Sebastian Ibold
Project Director of the Sino-German Cooperation on Low Carbon Transport (CLCT), GIZ
Sebastian Ibold is Project Director of the Sino-German Cooperation on Low Carbon Transport (CLCT). Before joining GIZ in 2017, Sebastian worked as urban planner and urban designer for American Aecom and German ISA and AS+P. His professional work experience covers projects in the fields of strategic and master planning, new town and urban redevelopment as well as policy advisory in the field of low carbon transportation in China, Germany, Vietnam and the Middle East. Sebastian holds a master’s degree in Urban and Regional Planning from Brandenburg University of Technology, Cottbus.
David sandalow
Inaugural Fellow at the Center on Global Energy Policy and co-Director of the Energy and Environment Concentration at the School of International and Public Affairs at Columbia University
David Sandalow is the Inaugural Fellow at the Center on Global Energy Policy and co-Director of the Energy and Environment Concentration at the School of International and Public Affairs at Columbia University. He founded and directs the Center’s U.S.-China Program and is author of the Guide to Chinese Climate Policy. During Fall 2019, he was a Distinguished Visiting Professor in the Schwarzman Scholars Program at Tsinghua University.
Mr. Sandalow has served in senior positions at the White House, State Department and U.S. Department of Energy. He came to Columbia from the U.S. Department of Energy, where he served as Under Secretary of Energy (acting) and Assistant Secretary for Policy & International Affairs. Prior to serving at DOE, Mr. Sandalow was a Senior Fellow at the Brookings Institution. He has served as Assistant Secretary of State for Oceans, Environment & Science and a Senior Director on the National Security Council staff.
Mr. Sandalow is a member of the Innovation for Cool Earth Forum (ICEF) Steering Committee and chair of ICEF Innovation Roadmap Project. He serves as a director of Fermata Energy. Mr. Sandalow is a member of the Zayed Future Energy Prize Selection Committee, Global CO2 Initiative Advisory Board, Electric Drive Transport Association’s “Hall of Fame” and Council on Foreign Relations. Mr. Sandalow is a graduate of the University of Michigan Law School and Yale College.
Ye ruiqi
Climate and Energy Campaigner at Greenpeace East Asia
Ruiqi Ye is a leading contributor to a recent Greenpeace East Asia study, Powering the Cloud: How China’s Internet Industry Can Shift to Renewable Energy. Ruiqi has been with Greenpeace since 2017, working as a climate and energy campaigner focusing on China’s renewable energy development, power market reform, energy transition, and IT sector sustainability. She’s currently leading Greenpeace’s data center low-carbon development project. Before joining Greenpeace, Ruiqi worked as a grassroot organizer at the US Public Interest Network after graduation from University of California, Santa Barbara.
Xi Xie
Climate Change and Energy Director of the Nature Conservancy's China Program
XIE Xi (Cissy) is currently Project Lead, Friends of Ocean Action, China, World Economic Forum. Xi has a comprehensive background in climate change and sustainable development, including specific topics like Clean Development Mechanism, clean production, energy transitions, nature-based solutions, etc. She has previously worked as an associate researcher/program official at The Administrative Centre for China's Agenda 21, as a policy analyst at the International Energy Agency, as a senior advisor at the Clean Energy Ministerial Secretariat, and as the climate change and energy director of The Nature Conservancy's China program.
With analytical and evaluative skills to conduct independent research and analysis, Xi has developed strong expertise in not only developing and implementing projects but also managing and supervising programs through more than 13 years of working experience. During which, she has worked closely with different stakeholders including policy makers, opinion leaders, funding partners, commercial partners and experts. She believes that joint efforts by different sectors and synergy of different policies are very important especially in global issues like tackling climate change and ocean protection action.
Edmund Downie
Analyst at Analysis Group
Edmund Downie is an analyst at Analysis Group in Boston, where he supports energy sector clients in market design analyses and litigation proceedings. He was a Fulbright Scholar in 2017–2018 at Yunnan University in southwest China and a Marshall Scholar at the Nuffield College, Oxford, in 2015–2017. His research has focused on energy transitions and Chinese and Indian economic diplomacy in Asia. He holds a bachelor’s from Yale University and a master’s in international relations from the University of Oxford.
Barbara Finamore
Natural Resources Defense Council, Senior Strategic Director, Asia
Barbara Finamore is the Senior Strategic Director for Asia at the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC). She has nearly four decades of experience in environmental law and energy policy. In 1996, she founded NRDC’s China Program, the first clean energy program to be launched by an international NGO. She also served as President and Chair of the Professional Association for China's Environment (PACE) and co-founder and President of the China-U.S. Energy Innovation Alliance. In 2017, Barbarawas named a member of Foreign Policy’s “The U.S.-China 50,” a group of 50 individuals who are powering the world's most complex and consequential relationship. She holds a J.D. degree with honors from Harvard Law School.
