Our Inclusive Energy Future: The Global Commission on People-Centred Clean Energy Transitions

Denmark’s Energy and Climate Minister Dan Jørgensen will join IEA Executive Director Dr Fatih Birol to discuss a new Global Commission on People-Centred Clean Energy Transitions, on Tuesday, 26 January, at 14:30 Paris time.

The new high-level commission is being convened in the context of the IEA’s agenda to support a secure and inclusive global energy system and will be headed by Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen of Denmark. Minister Jørgensen will chair the meetings of the commission, which will bring together government leaders, ministers and prominent thinkers to explore how to enhance the success of clean energy transitions through a stronger focus on their socio-economic impacts and people’s participation and inclusion in them.

At the event, Minister Jørgensen and Dr Birol announced some of the high-profile global figures who will be members of the new commission.

As more countries are setting ambitious net-zero goals that aim to speed up the shift to clean energy, success depends in part on giving full consideration to the social and economic consequences of these clean energy transitions on workers, communities and industries.

The new global commission’s aim will be to put people at the heart of clean energy transitions. Its primary focus will be on how best to empower citizens and ensure they benefit from the opportunities and navigate the disruptions that arise. The commission’s meetings will result in key recommendations in advance of COP26 in November.

Members of the 2021 Commission:

Honorary Patron

Mette Frederiksen, Prime Minister, Denmark

Chair

Dan Jørgensen, Danish Minister for Climate, Energy and Utilities, Denmark

Co-chair

Aïssatou Sophie Gladima, Minister for Petroleum and Energy, Senegal

Members

Sharan Burrow, General Secretary, International Trade Union Confederation

Kadri Simson, EU Commissioner for Energy

Tinne Van der Straeten, Minister of Energy, Belgium

Mohammed Bin Hamed Al Rumhi, Minister of Oil and Gas, Oman

Tina Bru, Former Minister of Petroleum and Energy, Norway

Roberto Cingolani, Minister for Ecological Transition, Italy

Christina Figueres, Founding Partner, Global Optimism Group

Leonore Gewessler, Minister of Climate Action, Environment, Energy, Mobility, Innovation and Technology, Austria

Jamshyd N Godrej, Chairperson, Council on Energy, Environment and Water

Juan Carlos Jobet, Outgoing Minister of Energy, Chile

Hiroshi Kajiyama, Former Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry, Japan

Michał Kurtyka, Former Minister of Climate and Environment, Poland

Joe Manchin, Senator and Chairman of the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, United States

Samson Gwede Mantashe, Minister of Mineral Resources and Energy, South Africa

Diego Mesa Puyo, Minister of Mines and Energy, Colombia

Rocío Nahle García, Secretary of Energy, Mexico

Damilola Ogunbiyi, CEO and Special Representative of the UN SG for SEforALL and Co-Chair of UN-Energy

Seamus O'Regan, Former Minister of Natural Resources, Canada

Muriel Pénicaud, Ambassador at the Permanent Representative of France to the OECD, Former Minister of Labour, France

Mark Phillips, Prime Minister, Guyana

Teresa Ribera Rodríguez, Minister of Ecological Transition and Demographic Challenge, Spain

Jorge Rivera Staff, Energy Secretary, Panamá

Simonetta Sommaruga, Federal Councillor, Federal Department of the Environment, Transport, Energy and Communications, Switzerland

Beniamin Strzelecki, Global Focal Point, SDG 7 Youth Constituency

Arifin Tasrif, Minister for Energy & Mineral Resources, Indonesia

Peter Kodwo Appiah Turkson, Cardinal, First Prefect of the Dicastery for the Promotion of Integral Human Development, Vatican

Chiagozie Udeh, Global Focal Point, SDG 7 Youth Constituency

Lei Zhang, Founder and CEO, Envision Group