On 16-17 March in Wellington, New Zealand, the World Energy Council and the BusinessNZ Energy Council hosted the inaugural Asia-Pacific Energy Leaders' Summit, which was opened by the Hon John Key, Prime Minister of New Zealand.
Under the theme of resilience, the event brought together 200 business practitioners, energy experts and policy-makers from around the world, to better understand the growing resiliency risks and challenges presented by: climate change, emerging technologies, extreme weather events, cyber security, and the energy water-food nexus.
Insights, lessons and solutions were shared from around the world, with highlights including presentations from:
Address by the New Zealand Prime Minister -
Address by the New Zealand Minister of Climate Change Issues -
Global Resilience Risks and Challenges
Emerging Risks and Implications
Climate Change
Address by the New Zealand Minister of Energy and Resources -
Resilient Energy Infrastructures
Creating Resilience - Leaders Perspectives
Achieving Resilience through Energy Efficiency
Emergence of the New Energy Market
Transport Trends
Workshop
The Summit attracted a wide range of senior executives from the energy sector, policy makers, investors and business operators looking to future-proof the energy systems of the Asia Pacific region and provided a pivotal platform for the required discussions.
Ray is AECOM’s Transmission, Distribution and Renewables Manager. He leads a team who provide consulting services to the electricity supply industry across Australasia, Asia, Africa and the Pacific. He is recognised as one of New Zealand’s leading power industry specialists, and has been a key member of project teams for over $4b of new power sector investments.
Dr Christoph Frei is the World Energy Council’s fifth Secretary-General. Since joining the World Energy Council (WEC) in 2009, Dr Frei’s priorities have been to mobilise international energy leaders and decision-makers to work together towards building a sustainable future, underpinned by robust policymaking. Click here to watch Christoph Speak.
The Hon. David Caygill is a former Cabinet Minister with extensive governance experience. A lawyer by profession, he served successively as Minister of Trade and Industry, Health and Finance. More recently he chaired the review of the Emissions Trading Scheme. He is currently Deputy Chair of Environment Canterbury.
Mark Binns joined Meridian as Chief Executive in 2012. Prior to this appointment Mark was Chief Executive of the Infrastructure Division of Fletcher Building Limited, the company’s largest division. During that period he was responsible for operations in Australia, South East Asia, India, South America, the United States and the South Pacific, as well as in New Zealand.
Greg has been the Chief Executive of Wellington Electricity since 2009. Prior to this appointment, Greg was the Chief Executive of Alpine Energy Limited and has held other senior management roles in the electricity industry as well as being a past President of the EEA and past Director of ESITO.
Ralph Sims is the Professor of Sustainable Energy at Massey University, and Director of the Centre for Energy Research. In 2013 he was appointed to the Scientific and Technical Advisory Panel (STAP) of the Global Environment Facility (GEF), was a senior researcher at the IEA (International Energy Agency), Paris, from 2007-2010 and has been a lead author for the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).
In the current National-led Government, Hon Simon Bridges MP is Minister of Energy and Resources, Minister of Transport, Associate Minister for Climate Change Issues, Associate Minister of Justice and Deputy Leader of the House. Click here to watch Simon Speak.
Dr Vincent Tidwell is a Distinguished Member of the Technical Staff at Sandia National Laboratories. He has over 20 years of experience conducting and managing research on basic and applied projects in water resource management, integrated energy-water planning, and collaborative modeling. Click here to watch Vincent Speak.
Mr. Ngo Son Hai is the Vietnam Electricity (EVN) Vice President. Mr. Ngo Son Hai has 25 year experience in power system and power market operation. He holds master’s degree in Power System and Business Administration.
Christina has been Secretary General for Norwegian EV Association, Norway since June 2014. Before this, she worked as a political advisor at The Norwegian Automobile Federation. Responsible for climate and environmental questions, new car technology, including EVs, was an important part of the job.
