, the Netherlands-based holding company of TNT Express and Royal TNT Post. Under his leadership TNT rose to the forefront of Corporate Responsibility via a ground-breaking partnership with the UN World Food Program and ambitious CO2 reduction targets from its Planet Me initiative, holding multiple-year top-ranking positions in the Dow ones Sustainability Index.
Mr. Bakker is the recipient of Clinton Global Citizen Award (2009); SAM Sustainability Leadership Award (2010); and has been an Ambassador Against Hunger for the UN World Food Programme since 2011. In addition he is the Chairman of War Child Netherlands.

Areas of expertise:

Sustainability