Accelerating the energy transition in this critical decade is absolutely vital for keeping the global 1.5C temperature goal in reach. Last year, at the COP28 summit hosted by the UAE, we saw significant steps forward with countries agreeing to transition away from fossil fuels and triple the deployment of renewable energy globally by 2030. Australia and the United Kingdom have sought to combat climate change through investments in clean energy, programs to limit carbon emissions, and measures to adapt to the challenges of global heating.

Join representatives from the United Kingdom’s Department for Energy Security and Net Zero and leading climate policy researchers from the ANU for an open conversation about critical developments in the global energy transition. Our panellists will discuss international efforts to deliver on climate goals, in particular the central issue of financing them, among other key related issues.

About the panellists

Alex Howe is the International Fossil Fuel Transitions lead in the UK Government’s Department for Energy Security and Net Zero. Alex oversees a range of issues in this space, aiming to accelerate a just transition from fossil fuels to clean energy, from the development of the UK’s position on relevant international commitments to implementation of the UK’s policy on transitioning its international public support from fossil fuels to clean energy. Prior to this, Alex was a senior policy adviser in the UK’s COP26 Presidency team, focusing on mobilising ambition and action from businesses ahead of COP26, and subsequently on supporting the development of Just Energy Transition Partnerships. Before joining the UK Government, Alex worked in the private sector as an environmental adviser for an international energy company and has an MPhil in Environmental Policy from the University of Cambridge.

Natasha Green works in the UK Government's Department for Energy Security and Net Zero as the Clean Energy Transition Partnership Programme Lead. The CETP is an international commitment for countries and public finance institutions to transition finance spent internationally from fossil fuels to clean energy. Previously, Natasha worked in the UK's COP26 Presidency team as a Strategy Advisor and subsequently, a Senior Energy Advisor to the COP26 CEO. She has lived in the UK, Australia and France and has just completed a Masters at the London School of Economics in environment and development.

Charley Roberts is Secretariat Lead for the Clean Energy Transition Partnership, and a Senior Policy Advisor in International Energy Finance at independent climate change think tank E3G. She previously held climate policy roles interfacing with the private sector, as the international climate policy lead at the Confederation of British Industry, the UK's largest trade body, and advising on climate and sustainability regulation and policy for a boutique strategy consultancy. Earlier she began her career at WWF-UK in public affairs and campaigning.

Howard Bamsey is Chair of the Global Water Partnership and Honorary Professor in the School of Regulation and Global Governance at the Australian National University. He is member of the Board of the Climate Policy Initiative and Climate Works Australia. He was previously Executive Director at the Green Climate Fund and Director General of the Global Green Growth Institute. He has served as Senior Adviser on Sustainable Development to the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade and Special Adviser on Green Growth to AusAID. Earlier he was Australia’s Special Envoy on Climate Change, a Deputy Secretary in the Australian Public Service and CEO of the Australian Greenhouse Office. He held several appointments at ambassadorial level in the Australian foreign service. Bamsey was educated at the University of Queensland and the Harvard Business School.

Christian Downie is an Associate Professor in the School of Regulation and Global Governance at the Australian National University. He was previously an Australian Research Council Fellow at ANU, and before that a Vice Chancellor’s Postdoctoral Fellow at the University of New South Wales. Christian has worked as an advisor to several Australian Government agencies, including the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet. Christian holds a PhD in international relations and political science from the ANU, and he has spent time teaching or researching at the University of Cambridge, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and the London School of Economics and Political Science, among others. Christian is the author of more than 40 peer-reviewed journal articles and book chapters. His latest book is Business Battles in the U.S. Energy Sector: Lessons for a clean energy transition. Christian’s writing has also been published by the ABC, CNN, The Guardian, Sydney Morning Herald, and The Conversation, among others. He is frequently cited in the international and Australian media.

Maxfield Peterson is a research fellow at the ANU School of Regulation and Global. Max’s research focuses on the political economy of energy, and the use of public finance to catalyze the energy transition. Max is Acting Director of the ANU Governing Energy Transitions Lab, is a member of the Australian Government’s Working Group on the New Collective Quantified Goal on Climate Finance, and is a resident fellow of the ANU Institute for Climate, Energy, and Disaster Solutions. His work on climate finance has been featured in Review of International Political Economy, The Interpreter, and The Conversation

COVID protocols

The ANU strongly encourages you to keep a mask with you at all times (for use when COVID-19 safe behaviours are not practicable) and to be respectful of colleagues, students and visitors who may wish to continue to wear one. Please continue to practice good hygiene. If you are unwell, please stay home. The ACT government’s COVID Smart behaviours can be accessed here.

This event is in-person only. Registration is not required for in-person attendance as neither the ANU nor ACT Health conduct contact tracing any longer.

This event was previously located in the Barton Theatre but has been relocated to Weston Theatre in the same building to better accommodate this event.

If you require accessibility accommodations or a visitor Personal Emergency Evacuation Plan please email regnet.communications@anu.edu.au.

Image credit: Image of renewable energy sources and transmission lines by peterschreiber.media used under Adobe Education License.