Watch e-Mobility in Norway
Prior to joining 100 Resilient Cities, Bryna Lipper held leadership roles in government, non-profit, and private sector organizations dedicated to advancing the quality of urban life. Most recently, she was the Director of Philanthropic Research and Initiatives for the Office of International and Philanthropic Innovation (IPI) at the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), where she led the Department’s strategies to spur philanthropic partnerships, promote policy innovation, and increase investments aligned with federal priorities. Click here to watch Bryna Speak.
Mark leads PwC’s Australian Energy, Utilities and Mining practice. He has almost 30 years’ experience working in and advising utility and infrastructure businesses in Australia and internationally. His experience includes Commercial Management, CEO and CFO roles in large Australian utility corporations. These roles encompass all strategy, regulatory, operational and financial management elements of utilities businesses.
Dr. Phyllis Yoshida is a Senior Advisor at the U.S. Department of Energy and Lead Shepherd of APEC Energy Working Group. Under her leadership, the EWG has implemented projects to support sustainable economic growth including the goal to double renewable energy by 2030, reduce energy intensity by 45 percent by 2035, eliminate inefficient fossil fuel subsidies, build energy resilience, and build low-carbon towns. Click here to watch Phyllis Speak.
Cecilia Tam joined the Asia Pacific Energy Research Centre (APERC) as Deputy Vice-President in 2015. Prior to joining APERC, she was Head of the Energy Demand Technology Unit at the International Energy Agency and was also a Senior Equity Analyst with Dresdner Kleinwort Benson.
Li Zhu is the Professor of Tianjin University, China. She is the first President of APEC Sustainable Energy Center, which was announced to be officially established by the Administrator of National Energy Administration of China in 2014.She was appointed to the Member of Studies Committee of World Energy Council in 2013. She specializes in low carbon technologies, now focusing on low carbon building design and new energy integration, and sustainable energy system planning for low carbon towns.
Toby Stevenson is an independent energy consultant with 30 years’ experience in strategic risk management. Toby was responsible for the trading and risk management in the electricity market at Contact Energy from 1996 when Contact was formed and the New Zealand Electricity Market was established. He has held a number of senior governance positions in the electricity industry including Chairman of the New Zealand Electricity Market Rules Committee (2000 - 2004). Toby was a member of the Ministerial Review of Electricity Market Performance in New Zealand conducted in 2009 – 2010.
Mike Underhill is chief executive of the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Authority (EECA) in New Zealand. EECA is the government agency that promotes energy efficiency and renewables across key parts of the energy sector. Mike has extensive management and governance experience in the energy sector in New Zealand and overseas, and has operated as a chief executive for over twenty years. He has a Bachelor's degree in engineering, a Master's degree in economics, has completed the Advanced Management Program at Harvard, and is a Fellow of the Institution of Professional Engineers (IPENZ). Mike Underhill joined EECA as Chief Executive in May 2007.
Pattrick Smellie is a Wellington-based journalist and commentator who founded the BusinessDesk business news wire service, the most widely syndicated business news service in New Zealand, in 2008 and is a principal of The Hugo Group, an information service for senior executives. He has worked in Wellington since 1983 as a journalist for numerous publications including the Dominion, The Australian, The Press, the Sunday Star-Times, was an adviser from 1985-88 to the Hon Roger Douglas, Minister of Finance, and a communications and brand manager at Contact Energy from 2003 to 2008. He is a former Press Gallery chair and Harkness Fellow.
Steve is responsible for the design, construction and commissioning of NZ’s first commercial scale biodiesel plant built in Auckland and associated supply chain logistics. Steve has been involved in Biofuels Projects since the proposed mandate by Labour in 2007, implemented Z Energy’s Emissions Trading capability on the introduction of the Emissions Trading Scheme. He is a Senior Leader within Z Energy, sits on the Supply Leadership Team and has 33 years of experience in the retailing, commercial marketing, supply and distribution of fossil fuels in NZ.
Lee Stewart is the Head of Sustainability for FUJITSU Oceania and leads the local strategy development and execution of the Groups Sustainability Plan in this region. He is an alumnus of the NZ Sustainable Business Council Leadership Program and is also on the Fujitsu Global GOLD Leadership Program which selects and develops only 50 future leaders from a global talent pool of over 160,000 Fujitsu Employees. In 2011 he was selected and trained by ex US Vice President Al Gore to deliver the updated Climate Reality Presentation and since he has delivered his presentation over 30 times to a number of business groups and now mentors other speakers as well as students of the Centre for Sustainability Leadership in Sydney.
