Speakers

Bio

Warren has over 40 years of sustainable development and climate change experience from multilateral development banks, private organizations, and other international organizations. He first joined ADB in March 1988 and during the 15-year tenure, he undertook progressing roles from Environmental Specialist to Director of the Environmental and Social Safeguards Division. From 2003 to 2013, he worked at World Bank as Environment Director and Senior Advisor for Sustainable Development. During this period, he led the establishment of the Climate Investment Funds and supported the Senior Management on a range of issues such as climate change, biodiversity conservation, and institutional operations. He returned to ADB as Special Project Facilitator in September 2017. He has led the problem-solving function, keeping the accountability mechanism effective. He has also significantly contributed to ADB’s efforts in promoting climate initiatives through his support in the preparation of Climate COP 26 and will become Special Senior Adviser on Climate Change in the Office of the President in September 2022.

Bio

Ms Wasantha Perera is recently been appointed as the Secretary to the Ministry of Justice and Constitutional Reforms of Sri Lanka. Prior to that she served as the Secretary in key Ministries such as Ministry of Power & Energy, Ministry of Health, Ministry of Labour and Foreign Employment, Ministry of Science &Technology and Skills Development of Sri Lanka. Being a member of the Sri Lanka Administrative Service, Mrs Perera has held senior positions in the Ministries of Finance, Defence and Foreign Affairs. She has also worked in the UNDP on Aid Management and capacity building of community-based organizations. Further, she has been served as a Sri Lankan diplomat in the United States as well. Mrs Perera cherishes the international recognition she received from USAID/USEA featuring her in USEA’s ‘Women in Energy’ magazine and being selected as ‘the Green Energy Champion’ by the GIZ for her contribution to promote green energy. Being a Bio Science Graduate Ms. Perera possesses Postgraduate qualifications in Management, Economics Development and Project Management.

Bio

Senior Consultant on Energy Policy, (ERIA), Former Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Brunei National Energy Research Institute (BNERI), Former Senior Team Leader of the Asia-Pacific Energy Research Centre (APERC), Former Executive Director of the ASEAN Centre for Energy (ACE), Ph.D. (Energy & Environment Policy), University of Waterloo, Canada.

Bio

Wei Zhou has 19 years of experience in consulting and research in clean energy, climate finance, sustainable infrastructure, and building science and technology. As a long-term consultant for ADB, Wei has completed various assignments under ADB’s Sustainable Development and Climate Change Department (SDCC), Independent Evaluation Department (IED), Economic Research and Regional Cooperation Department (ERCD), and regional Operations Departments. In recent years, his work for ADB has focused on the preparation of review, action plan, guideline, handbook, working paper, and background note, as well as the validation of completion reports of loan and TA projects. Prior to ADB, Wei worked for Arup Hong Kong on building sustainability and private companies on carbon finance projects across a range of sectors in multiple countries in the region. Wei holds a PhD and a MPhil from University of Cambridge, a MS from National University of Singapore, and a BEng from Tsinghua University.

Bio

Ms. Wei Huang is Energy Strategy Officer at the Strategy, Policy and Budget Department of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB). She is responsible for the implementation of AIIB’s Energy Sector Strategy as well as AIIB’s commitment of Paris Alignment in the energy sector. Her work spans from assessing technology and country energy status in Asia and beyond to providing project operational support and advising financing solutions for energy transition. Prior to joining AIIB, Ms. Huang primarily worked as a climate and energy transition specialist in non-governmental organization. She holds a BSc in Economics from the University of Warwick and MSc in Development Studies from London School of Economics.

Bio

Mr. Liu is currently the Executive Director for the People's Republic of China in the Asian Development Bank since January 2021. As a Board member, he is also the Dean of the Board and a Member of the Budget Review Committee. Formerly he acted as the Deputy Director General of the Department of International Economic and Financial Cooperation, Ministry of Finance, PRC. Simultaneously, he was the Executive Director of IFAD for China. He had engaged in international economic and financial cooperation for more than 20 years.

Bio

Wenquan Zhang started a career providing technical consulting services for industrial customers. He then worked at the Climate Group where his work involved the strategy planning and implementation of global initiatives such as RE100, bringing together hundreds of large and ambitious businesses committed to 100% renewable electricity. He also led the PowerLab open innovation project at Greenpeace, helping major Chinese solar and wind energy companies identify innovative startups. Wenquan Zhang received his M.S. degrees from Tongji University (Environmental Engineering) and from Uppsala University (Sustainable Development).

Bio

Will is an experienced sustainability professional with focus areas in sustainability strategy and green finance, and particular expertise in energy efficiency. He leads the Carbon Trust’s work in South East Asia, working with a range of clients to set transformational sustainability strategies and reduce their carbon emissions. This includes supporting regional governments to deliver low carbon policy and regulation, working with financial institutions to help decarbonise portfolios and assess investment impacts, and working with corporate organisations to develop sustainability strategies and the setting of science-based targets.

Will’s main focus for the past two years has been delivery of the UK Government’s ASEAN Low Carbon Energy Programme (LCEP). This three-year programme is focused on opening green finance and energy efficiency markets in ASEAN with outcomes including strengthened policy and regulation, an improved business environment, and a robust pipeline of investment-grade projects.

Bio

Will works in ECA's Decarbonisation Strategy practice where he advises on policies and strategies for growing renewable capacity, closing coal, and putting a price on carbon emissions. Across his career Will has provided policy advice relating to environmental issues including water management and decarbonisation and he has experience across the agriculture and energy sectors. His previous clients include large global energy companies, regulated utilities, government, and international organisations. Prior to ECA Will has worked at KPMG UK, Castalia Strategic Advisors, the OECD, and a New Zealand public research institute. He holds an MSc in Environmental Economics and Climate Change from the London School of Economics and a BSc In Economics from the University of Otago.

Bio

Dr. Will Bateman is the founder and CEO of CCell. He has 18+ years in marine engineering, with a PhD in extreme ocean waves from Imperial College, with extensive experience in modelling natural systems and ocean engineering for General Dynamics, RMS, and Lloyd’s Register.

Bio

Honorable Willie Tokataake is the former Minister for the Ministry of Infrastructure and Sustainable Energy since June 2020.

Bio

"As Director General of ADB’s Southeast Asia Department, Mr. Wicklein leads the planning and delivery of ADB’s goals, strategies, and work plan in Southeast Asia. This involves ADB’s relationships and public sector work in ASEAN countries, as well as support for sub-regional cooperation initiatives in the region. ADB’s total portfolio in Southeast Asia is about $25 billion and annual commitments about $7 billion. The Southeast Asia Department has about 240 staff. With ADB for over 23 years, Mr. Wicklein has wide-ranging experience across Asia and the Pacific in the areas of infrastructure finance, private sector mobilization, sector strategies, and country strategy and program coordination. Prior ADB assignments include deputy director general for Southeast Asia, country director for Indonesia, and country director for Myanmar. He was previously also posted in various positions in Thailand, Australia, and the Philippines. Prior to joining ADB, Mr. Wicklein worked in corporate finance and investment banking advisory (PricewaterhouseCoopers) and prior to that, for the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO). A national of Austria, Mr. Wicklein holds a master’s degree in business administration from the University of Münster, Germany."