Please join the Center on Global Energy Policy and the SIPA Pan-African Network (SPAN) for a virtual student roundtable discussion with Damilola Ogunbiyi, CEO and Special Representative, UN Secretary-General for Sustainable Energy for All. Ms. Ogunbiyi will discuss current and future opportunities in Africa including the digital transformation, fintech, and smart city; economic development and how Africa is shifting positively; and the energy transition in Africa.

Biography:

Damilola Ogunbiyi is CEO of Sustainable Energy for All, 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.

Mrs. Ogunbiyi was formerly the Managing Director of the Nigerian Rural Electrification Agency,
where she successfully negotiated the Nigerian Electrification Project—a USD 550 million facility—to rapidly construct solar mini-grids and deploy solar home systems across Nigeria. She was also responsible for the agency’s Energizing Education Programme, which will electrify 37 universities and seven teaching hospitals in Nigeria, as well as the Energizing Economies Initiative, which provides sustainable and affordable off-grid power solutions to economic clusters.

She also worked as a Senior Special Assistant to the President on Power and Head of the Advisory Power Team in the Office of the Vice President of Nigeria.

Before joining the Federal Government of Nigeria, Mrs. Ogunbiyi was the first female to be appointed as the General Manager of the Lagos State Electricity Board. Under her leadership, five independent power projects were completed to deliver over 55 megawatts of power to Lagos State hospitals, schools, streetlights and the Government secretariat.

Mrs. Ogunbiyi entered public service as the Senior Special Assistant to the Lagos State Governor on Public-Private Partnerships. Prior to her appointment, she was a consultant for the United Kingdom Department for International Development (DfID) on public-private partnerships.
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This event will be hosted via Zoom, and is only open to current-enrolled students. 

Advance registration is required. Upon registration, you will receive a confirmation email with access details.

For more information, please contact Jully Merino Carela (<a href="mailto:jem2245@columbia.edu” target=”_blank”>jem2245@columbia.edu) or Nicolina DueMogensen (<a href="mailto:energypolicyevents@columbia.edu” target=”_blank”>energypolicyevents@columbia.edu).

Concerns about the impacts of climate change and the pace and scale of our efforts to reduce emissions have prompted a resurgence of interest and attention on how we can remove carbon from the environment, store it and use it for practical purposes using CCUS (carbon capture, use, and storage) technology. Policy shifts at the state and federal level have created new markets for this clean energy technology, inspiring the launch of new projects in both the industrial and power sectors, extending into new enterprises (like direct air capture or CarbonTech). Despite this interest, few non-experts are familiar with the technology, the market potential, or the political viability of CCUS deployment in the United States or abroad.  Join us on March 26 for the first public event of the Center’s Carbon Management Research Initiative. Come hear leading experts at the front lines of policy, technology, and governance discuss this critical path technology for a just and vibrant energy transition. This event is co-hosted by CGEP’s Women in Energy program.  The panel of experts will include: Erin Burns – Associate Director, Policy – Carbon180  Sarah Forbes – Scientist, Office of Fossil Energy – US Department of Energy Sallie Greenberg – Associate Director, Energy & Minerals – Illinois State Geological Survey Julio Friedmann – Senior Research Scholar at the Center on Global Energy Policy (Moderator) Guests unable to attend in person can view a livestream of the event at energypolicy.columbia.edu/livestream. This event is open to press. Media attending the event should register using the registration link below. Media inquiries or requests for interviews should be directed to Artealia Gilliard (ag4144@sipa.columbia.edu). For more information contact: energypolicy@columbia.edu.