This presentation will explore the political, economic, and social implications of the global energy transition. It will discuss how promoting the electricity system reforms can increase access to clean and affordable energy while supporting U.S. government climate change goals.
About the speaker: Griffin M. Thompson is Director of the Office of Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency for the Bureau of Energy Resources at the U.S. Department of State. Dr. Thompson is responsible for establishing and managing the strategic direction and programmatic implementation of the Office’s mission in advancing U.S. foreign policy and national security goals through the promotion of electricity system reforms and functioning power markets; promoting increased access to clean and affordable energy; and, supporting U.S. government climate change goals. Thompson has worked on energy, development, and climate change issues for over two decades.
Before joining the Bureau of Energy Resources, Dr. Thompson was Senior Climate Change Program Manager in the Department’s Bureau of Oceans, Environment and Science, and Lead Negotiator for the U.S. on Technology at the UNFCCC. Past positions include: Director of the Office of Energy at the U.S. Agency for International Development; Executive Director of the International Institute for Energy Conservation; and, Senior Policy Analyst at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory.
Dr. Thompson is also an adjunct professor at Georgetown University and the University of Maryland. He teaches classes on The Geopolitics of Energy; Renewable Energy Climate Change and Development; the Ethical Issues in Development; and Science Diplomacy. He has a B.A. in English Literature from Gonzaga University; and a Ph.D. in Political Philosophy from Georgetown University.