Midyear Update: Critical Energy Transition Issues

David leads BloombergNEF’s oil and renewable fuels research teams, based in New York. The oil and renewable fuels research teams at BNEF analyse the fundamentals of the traded market, the impact of the energy transition on the renewable and fossil-fuel sectors, and the strategy response of oil companies.

Prior to joining BNEF, David spent time as an oil trader with Citibank before joining Wood Mackenzie. David holds a BSc in Financial and Actuarial Mathematics from Dublin City University and an MSc in Finance from Imperial College London.

Kyle leads BNEF’s sustainability research team, which publishes content on the private sector’s transition to the low-carbon economy. The team focuses on core areas like environmental, social and governance (ESG) reporting, target-setting, low-carbon pathways and sustainable finance. Kyle specializes in corporate clean energy procurement, net-zero targets and voluntary carbon offsets.

Dr. Melissa C. Lott is a Professor of Practice at Columbia’s Climate School, where her work focuses on the transition to net-zero energy systems. Dr. Lott also serves on the United Nations Council of Engineers for the Energy Transition (CEET), an independent advisory council to the UN Secretary-General. She is also a current member of the World Economic Forum’s Global Future Council on the Future of Economics of Equitable Transition. Dr. Lott hosts The Big Switch podcast.

Dr. Lott has worked as an engineer and researcher for 20 years in the USA, Europe, and Asia. She specializes in technology and policy research, working to increase our understanding of the impacts of our energy systems on climate change, air pollution and public health. She directly applies this understanding to help decision-makers mobilize solutions to support the low-carbon transition. Internationally recognized for her work on electricity and transportation, Dr. Lott has been featured in media outlets including PBS, National Public Radio, the BBC World Service, The Guardian, Good Morning America, Bloomberg, the Wall Street Journal, and the New York Times. She has authored hundreds of scientific articles, columns, op-eds, and reports on the energy sector and energy technology transition. Dr. Lott was recently featured in the PBS documentary “Chasing Carbon Zero,” which discusses the net-zero energy transition in the United States. She was also named the 2023 recipient of the AGU Pavel S. Molchanov Climate Communications Prize.

Prior to joining the Climate School, Dr. Lott was the Sr. Director of Research at the Center on Global Energy Policy at Columbia’s School of International and Public Affairs. She also held roles at the Asia Pacific Energy Research Centre, International Energy Agency, and U.S. Department of Energy. Throughout, she has worked as an engineer at YarCom Inc. Dr. Lott holds degrees from UC Davis, UT Austin, and University College London.

Edward Morse Chairs the Energy Forum Advisory Board and is Special Advisor and Commodities Strategist at Hartree Partners. Previously, he was Global Head of Commodities Research at Citi. He held similar positions at Lehman and Credit Suisse, taught at Princeton, Columbia and Johns Hopkins Universities, worked at the Council on Foreign Relations, served as Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Energy Policy, and in management at Phillips Petroleum. A co-founder of PFC Energy, a former publisher at Energy Intelligence, he also worked at Hess Energy Trading. As a consultant he helped design Yemen’s oil pricing policy and assisted the UN Security Council on the design and negotiation of the Iraqi Oil-for-Food Program. He writes op-eds for the FT, NY Times, Wall Street Journal and Washington Post and often comments at Bloomberg TV and CNBC. He has been a Senior Fellow of both the USAEE and the IEEJ and was named by Petroleum Economist as among the ten most prominent individuals in energy finance.

Jacob Susman is a clean economy business builder, investor, and thought leader who has been developing and originating renewable energy projects for over 20 years.

Jacob has decades of experience as a finance professional and project developer with a global power sector network. He is a successful clean energy founder-CEO, having built and led OwnEnergy, a wind energy mid-market leader, from inception to exit. He has also been instrumental in renewable energy investments and projects as an investor at Goldman Sachs and an executive at EDF Renewables.

With Jigar Shah, Jacob co-founded Cleantech Leaders Roundtable (CTLR), a private community of business leaders working to combat climate change and build a thriving clean economy. He currently serves as CTLR’s Board President. Jacob is also a board member of REpowering Schools. He previously served on the boards of American Clean Power’s predecessor, AWEA, as well as the American Council on Renewable Energy. He was a founding board member of Clean Energy Buyers’ Alliance’s predecessor, REBA.

In 2010, Jacob was named to Crain’s New York “40 Under 40,” and in 2012, he was an E&Y Entrepreneur of The Year Finalist. In 2013, Greentech Media named Jacob one of New York’s Top 10 Cleantech Leaders.