Global Infrastructure Advisory Services 2050
GIAS 2050 provides advisory services and a platform for reports and other publications on energy, sustainability and geopolitics
Philippe Benoit, managing director of Global Infrastructure Advisory Services 2050 (GIAS2050), is an accomplished senior professional with more than 25 years of experience in international energy, finance, development and sustainability, including management and strategic positions in the public and private sectors and academia. Mr. Benoit’s experience spans a wide spectrum of countries, from advanced economies in Europe and North America, to emerging economies in Asia, Africa and Latin America, to least-developed countries in Sub-Saharan Africa.
Mr. Benoit, among other things, worked for over 15 years at the World Bank (including as Energy Sector Manager), at the International Energy Agency as Division Head for Energy Environment and Energy Efficiency, and at SG Investment Bank as Director in the Energy Project Finance group. He most recently worked as Adjunct Senior Research Scholar at Columbia University-SIPA’s Center on Global Energy Policy. He also served as Senior Associate (non-resident) with the Center on Strategic and International Studies: Energy Security and Climate Change Program.
He holds a J.D. from Harvard Law School (cum laude), a B.A. in economics and political science from Yale University (magna cum laude), and a masters in trade law from the University of Paris-Sorbonne. He has also published extensively (see links below).
Contact: Information@gias2050.com
Reports and Articles
Recent Op-Eds and Commentaries
AI policy can’t ignore climate change: We need net zero AI emissions (April 2024)
The US must address more than LNG to mitigate climate change (March 2024)
LPG, a Useful “Transitional” Fuel for the UN’s Clean Cooking Effort (March 2024)
Women biomass producers: energy’s largest and largely invisible workforce (February 2024)
From ‘peak oil’ to ‘peak energy’? What might the world expect (November 2023)
How Kerry’s energy accelerator can help to supercharge green investments (July 2023)
Climate change is making our water/energy conundrum much more complicated (July 2023)
Invisible women in energy: millions of household biomass producers (July 2023)
Leveraging Africa’s renewable energy potential: A call for global partnership (July 2023)
It’s time to adapt to our new climate reality: Private capital is crucial (June 2023)
After the G7, and beyond, the US needs a bigger focus on Africa (June 2023)
China is developing and developed at the same time (May 2023)
BP’s shift ‘back to petroleum’ prods consideration of a climate oil price cap (March 2023)
A plan for the Gulf States to power a low-emissions revolution (March 2023)
Foreign investment in clean energy for the Global South is a must. How can we manage the exchange rate risks? (January 2023)
Why US/Africa relations – and Africa – matter more now than ever (December 2022)
Early coal retirement: How about a global auction (November 2022)
How China can retire coal early in Pakistan and elsewhere through the BRI (October 2022)
China is a ‘hybrid’ power (September 2022)
Pakistan flooding shows ‘adapting’ to climate change can be a dangerous illusion (September 2022)
ESG in Action: China’s State-Owned Enterprises Hold Keys to Carbon Neutrality (September 2022)
Greater US efficiency can counter global energy chaos (July 2022)
Let’s rethink the framework governing gas prices (March 2022)
Could Russia make an Olympics pause on Ukraine? (February 2022)
Gender Day gives rise to the forgotten energy providers in the climate conversation (January 2022)
Biden needs to add development to his democracy summit’s agenda (December 2021; republished December 2021)
To address China’s coal emissions, the US could use a little help from its friends (November 2021)
Clean energy alone won’t uplift impoverished nations – we must invest in people (November 2021, republished December 2021, and also republished in Spanish)
Is the energy transition upon us? (Renewables didn’t cause the energy crisis – but they can help to resolve it) (November 2021)
Could the Australian submarine deal reenergize EU/China relations (October 2021)
Less overseas coal is good, but developing countries still need more electricity (October 2021, and republished in Spanish)
The poor pay more for energy – the US can correct the imbalance (July 2021)
China Inc has energy choices other than coal (July 2021)
To Fund Grand Inga Using Green Hydrogen, Equity and Ethics Matter (June 2021)
Unlocking green energy in Africa can impact climate change globally (June 2021)
Latin America’s awakened citizenry changes the equation for reform (May 2021)
Food system emissions need attention at Biden’s climate summit (April 2021)
The Invisible Women in Energy: Women Biomass Producers Who Deserve More Recognition (April 2021, and republished in Spanish)
European Union Support Critical to US Management of China (March 2021)
When It Comes to Attitudes About Climate Change, Economic Theory Can Help (December 2020)
Energy Efficiency for Developing Countries: Pivoting from Fewer Inputs to More Outputs (December 2020)
Moving Toward a Renewal of US Leadership Abroad (November 2020)
Making State-Owned Enterprises Work for Climate in China and Beyond (September 2020)
State-Owned Companies are Key to Climate Success in Developing Countries, but Are Often Overlooked in the International Dialogue (September 2020)
Climate Needs Less Oil, How Will Producing Nations React? (September 2020)
As Latin America Looks to a COVID Recovery, It Will Need to Tackle its Growing Middle-Class Angst (August 2020)
Energy for Food Produces Large Amounts of Greenhouse Gases, We Need To Tackle This (April 2020)
La Taxe Carbonne Doit Peser sur les Plus Riches (December 2019)
The Trump Carbon Bump (December 2019)
Let’s Implement a Luxury Carbon Tax, Because Not All Carbon Is Created Equal (November 2019)
The Green New Deal: How Will It Play in International Climate Negotiations? (November 2019)
Our Energy Mix Is Rocking Like It’s 1990 … and That’s a Problem for our Climate (April 2018)
The U.S. Transport Sector Has become Less Energy Efficient: Should We Care? (January 2018)
Recent Reports
Women household biomass producers: energy’s largest labor segment? (January 2024)
Indonesia’s Just Energy Transition Partnership: A way to mobilize capital for climate and development (September 2023)
Decarbonizing state-owned power companies: A framework for applying policy actions (May 2023)
How are we Doing with the Energy Transition? Two Simple Metrics to Understand and Track Progress (November 2022)
Scaling Clean Energy through Climate Finance Innovation: Structure of an Exchange Rate Coverage Facility for Developing Countries (October 2022)
How Project Finance Can Advance the Clean Energy Transition in Developing Countries - Oxford Institute for Energy Studies (September 2022)
Decarbonization in state-owned power companies: Lessons from a comparative analysis (April 2022)
Pre- and post-production processes increasingly dominate greenhouse gas emissions from agri-food systems (April 2022)
Not all carbon is created equal, so let’s tax extravagant emissions more (March 2022)
Emissions of greenhouse gases from energy use in agriculture, forestry and fisheries: 1970-2019 (February 2022)
Greenhouse gas emissions from state-owned enterprises: a preliminary inventory (February 2022)
Greenhouse gas emissions from food systems: building the evidence base (June 2021)
Energy Efficiency as a Driver of More and Better Goods and Services (World Bank guidance note) (May 2021)
Engaging State-Owned Enterprises in Climate Action: Workshop Report (November 2020)
Energy Efficiency for More Goods and Services in Developing Countries (November 2020)
Is China Still a Developing Country and Why It Matters for Energy and Climate (July 2020)
A Luxury Carbon Tax to Address Climate Change and Inequality: Not All Carbon Is Created Equal (March 2020)
State-Owned Enterprises: No Climate Success Without Them (February 2020)
Engaging State-Owned Enterprises in Climate Action (September 2019)
Energy and Development in a Changing World: A Framework for the 21st Century (March 2019)
G20: Energy Access and Affordability – Voluntary Action Plan for Latin America and the Caribbean (October 2018)