Currently Chief Engineer of the Smart Community Planning Office for Honda Motor Co Ltd Japan Mr Kazuyuki Iwata joined Honda in 1986 and has since held significant senior engineer and management roles within both its development and laboratory sectors.
Xiaoping is a senior energy specialist at the Energy Sector Management Assistance Program (ESMAP) of the World Bank. She is leading the power sector resilience initiative in the Bank to improving reliability of power systems and resilience to the effects of extreme weather and changing climate. The initiative draws upon cross-sector expertise on power systems planning and engineering, utility management, and risk financing and aims to provide technical assistance, advisory services and knowledge to developing countries. Under her leadership, the Bank will soon publish a report on emerging practices in building power sector resilience to extreme weather and geological risks.
Dr Steven Kennedy is the Deputy Secretary currently responsible for the Resources, Energy, Economics and Strategic Policy groups of the Department. Dr Kennedy was previously a Deputy Secretary at the Department of the Environment, the former Department of Industry, Innovation, Climate Change, Science, Research and Tertiary Education and Department of Climate Change and Energy Efficiency, and the Head of Secretariat of the Garnaut Climate Change Review.
Joan MacNaughton is an influential figure in the energy and climate policy debate, having been Director General of Energy in the UK, overseeing the energy agenda during the UK Presidency of the EU. She is Executive Chair of the World Energy Trilemma for the World Energy Council. From 2004 to 2006, MacNaughton was Chair of the Governing Board of the International Energy Agency. From 2007 to 2011, she led Alstom's policy department. In 2012 she was Vice Chair of the UN High Level Panel on the Clean Development Mechanism. MacNaughton is an Honorary Fellow and Past President of the Energy Institute, Chair of the Energy Academy of Europe International Advisory Board, an IETA Fellow, and Trustee of the Climate Group. She has served on numerous other academic, public and private sector boards and has lectured extensively on energy and climate policy. Click here to watch Joan Speak
Jo Tyndall has been New Zealand’s Climate Change Ambassador and head of delegation to the United Nations climate negotiations with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade since July 2010. She served for two years during this time as a Vice President on the Bureau of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, representing the regional grouping of Western European and Other States.
Jamie joined Swiss Re Corporate Solutions as an Originator and Head of Weather Solutions, Asia Pacific in 2013. Based in Sydney, Jamie brings more than a dozen years of experience in electricity and gas trading to his role at Swiss Re and is responsible for maintaining and growing Swiss Re's weather and energy business across the Asia Pacific. He is an expert in electricity and gas trading have gained a diverse experience in the arena of the last 14 years.
Professor Boys’ research interests are Power Electronics, AC Motor Control, and Inductive power Transfer and in all of these he has published widely had Patents granted, and had successful collaborations with National and International Industries. He has won a significant number of prizes culminating in The Prime Minister’s Prize (with Grant Covic) for work with IPT. Professor Boys’ Professional interests are with The Institution of Professional Engineers (IPENZ) where he is a Distinguished Fellow, and more academically he is a Fellow of the Royal Society of New Zealand (FRSNZ).
Ashok Bhargava provides leadership and guidance to energy sector operations in ADB and directly responsible to oversee such operations in the People’s Republic of China (PRC) and Mongolia. He is an Electrical Engineer with a Master Degree in Business Administration and has more than 33 years of experience in Asia and the Pacific region. He has also worked with a large infrastructure consulting firm, a multinational power company in Australia, and a large public sector generation utility in India. Click here to watch Ashok Speak.
Peter Woolcott is an Australian public servant and diplomat. He is currently Australia's Ambassador for the Environment. Peter Woollcott spearheaded Australia’s negotiating teams at climate talks in the United Nations. He has also held senior positions in Canberra, including as First Assistant Secretary, South East Asia Division, and as Chief of Staff to the Minister for Foreign Affairs (2002–04). Click here to watch Peter Speak.
