Heavy hitters headline CLEANPOWER 2021 speakers

It’s been an exciting day of VIP speaker announcements for the CLEANPOWER 2021 Virtual Conference! John Kerry; former Secretary of State and current Special Presidential Envoy for Climate; Gina McCarthy, White House National Climate Advisor and former head of the Environmental Protection Agency under the Obama administration; Senator Joni Ernst (R-IA); Richard Glick, Chairman of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission; and Andrew Steer, President and CEO of the Bezos Earth Fund, will address attendees during the event, happening June 7 – 10, 2021.

“This bipartisan lineup of leaders underscores that clean energy has unstoppable momentum. The discussions we’ll have at this event will capture this moment of transformation towards a majority renewables future over the course of the next decade. I couldn’t be happier to have them join us at CLEANPOWER” said Heather Zichal, ACP CEO.

John Kerry, Special Presidential Envoy for Climate

John Kerry was sworn in this past January as our nation’s first Special Presidential Envoy for Climate and the first-ever Principal to sit on the National Security Council entirely dedicated to climate change. President Biden announced Kerry would have a seat at every table around the world as he combats the climate crisis to meet the existential threat that we face. Kerry has been advocating action on climate change for decades at state and federal levels. He has a real understanding of the science of climate change and a grasp of the economic costs and benefits of moving to clean energy.

Gina McCarthy, White House National Climate Advisor

Gina McCarthy was also sworn in earlier this year as the White House National Climate Advisor, where she advises President Biden on domestic climate change policy and leads the White House Office of Domestic Climate Policy. The former EPA administrator and member of President Obama’s Cabinet has served as a career public servant in both Democratic and Republican administrations. She has been a leading advocate for common sense strategies to protect public health and the environment for more than thirty years, working at both the state and local levels on critical environmental issues and helped coordinate policies on economic growth, energy, transportation and the environment.

Senator Joni Ernst (R-IA)

Senator Joni Ernst has dedicated her life to her state and country, having served in the military for over 23 years and now in the United States Senate. Ernst was elected as the first woman to serve in federal elected office from the State of Iowa and also became the first female combat veteran elected to serve in the United States Senate. In Washington, Joni serves on four Senate committees of major importance to Iowans: Armed Services; Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry; Environment and Public Works; and Small Business and Entrepreneurship.

Richard Glick, FERC Chairman

President Biden named Richard Glick as Chair of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), an independent U.S. agency that regulates the interstate transmission of electricity, natural gas, and oil in January. Glick, a former government affairs director for Avangrid Renewables and Iberdrola and general counsel for the Democrats on the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, previously served as a FERC Commissioner nominated by President Trump in August 2017 and confirmed by the Senate later that year. He also worked as an adviser to Bill Richardson when Richardson was serving as United States Secretary of Energy during Bill Clinton’s presidency.

Andrew Steer, President and CEO, Bezos Earth Fund

In March, Jeff Bezos announced that Andrew Steer would lead the Bezos Earth Fund as President and CEO. Steer has decades of experience in environmental and climate science as well as economic and social policy in the U.S., Europe, Asia, and Africa. Prior to the Bezos Earth Fund, he was President and CEO of World Resources Institute (WRI), where he lead over 1,400 experts working to alleviate poverty while protecting the natural world. He joined WRI from the World Bank, where he served as Special Envoy for Climate Change from 2010 – 2012. From 2007 to 2010, he served as Director General at the UK Department of International Development (DFID) in London.

CLEANPOWER’s mission is to not only bring together the different technologies that make up the renewables mix; onshore wind, offshore wind, solar, storage, and transmission, but also the different segments within the industries; manufacturers, construction firms, owner operators, utilities, financial firms, and corporate buyers.

Register now to join us for both the CLEANPOWER Virtual Conference in June and CLEANPOWER Salt Lake City on December 7-8. Additional VIP speakers from government and corporate America will provide exclusive insights into the future of clean energy. Stay tuned for more exciting speaker announcements!