Yabei Zhang
Senior Energy Specialist, Clean Cooking Fund at the Energy Sector Management Assistance Program (ESMAP)
Yabei Zhang is a senior energy specialist and leads the Clean Cooking Fund at the Energy Sector Management Assistance Program (ESMAP), the World Bank. Yabei has managed various analytical and operational projects in the East Asia and Pacific (EAP), Europe and Central Asia, and Africa regions, with a focus on household energy, energy efficiency, and climate change. She led the regional flagship program EAP Clean Stove Initiative with country programs in China, Mongolia, Indonesia, and Lao PDR, and coordinated efficient and clean heating projects in Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan. She also conceptualized and developed the UK Aid-funded Modern Energy Cooking Services (MECS) Program together with Loughborough University. Before joining the World Bank, Yabei worked at the Joint Global Change Research Institute on renewable energy and climate change modeling. She holds a Ph.D. in Economics from the University of Maryland, College Park and a Master in City Planning from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
Day 0
October 10
Sessions by Yabei Zhang
Day 1
October 11
Sessions by Yabei Zhang
2:45 pm-3:45 pm
Breakout Room C
The Art and Science of Clean Cooking Policy Innovation
The implementation of ambitious, locally owned clean cooking agendas will ultimately require the development of effective policies and strategies that put these ambitions into action by supporting and incentivizing clean cooking innovation and investment.
To be successful, national governments must incorporate high quality data and technical expertise, ensure that policy and strategy development processes are inclusive of both public and private sector stakeholders, and have buy-in at national and sub-national levels. While each country context is unique, there is much that can be learned from the successful development of innovative policies and strategies across contexts.
This session will compare and contrast approaches to clean cooking policy and strategy development across several countries, highlighting the tools that policymakers are using to develop robust policies and strategies, and sharing best practices that can accelerate universal access to clean cooking across contexts.
Speakers
Martin Asiimwe
Policy Monitoring & Evaluation Specialist, Energy Department, Ministry of Infrastructure, Rwanda
Ewah Otu Eleri
Executive Director, International Centre for Energy, Environment & Development
Rana B Thapa
Assistant Director, Head of Bio-Energy Section and Focal Point for Green Climate Fund (GCF) from Alternative Energy Promotion Centre (AEPC), Ministry of Energy, Water Resources and Irrigation
Faith Wandera-Odongo
Senior Deputy Director of Renewable Energy, Kenya Ministry of Energy
Yabei Zhang
Senior Energy Specialist, Clean Cooking Fund at the Energy Sector Management Assistance Program (ESMAP)
Day 2
October 12
Sessions by Yabei Zhang
9:00 am-9:30 am
Breakout Room C
Perspectives on Innovation: Finance at Scale
Game-changing innovations can dramatically contribute to scaling the sector and bring us closer to universal access to clean cooking solutions. These talks will feature innovators who will discuss how their products, services, or approaches have the potential to address key challenges in the sector.
- What did we learn from ten years of investing in the clean cooking sector? Andrew Tarazid-Tarawali, Associate Director, Acumen
- How did we set up a clean cooking focused investment fund? Xavier Pierluca, Co-Managing Director, Spark+ Fund
Speakers
Andrew Tarazid-Tarawali
Associate Director, Acumen, West Africa
Xavier Pierluca
Managing Partner, Enabling Qapital
Marcel Raats
Manager, Energy and Climate, International Development, Netherlands Enterprise and Development Agency
Yabei Zhang
Senior Energy Specialist, Clean Cooking Fund at the Energy Sector Management Assistance Program (ESMAP)
Day 3
October 13
Sessions by Yabei Zhang
Day 4
October 14
Sessions by Yabei Zhang
Sessions by Yabei Zhang
Sessions by Yabei Zhang
2:45 pm-3:45 pm
Breakout Room C
The Art and Science of Clean Cooking Policy Innovation
The implementation of ambitious, locally owned clean cooking agendas will ultimately require the development of effective policies and strategies that put these ambitions into action by supporting and incentivizing clean cooking innovation and investment.
To be successful, national governments must incorporate high quality data and technical expertise, ensure that policy and strategy development processes are inclusive of both public and private sector stakeholders, and have buy-in at national and sub-national levels. While each country context is unique, there is much that can be learned from the successful development of innovative policies and strategies across contexts.
This session will compare and contrast approaches to clean cooking policy and strategy development across several countries, highlighting the tools that policymakers are using to develop robust policies and strategies, and sharing best practices that can accelerate universal access to clean cooking across contexts.
Speakers
Martin Asiimwe
Policy Monitoring & Evaluation Specialist, Energy Department, Ministry of Infrastructure, Rwanda
Ewah Otu Eleri
Executive Director, International Centre for Energy, Environment & Development
Rana B Thapa
Assistant Director, Head of Bio-Energy Section and Focal Point for Green Climate Fund (GCF) from Alternative Energy Promotion Centre (AEPC), Ministry of Energy, Water Resources and Irrigation
Faith Wandera-Odongo
Senior Deputy Director of Renewable Energy, Kenya Ministry of Energy
Yabei Zhang
Senior Energy Specialist, Clean Cooking Fund at the Energy Sector Management Assistance Program (ESMAP)
Sessions by Yabei Zhang
9:00 am-9:30 am
Breakout Room C
Perspectives on Innovation: Finance at Scale
Game-changing innovations can dramatically contribute to scaling the sector and bring us closer to universal access to clean cooking solutions. These talks will feature innovators who will discuss how their products, services, or approaches have the potential to address key challenges in the sector.
- What did we learn from ten years of investing in the clean cooking sector? Andrew Tarazid-Tarawali, Associate Director, Acumen
- How did we set up a clean cooking focused investment fund? Xavier Pierluca, Co-Managing Director, Spark+ Fund
Speakers
Andrew Tarazid-Tarawali
Associate Director, Acumen, West Africa
Xavier Pierluca
Managing Partner, Enabling Qapital
Marcel Raats
Manager, Energy and Climate, International Development, Netherlands Enterprise and Development Agency
Yabei Zhang
Senior Energy Specialist, Clean Cooking Fund at the Energy Sector Management Assistance Program (ESMAP)