John Byrne (IPCC)

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Biographical Information

"John Byrne is Director of the Center for Energy and Environmental Policy (CEEP) and Distinguished Professor of Energy and Climate Policy at the University of Delaware. He has contributed to Working Group III of the United Nations-sponsored Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) since 1992 and shares the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize with the Panelʼs authors and review editors. He is cofounder and co-executive director of the Joint Institute for a Sustainable Energy and Environmental Future, an innovative research and policy advocacy organization headquartered in South Korea with the mission of promoting sustainable policy options in East Asia. He is also a founding member of and served as the first research chair for the International Solar Cities Initiative – a pioneering program to assist cities around the world in building sustainable futures. He presently cochairs the Sustainable Energy Utility Oversight Board, created by the Delaware General Assembly, and is the architect of this innovative concept for the promotion of energy efficiency, conservation, and distributed renewable energy generation. In 2009, he received the American Institute of Architects Delaware Sustainability Award.

"Dr. Byrne has served on the National Council for Science and the Environment (U.S.) and advised the Interagency Working Group on Environmental Justice, coordinated by the U.S. EPA. He received a Fulbright Senior Lecturer/ Researcher Award to teach environmental policy at the Graduate School of Environmental Studies, Seoul National University and to conduct research on a National Greenhouse Gas Abatement Strategy for the Korea Energy Economics Institute. He created the first graduate degrees in the United States in the combined area of energy and environmental policy and a recent external review conducted by a committee of internationally respected scholars rated the CEEP graduate program to be among the three best in the field.

"Dr. Byrne has been recognized by the Chinese government for his expertise in environmental and energy policy and his name appears on Chinaʼs foreign expert registry. He was appointed Policy Advisor to the Environmental Forum of the Korea National Assembly (the only non-Korean to serve in this capacity) and he has held advisory appointments with Chinaʼs State Environmental Protection Agency, the Chinese Academy of Sciences, The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI in India) and the Korea Energy Economics Institute, among others. His work has been funded by the World Bank, UNDP, UNEP, the W. Alton Jones Foundation, the Asia Foundation, the Blue Moon Fund, the National Science Foundation (U.S.), U.S. Department of Energy, the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, among others.

"Dr. Byrne is editor of the annual book series Energy and Environmental Policy, published by Transaction Books. His recent books for the series include: Energy and Environment: The Policy Challenge, which addresses the global warming debate; Environmental Justice, which examines international linkages between social and environmental inequality; and Transforming Power, which explores the prospects for, and social and environmental (especially carbon) implications of, significant changes in the world energy system. He is also co-editor in chief of Energy and Environment, a new WIRE reference work series to be published by Wiley & Sons. Dr. Byrne has published 17 books and over 150 research articles."

Affiliations

• Cofounder, Foundation for Renewable Energy and Environment