Navigating toward a Carbon-Neutral Future through Clean Energy Solutions
13 –16 June 2023 | ADB Headquarters, Manila
Speakers
ALL SPEAKERS
Ahmed Ali
Ministry of Environment, Climate Change and Technology
Mr. Ali is currently the Director General of the Ministry of Environment, Climate Change and Technology, Republic of Maldives. He is also the appointed board member of the SAARC Energy Centre since 2009. With over 20 years of experience in the energy sector, Mr. Ali plays a crucial role in the plann
Read Full BioAhmed Ali
Ministry of Environment, Climate Change and Technology
Bio
Mr. Ali is currently the Director General of the Ministry of Environment, Climate Change and Technology, Republic of Maldives. He is also the appointed board member of the SAARC Energy Centre since 2009. With over 20 years of experience in the energy sector, Mr. Ali plays a crucial role in the planning and development of the Maldives energy sector. He was actively involved in formulating the Maldives energy policies and strategies including the Maldives National Energy Policy and Strategy and Maldives Scaling Up Renewable Energy Investment Plan. Mr. Ali completed his undergraduate studies at Islamic University of Technology, Bangladesh. He completed Master of Engineering from Asian Institute of Technology, Thailand and Master of Business Administration from Anglia Ruskin University, UK.
AJAY MATHUR
INTERNATIONAL SOLAR ALLIANCE
Dr Ajay Mathur is the Director General of the International Solar Alliance (ISA). At ISA, his focus is on enhancing solarization of the world, and convincing leaders of the world that solar is the energy supply choice of preference. Towards this end, ISA provides, advocacy; analysis of policy; fi
Read Full BioAJAY MATHUR
INTERNATIONAL SOLAR ALLIANCE
Bio
Dr Ajay Mathur is the Director General of the International Solar Alliance (ISA). At ISA, his focus is on enhancing solarization of the world, and convincing leaders of the world that solar is the energy supply choice of preference. Towards this end, ISA provides, advocacy; analysis of policy; financial capacity strengthening; and solar project preparation in LDCs and SIDs. 103 countries are today members of the ISA. ISA is the only international organization headquartered in India, and was created by PM Modi of India and President François Hollande of France at the Paris Climate Negotiations in 2015. Dr Mathur was earlier in the Bureau of Energy Efficiency, and at The Energy and Resources Institute as its Director General.
Amanda Van den Dool
USAID/RDMA
Amanda J. Van den Dool has led energy and economic growth activities for the U.S. Government for almost 20 years in a variety of domestic and overseas positions. Ms. Van den Dool joined USAID’s Regional Development Mission for Asia in 2019, previously serving in the Power Africa Coordinator’s of
Read Full BioAmanda Van den Dool
USAID/RDMA
Bio
Amanda J. Van den Dool has led energy and economic growth activities for the U.S. Government for almost 20 years in a variety of domestic and overseas positions. Ms. Van den Dool joined USAID’s Regional Development Mission for Asia in 2019, previously serving in the Power Africa Coordinator’s office. Ms. Van den Dool has also served in USAID’s Policy Bureau, the Democracy and Governance office, and the Office of Education. In 2010, she was selected to represent the U.S. Government as a Mansfield Fellow, working in Japan after the 2011 Tohoku earthquake and tsunami. Prior to federal service, Ms. Van den Dool worked for several years as a community organizer and lobbyist. Amanda holds a bachelor’s degree in Urban Planning from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and a master’s degree from the University of Illinois at Chicago. She loves to travel with her husband and two young children.
Andrea Watson
National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL)
Andrea Watson is the laboratory program manager for Strategy, which is led by the Institutional Planning, Integration, and Development Directorate. In this role, she manages a Laboratory Agenda that embodies the 10-year vision and aligns planning and investment to that vision. Andrea’s expertise l
Read Full BioAndrea Watson
National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL)
Bio
Andrea Watson is the laboratory program manager for Strategy, which is led by the Institutional Planning, Integration, and Development Directorate. In this role, she manages a Laboratory Agenda that embodies the 10-year vision and aligns planning and investment to that vision. Andrea’s expertise lies in strategic planning, change strategies, and decision-making support as applied to clean energy projects and programs. She has specific expertise in clean energy solutions for emission mitigation, international climate change strategies, and renewable energy applications applied to the mining industry.
