Media releases

The EI President’s Award is to be awarded to Rachel Kyte CMG, Dean of The Fletcher School at Tufts University, and former Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General and CEO of Sustainable Energy for All. She will receive the prestigious award and speak as guest of honour at the dinner concluding International Energy Week 2022, taking place 22-24 February.

EI President Steve Holliday FREng FEI said:

“The President’s Award builds on its precursors’ 90 year legacy of recognition for the very best leadership and achievement in our field, and I’m delighted that the first recipient will be Rachel Kyte.

“Rachel has been central not just to making the case at the highest levels for sustainable energy as the key to combatting both poverty and climate change, but to finding solutions to the intractable challenges posed by finance and delivery.

“We are honoured that she will receive her award and share her unique perspectives at the end of an International Energy Week focused on the outcomes of COP26 and the accelerating transition taking place across our global energy industry.”

Rachel Kyte commented:

"I'm honored to be recognized by the Energy Institute and to be the first recipient of this re-imagined award.

“This is a critical moment in energy transitions underway around the world as they shape new geopolitics. Advancing energy systems that are reliable, affordable and clean is essential in combating rising inequality and resulting instability and mitigating and adapting to climate change - two of the defining challenges of this decade and beyond.”

Rachel Kyte will be the first ever recipient of the President’s Award. The most prestigious award made by the EI’s President in the name of its global membership, it succeeds the Cadman and Melchett Awards, dating back to 1946 and 1930 respectively, and is awarded to an outstanding individual who has contributed to addressing solutions relevant to global energy challenges, in particular combatting climate change and opening up access to energy.

International Energy Week 2022 is a hybrid conference taking place 22-24 February focused on accelerating the global energy transition. It builds on the legacies and strengths of IP Week and will be the energy industry’s first global meeting to assess the outcomes of COP26. The 2022 conference speaker programme brings together:

• Industry CEOs including Patrick Pouyanné of TotalEnergies, Claudio Descalzi of Eni, Christian Rynning-Tønnesen of Statkraft, Jasim Husain Thabet of TAQA, Greg Jackson FEI of Octopus
• Government figures including UK Energy Secretary The Rt Hon Kwasi Kwarteng MP and Moroccan Energy Transition Minister Dr Leila R Benali
• International bodies and NGOs combatting climate change including Commonwealth Secretary General The Rt Hon Patricia Scotland QC, Patricia Espinosa, Executive Secretary of the UNFCCC (tbc) and Climate Group Chair Joan MacNaughton CB HonFEI
• Leading engineering and energy experts including Dr Hayaatun Sillem CBE of the Royal Academy of Engineering, Iman Hill of International Association of Oil & Gas Producers and Laura Sandys CBE FEI of the Energy Systems Catapult

Notes for editors

1. International Energy Week takes place 22-24 February 2022. Full information is at www.ieweek.co.uk. For conference media accreditation and any other enquiries, contact Neil Michie on 020 7467 7132 or nmichie@energyinst.org


2. Rachel Kyte CMG biography:
   Rachel Kyte is the 14th dean of The Fletcher School at Tufts University. A 2002 graduate of Fletcher’s Global Master of Arts Program (GMAP) and a professor of practice at the school since 2012, Kyte is the first woman to lead the nation’s oldest graduate-only school of international affairs, which attracts students from all corners of the globe and at all stages of their careers.
   Prior to joining Fletcher, Kyte served as special representative of the UN secretary-general and chief executive officer of Sustainable Energy for All (SEforALL). She previously was the World Bank Group vice president and special envoy for climate change, leading the run-up to the Paris Agreement. She was also vice president at the International Finance Corporation responsible for ESG risk and business advisory services.
   In her UN role and as CEO of SEforAll, a public-private platform created by the UN and World Bank, Kyte led efforts to promote and finance clean, reliable and affordable energy as part of the UN Sustainable Development Goals. She served as co-chair of UN Energy.
   In the 2020 UK New Year Honours, Rachel was appointed as CMG for her services to sustainable energy and combating climate change.
   Kyte is a member of the UN secretary-general’s high-level advisory group on climate action and an advisor to the UK government for the UN climate talks, COP26. Kyte is co-chair of the Voluntary Carbon Markets Integrity Initiative (VCMI), chair of the FONERWA, the Rwanda Green Fund, and chair of the ESG committee of the Private Infrastructure Development Group. She advises not-for-profits, governments, and the private sector in climate, energy, and finance for sustainable development.
   A British citizen, Kyte earned her undergraduate degree in history and politics from the University of London. She is a regular contributor on global media. Kyte has received numerous awards for leadership in climate and sustainable development and was named by Time magazine as one of the 15 women that were leading climate action.


3. More information about the criteria and history of the President’s Award is at www.energyinst.org/whats-on/search/presidents-award


4. The Energy Institute (EI) is the chartered professional membership body bringing together expertise for urgent global challenges.
   Our ambition is for energy to be better understood, managed and valued. We gather and share essential knowledge about energy, provide the skills that are helping us all use it more wisely, and develop the good practice needed to keep it safe and secure.
   We articulate the voice of energy experts, taking the know-how of around 20,000 members and 200 companies from 120 countries to the heart of the public debate.
   Professionals in energy have changed the world before and now they are changing it again. The EI exists to support them and anyone who wants to better understand or contribute to tackling these urgent global challenges.