Anna has more than 15 years working experience in international and European climate and environmental policy, of which eight years in high-level climate policy advisory. Since 2008, Anna serves as Vice President Policy for the Climate Markets and Investment Association that represent the climate finance service industry. Anna is based out of Berlin, Germany and runs a boutique consultancy that advises Governments on the design of incentive schemes to advance energy sector transformation in the EU and globally.
Stuart Brown currently leads Swiss Re’s origination activities in the Weather & Energy business for Swiss Re Corporate Solutions in the EMEA and Asia Pacific regions. He has been with Swiss Re since 2001, prior to which he spent nearly 20 years at JP Morgan, based in New York, Tokyo, Paris and London in energy investment banking. At Swiss Re, he was with the capital markets team in structured corporate insurance before joining the weather and energy team in 2009. He serves on the board of the Weather Risk Management Association and Swiss Re Capital Markets Limited and is based in London.
Mr. Jose S. Reyes Jr. is the Assistant Vice President of the Manila Electric Company (MERALCO)- the largest electric distribution utility in the Philippines. He is a graduate of Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering and Master of Science in Electrical Engineering from the Mapua Institute of Technology and University of the Philippines, respectively; and had also finished his Management Development Program from the Asian Institute of Management. His field of expertise includes distribution asset management, power system analysis and reliability evaluation, power quality, and technical standards and R&D. He is working on the storm hardening and resiliency program for MERALCO’s electric distribution system.”
John Clarke is GM System Operations at Transpower NZ, Ltd. He has 25 years’ experience in the New Zealand electricity sector, including senior roles in distribution, consulting and with the national grid operator Transpower. In his current role John is responsible for the delivery of the System Operator role coordinating the operation of the power system and dispatch of the electricity market.
Neha Mukhi is a Climate Change Specialist at the World Bank based in Washington, DC. Her work focuses on climate change issues in the energy sector that includes technical assistance and analytical advisory services for WB’s clients on policies to enable climate-resilient and low carbon investments in the energy sector. Currently, she is leading the effort to enhance traditional least cost planning approaches in power systems to render them more ‘climate resilient’ to current and future long-term climate risks. This will further inform WB’s power sector investments in client countries and help strengthen their institutional capacity to build broader energy sector resilience.
Dr Brent Layton has been chair of the Electricity Authority in New Zealand since it was established in November 2010. He is a former Senior Fellow and Chief Executive of the New Zealand Institute of Economic Research. He has been a director and chair of organisations in sectors as diverse as banking and finance, health, scientific research, electricity, food processing, transport and information technology. Dr Layton has had various roles developing the electricity market since 1993. In 2009, he chaired the Ministerial Review of the market.
Rob Jager is Chairman of the Shell Companies in New Zealand and General Manager, Shell Todd Oil Services (STOS). Mr Jager is a Director for National Science Challenge – Sustainable Seas – Project. He is an independent director of Air New Zealand and was appointed Chairman of the Air New Zealand Safety Committee in September 2014. In 2014 he received the Energy Executive of the Year Award at the Deloitte Energy Excellence Awards for his “standout performance in the New Zealand energy sector”.
Andrew has been the Executive Director of the Pacific Power Association Secretariat in Suva, Fiji following his appointment in 2011. Andrew joined the Pacific Power Association as the Senior Adviser - Power Sector in May 2009, a position which was funded by the U.S. Department of Interior. Andrew joined the Pacific Power Association after 22 years in the in the electricity utility.
Hon. Siaosi Sovaleni was elected to Parliament in November 2014. He was later appointed on 31st December 2014 as the Deputy Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Tonga. Formerly the Chief Executive Officer of the Ministry of Public Enterprises, he led the state owned enterprises reform programme that focused on board governance, improved compliance and improved financial performance. Due to the result of this reform programme, the Asian Development Bank Finding Balance report ranked MPE as one of the most effective ownership monitor amongst the benchmarked 9 small island countries from the Pacific, Caribbean and Indian Ocean.