ANVESHA THAKKER
KPMG ADVISORY SERVICES PVT LTD
Anvesha Thakker is the Global Co-Lead Climate Change & Decarbonization: KPMG IMPACT; Partner & Lead, Renewable Energy (RE) and has advised public and private sector clients and multilateral organizations on policy, strategy, financial and commercial related initiatives in the Power sector. She has m
Read Full BioANVESHA THAKKER
KPMG ADVISORY SERVICES PVT LTD
Bio
Anvesha Thakker is the Global Co-Lead Climate Change & Decarbonization: KPMG IMPACT; Partner & Lead, Renewable Energy (RE) and has advised public and private sector clients and multilateral organizations on policy, strategy, financial and commercial related initiatives in the Power sector. She has more than 19 years of extensive domestic and international work experience in areas such as corporate finance, investment advisory, strategic advisory and policy/ regulatory advisory. In her career, she has worked on several marquee projects in the power sector including power sector reforms, renewable energy parks, mini-grids, hybrids and wind in areas of policy and regulatory advocacy, strategy formulation for new business models in emerging clean technologies, investment and financing, undertaking business/market intelligence, retail tariff modelling, RE dispatch studies, risk assessment, commercial advisory, PPP frameworks, transaction advisory, energy access, financing products to promote and enable RE integration etc. Additionally, she has also worked extensively on utility finances, economic analysis, transaction and business advisory. She has been leading RE engagements, for IFIs including ADB, DFID, World Bank, Shakti Sustainable Energy Foundation and USICEF among others
Arunabha Ghosh
CEEW
Dr Arunabha Ghosh is an international public policy expert, author, columnist, and institution builder. He is the founder-CEO of the Council on Energy, Environment and Water, and has led CEEW to the top ranks as one of Asia's leading policy research institutions and among the world’s 20 best clima
Read Full BioArunabha Ghosh
CEEW
Bio
Dr Arunabha Ghosh is an international public policy expert, author, columnist, and institution builder. He is the founder-CEO of the Council on Energy, Environment and Water, and has led CEEW to the top ranks as one of Asia's leading policy research institutions and among the world’s 20 best climate think-tanks. He played a formative role in creating the International Solar Alliance and was a founding board member of the Clean Energy Access Network. Co-author/editor of four books and with experience in 45 countries, he previously worked at Princeton, Oxford, UNDP (New York), and WTO (Geneva). Arunabha advises governments, industry, civil society and international organisations around the world. He currently serves on Government of India’s G20 Finance Track Advisory Group for India’s G20 Presidency in 2023. Most recently, the UN Secretary-General appointed him to the High-level Expert Group on the Credibility and Accountability of Net-Zero Announcements by Non-State Actors. In 2018, the UN Secretary-General nominated him to the UN Committee for Development Policy, re-nominating him this year for a second term until December 2024. In 2020, the Government of India appointed him Co-Chair of the energy, environment and climate change track for India’s Science, Technology and Innovation Policy (STIP2020). He has also been appointed the Co-Chair of the T20 Task Force on climate and energy for Indonesia’s G20 Presidency in 2022. He is co-Chair of the World Economic Forum’s Global Future Council on Clean Air, a member of the international high-level panel of the Environment of Peace initiative, and serves on the Board of ClimateWorks Foundation. A frequent speaker and adviser to governments, industry and international organisations, he writes two monthly columns among other articles, has hosted or featured in several documentaries, and his 2019 TED Talk on air quality (Mission 80-80-80) has crossed 250,000 views. He holds a D.Phil. from Oxford.
Atsumasa Sakai
Asian Development Bank
Mr. Atsumasa Sakai joined ADB in 2016 and has worked on energy sector operation in Asian countries since then. He has been the Project Officer of the technical assistance (TA) on a large-scale CCUS pilot plant FEED study in Shaanxi, the People’s Republic of China (PRC), which is supported by the C
Read Full BioAtsumasa Sakai
Asian Development Bank
Bio
Mr. Atsumasa Sakai joined ADB in 2016 and has worked on energy sector operation in Asian countries since then. He has been the Project Officer of the technical assistance (TA) on a large-scale CCUS pilot plant FEED study in Shaanxi, the People’s Republic of China (PRC), which is supported by the Carbon Capture and Storage Fund under the Clean Energy Financing Partnership Facility, since 2020 (TA9745). He is implementing complicated multi-sector projects in PRC and Mongolia, including the TA on low-carbon rural development models in PRC and the loan on the utility-scale battery energy storage system development in Mongolia. He has earned the master’s degree of Technology and Policy Program from Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Before joining ADB, Mr. Sakai had worked for the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis, Austria, on hydrogen energy supply system simulation, and for the power utility in Metropolitan Tokyo responsible for power system planning.
