HT26 Energy Seminar – Week 1: Philanthropy, policy and the power sector:

Rebecca Collyer

  • Start  Tuesday 20 Jan 2026 5:00pm
  • Finish    Tuesday 20 Jan 2026 6:15pm
  • Venue  School of Geography & the Environment
  • Postcode OX1 3AN
  • Register for event
Rebecca Collyer, Executive Director of ReNew2030

Shaping the global energy transition

Summary: This seminar traces the team shaping the architecture of international energy policy, charting the evolution from the Powering Past Coal Alliance through the IEA Net Zero Emissions scenario towards the tripling global renewables goal. It examines how philanthropy, distinct from governmental action, has catalysed shifts in the power sector and influenced the trajectory of decarbonisation. Drawing on Rebecca’s personal experience, the talk situates these interventions within broader historical trends while offering a forward-looking glimpse at electrification’s next wave. By weaving institutional dynamics with individual pathways, it illuminates the interplay of vision, catalytic resources, and policy in shaping the energy transition.

Speaker: Rebecca Collyer is the Executive Director of ReNew2030, a global coalition to scale the use of wind and solar energy. She also leads the international programme at the Pooled fund on International Energy (PIE). Rebecca Collyer helps build, scale and mentor the development of renewables-led energy systems across the world. She holds deep technical expertise in the role of the power sector in climate mitigation and served as a reviewer of the International Energy Agency’s seminal “Net Zero by 2050 Scenario.” She is a member of the advisory board of think tanks AgoraEnergy and Greenmap and Senior Advisor to the Crux Alliance. She joined philanthropy in 2008 after a decade shaping energy policy in the UK and at the European Commission. Since then, she incubated the Tara Climate Foundation, a regional climate foundation in East and Southeast Asia. Rebecca has worked behind the scenes on initiatives to shape the power sector over 20 years. She is the 2024 recipient of the TED Audacious Project and a TED and NPR speaker.