Bruce Dunn
Asian Development Bank
Bruce is the Director of Safeguards at the Asian Development Bank, leading a team dedicated to ensuring the application of best practice environmental and social standards in ADB development financing. With a background in environmental science and ecology, Bruce has more than 20 years of profession
Read Full BioBruce Dunn
Asian Development Bank
Bio
Bruce is the Director of Safeguards at the Asian Development Bank, leading a team dedicated to ensuring the application of best practice environmental and social standards in ADB development financing. With a background in environmental science and ecology, Bruce has more than 20 years of professional experience in areas such as environmental policy, environmental impact assessment, strategic environmental assessment, climate change and biodiversity conservation.
Bruce Robins
Federated States of Micronesia
Dr Bruce W Robins has a unique combination of experience transitioning from international university R&D to Government renewable energy policy development, energy technology transfer, project development and management culminating in consulting to high technology energy companies, governments, multi
Read Full BioBruce Robins
Federated States of Micronesia
Bio
Dr Bruce W Robins has a unique combination of experience transitioning from international university R&D to Government renewable energy policy development, energy technology transfer, project development and management culminating in consulting to high technology energy companies, governments, multilateral and bilateral agencies. He brings more than 20 years’ experience and expertise developing major rural electrification projects in developing countries in Southern Asia, Southeast Asia, and the Pacific. These projects targeted remote and isolated communities by improving their quality of life through poverty alleviation programs incorporating increased economic opportunities using renewable energy as the enabling technology. He has significant experience in developing strategies in the energy sector and consulting with relevant government agencies in Australia, Sri Lanka, Indonesia, Philippines, Malaysia, Vietnam, PNG, Solomon Islands and Federated States of Micronesia (FSM).
Chatchai Mawong
EGAT
Mr. Chatchai Mawong, Director of Hydro and Renewable Energy Power Plant Development Division, works for Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand (EGAT) which is known as Thailand’s leading state-owned power utility. He holds both bachelor’s and master’s degrees in Engineering and has been
Read Full BioChatchai Mawong
EGAT
Bio
Mr. Chatchai Mawong, Director of Hydro and Renewable Energy Power Plant Development Division, works for Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand (EGAT) which is known as Thailand’s leading state-owned power utility. He holds both bachelor’s and master’s degrees in Engineering and has been serving as an engineer at EGAT since 1991. He has 30 years’ engineering and construction experience developing various kinds of power plants such as gas turbine, combined cycle and thermal power plants. Later he has entered into the fields of Hydro and Renewable Energy. He is now responsible for the new challenging “Hydro-Floating Solar Hybrid” with 16 projects across the country in total of 2,725 MW. The projects aim to enhance the stability and efficiency of hybrid energy production from renewable energy while reducing its variability and uncertainty to the power grid.
Craig Hart
U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID)
Craig Hart is a career member of the USAID Senior Foreign Service and is the Acting Senior Deputy Assistant Administrator for Asia. He joined the Bureau for Asia in August 2020 as the Deputy Assistant Administrator for East Asia and the Pacific. Prior to this, Craig served as Deputy Mission Director
Read Full BioCraig Hart
U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID)
Bio
Craig Hart is a career member of the USAID Senior Foreign Service and is the Acting Senior Deputy Assistant Administrator for Asia. He joined the Bureau for Asia in August 2020 as the Deputy Assistant Administrator for East Asia and the Pacific. Prior to this, Craig served as Deputy Mission Director in Vietnam from 2016 to 2020. Since joining USAID in 2005, he has served as a Program Officer in Tanzania, Afghanistan, the Republic of Georgia, and Washington, DC. Before joining USAID, Craig served from 1995-2005 with the U.S. Peace Corps as Country Director in Armenia, Deputy Country Director in Russia, Program and Training Officer in the Kyrgyz Republic, and as a Peace Corps Volunteer in the Russian Far East.
Damilola Ogunbiyi
Sustainable Energy for All (SEforALL)
Damilola Ogunbiyi is the CEO of Sustainable Energy for All (SEforALL), Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General for Sustainable Energy for All and Co-Chair of UN-Energy. She is also a Commissioner for the Global Commission to End Energy Poverty and the Co-Chair of the COP26 Energy Transiti
Read Full BioDamilola Ogunbiyi
Sustainable Energy for All (SEforALL)
Bio
Damilola Ogunbiyi is the CEO of Sustainable Energy for All (SEforALL), Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General for Sustainable Energy for All and Co-Chair of UN-Energy. She is also a Commissioner for the Global Commission to End Energy Poverty and the Co-Chair of the COP26 Energy Transition Council. She is a global leader and advocate for the achievement of Sustainable Development Goal 7 (SDG7), which calls for access to reliable, affordable, sustainable and modern energy for all by 2030, in line with the Paris Agreement on climate change.